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Top 5% globally ranked podcast for healthcare practice owners. Prevent burnout, grow profitably. 215+ episodes, 51 countries.
Welcome to Thriving Practice - the business podcast that proves independent physicians, dentists, therapists, and healthcare practice owners can build profitable, efficient practices while actually enjoying their lives.
By the Numbers:
- 215+ episodes featuring top-tier practice owners and healthcare business experts
- Global Top 5% ranking on Listen Notes among all podcasts
- 51 countries reached globally
- 9 seasons of proven practice management strategies
- Weekly episodes with actionable insights you can implement immediately
Hosted by Tracy Cherpeski, MBA, MA, CPSC - executive coach, business consultant, and CME-approved educator with 15+ years specializing in healthcare practice consulting. Tracy brings you successful practice owners, industry experts, and medical association leaders, all united in helping private practices stay private and thrive.
Subscribe now and join our community at ThrivingPracticeCommunity.com for ongoing support from practice leaders who've been where you are.
Episodes
Friday Jan 09, 2026
Friday Jan 09, 2026
In this candid SNACK episode, Miranda turns the microphone around and interviews Tracy about her recent speaking tour across California. Tracy spoke at multiple events with the Santa Clara County Medical Association and Fresno Madera Medical Society, teaching burnout prevention at the CME level—and what she learned surprised even her.
You'll hear about the practice owners who started their own practices after burning out in large integrated systems, the generational divide that's causing friction in healthcare workplaces, and a surprising discovery: residents in California can unionize, but attending physicians cannot.
Tracy also shares her perspective on why burnout prevention programs often miss the mark by putting the onus on individual physicians when burnout is, by definition, a workplace problem. Plus, she poses a provocative question she asked a room full of employed physicians: What would happen if 50% of you walked out?
This episode offers fresh insights on systemic healthcare challenges, the commodification of healthcare, and what Tracy is learning as she builds the Thriving Practice Community.
Is your practice growth-ready? See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
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Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
If you're a healthcare practice owner who made New Year's resolutions this January, only to watch them crumble by February, you're not alone—and more importantly, you're not failing. After nearly 16 years of coaching highly credentialed business owners, Tracy Cherpeski has seen the same pattern: resolutions fail not because practice owners lack discipline, but because resolutions themselves are fundamentally flawed for creating sustainable change.
In this episode, Tracy breaks down why traditional resolutions set practice owners up for failure and offers a strategic alternative that actually works. You'll discover the real science behind habit formation (it's not 21 days), understand how your nervous system responds to change, and learn the three-pillar framework successful practice owners use to create lasting improvements.
Is your practice growth-ready? See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
Key topics include: the 66-day reality of habit formation, why willpower fails but systems sustain, four critical mindset shifts for sustainable change, how your personal approach to change mirrors your practice leadership, and practical questions to ask instead of making traditional resolutions.
Whether you're struggling with boundaries, delegation, or exhaustion despite working harder than ever, this episode provides strategic thinking tools to make 2026 different.
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
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Wednesday Dec 31, 2025
Wednesday Dec 31, 2025
The end of the year brings more than holiday obligations for healthcare practice owners—it often brings exhaustion that ripples through your entire practice. When you're running on empty, your team feels it, and suddenly everyone's pretending their way through December while practice culture slowly fractures.
In this episode, Tracy reflects on meaningful wins from 2025—including CME accreditation, partnerships with medical associations, and the Joy of Medicine Retreat—while addressing the reality of seasonal stress in healthcare practices. She shares the story of Dr. Cheri's OBGYN practice, where one honest team huddle revealed that everyone was drowning separately, each convinced they were the only one struggling.
Tracy explores why most January goals fail by mid-February and what actually works instead: smaller, repeatable systems that fit into how you already operate. She introduces the Energy Audit Workbook for tracking what depletes versus restores you, and discusses why rest is foundation, not reward.
Looking ahead to 2026, Tracy shares two opportunities to build sustainable practice growth: the Community Open House on January 13th and the Future Proofing Healthcare Leadership Roundtable on January 27th.
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
Friday Dec 26, 2025
Friday Dec 26, 2025
Are you seeing more patients than ever but wondering where all the money is going? You might be caught in the revenue trap.
In this candid SNACK episode, Miranda turns the mic on Tracy to explore why practice growth doesn't always translate to better profit margins or more freedom. Many healthcare practice owners are busier than ever—maybe even adding providers or locations—but when they look at their actual take-home numbers, something doesn't add up.
Tracy shares a real client story about how being "too busy" to look at the books led to a simple system glitch costing thousands per month. She also breaks down what practice owners need to audit before considering expansion, why trading time for dollars has a ceiling, and how to know if growth is actually serving your goals.
Whether you're considering adding another provider, opening a second location, or just trying to understand why you're working harder but not seeing the financial rewards, this episode will help you think differently about practice profitability.
Is your practice growth-ready? See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
Key topics include:
- The first question to ask before pursuing growth
- Why efficient systems matter more than patient volume
- What to evaluate before opening a second location
- How to escape the time-for-money trap
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
Tuesday Dec 23, 2025
Tuesday Dec 23, 2025
Are you concerned about NIH funding for your research? Dr. Meg Bouvier, founder of Bouvier Grant Group, shares encouraging news: despite proposed cuts, Congress has protected NIH's nearly $50 billion budget with strong bipartisan support.
In this episode, Dr. Meg Bouvier explains how researchers can adapt their grant applications by reframing language to emphasize disease burden reduction and cost savings—without changing their core research direction. With nearly four decades of experience, including working as a staff writer for Francis Collins, she dispels myths about "forbidden terms" and offers practical strategies for navigating today's funding climate.
We also explore Meg's journey building a successful consulting business by hiring the right team. Her director of operations handles everything except Meg's zone of genius—allowing her to focus entirely on training researchers and analyzing grants. This principle applies whether you're pursuing funding or building a medical practice: stay at the top of your licensure and delegate everything else.
Key topics covered: NIH budget reality check, grant application strategies, team building, research development resources, adapting to funding climate changes, and balancing business ownership with meaningful work.
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
Friday Dec 19, 2025
Friday Dec 19, 2025
Healthcare unions are gaining momentum in hospitals and health systems, and if you're a private practice owner, this shift creates a significant opportunity for you. With 25% of physicians in hospital-led organizations actively considering leaving, experienced doctors are looking for alternatives to systems that have burned them out—and many are turning their attention to private practice.
In this SNACK episode, Tracy and Miranda explore what's really driving the unionization movement (inhumane expectations in large systems where physicians lack the protections nurses and residents receive), why younger physicians initially choose employment over ownership, and most importantly—how practice owners can position themselves to attract this wave of talented physicians seeking autonomy.
Tracy shares specific strategies for making your practice attractive to seasoned providers: tiered partnership models, profit-sharing arrangements, and creating genuine autonomy rather than just another employed position. This conversation goes beyond basic hiring advice—it's about understanding the pain points driving physicians away from hospital systems and showing them what's possible in your practice.
If you're thinking about expanding, bringing on a partner, or scaling your practice, this episode will shift how you think about recruitment and growth.
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
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Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Starting your own medical practice can feel like stepping into an entirely different profession—and that's because in many ways, it is. Dr. Gina Maccarone, cosmetic surgeon and owner of The Surgeonista in Cincinnati, knows this tension well. After years in general surgery and trauma care, she made the leap to cosmetic surgery and private practice ownership.
Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.
In this episode, Dr. Gina shares how authentic branding became her competitive advantage. From her signature pink color palette to her clear boundaries around patient selection, she's built a practice that attracts the right patients by simply being herself. We discuss why saying "no" to patients is actually a green flag, how AI and contractors can keep overhead manageable, and why clinical confidence doesn't automatically translate to business confidence.
Key topics covered:
- Building authentic brand identity in healthcare
- Managing patient expectations in cosmetic surgery
- Using technology strategically to reduce costs
- The challenge of delegating as a physician-owner
- Learning from what you don't want to replicate
Find Dr. Maccarone:
See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment
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Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Burnout prevention advice rarely works for practice owners because it ignores the structural realities of running a healthcare business. Generic wellness tips like "set better boundaries" or "take more vacations" fall flat when you're responsible for payroll, team development, and practice sustainability. In this episode, Tracy breaks down why traditional burnout prevention fails and shares three strategic pillars that actually address the root causes of depletion for independent practice owners.
Click here for full show notes
Is your practice growth-ready? See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment
Drawing from a powerful CME wellness workshop in Silicon Valley, Tracy explores the generational divide emerging around burnout—younger physicians drawing hard lines about sacrifice while seasoned physicians grapple with whether to perpetuate the moral injury they've experienced. The conversation reveals how we've normalized exhaustion as a badge of honor and built healthcare systems that require sacrifice. But it doesn't have to be this way.
Episode Highlights:
- Why employed physicians may actually be at higher risk for burnout than practice owners—and what that reveals about autonomy and agency
- The "frog in boiling water" reality: how for-profit insurance since the 1970s has gradually conditioned physicians to accept unsustainable conditions
- Time Leadership vs. Time Management: why optimizing your calendar won't solve burnout if you're working on the wrong things
- The $10 vs. $100 task framework: how to stop spending expert-level time on basic tasks
- Three essential questions for sustainable growth decisions: "Only me? Today? Someone else?"
- Why "slow down to speed up" isn't just a platitude—it's the foundation of strategic practice leadership
- How clarity creates speed while haste creates chaos (and why American hustle culture gets this backwards)
- The connection between business systems and wellbeing: why you can't separate practice sustainability from personal sustainability
Memorable Quotes:
"Time management is about getting more done. Time leadership is about getting the RIGHT things done."
"Real leadership is building systems that don't depend on your heroic effort."
"Growth without sustainability isn't growth—it's extraction."
"Clarity equals speed. Lack of clarity equals chaos and plate-spinning."
"Prevention isn't about bubble baths and boundaries. It's about strategic changes to how you lead your time, build your systems, and approach growth."
"You didn't create this system. You've been adapting to survive in it—one small compromise at a time, one policy change at a time, one administrative burden at a time."
"If 'all hands on deck' is happening weekly, it's time to re-examine some things."
This episode is essential listening for practice owners who recognize themselves in the exhaustion phase and want to make strategic changes before burnout progresses. Prevention is so much easier than recovery—and it starts with understanding that your wellbeing and your business success aren't separate challenges.
Tracy’s Bio:
Tracy Cherpeski, MBA, MA, CPSC (she/her/hers) is the Founder of Tracy Cherpeski International and Thriving Practice Community. As a Business Consultant and Executive Coach, Tracy helps healthcare practice owners scale their businesses without sacrificing wellbeing. Through strategic planning, leadership development, and mindset mastery, she empowers clients to reclaim their time and reach their potential. Tracy designs and delivers CME-accredited wellness retreats and workshops in partnership with medical associations, bringing burnout prevention and sustainable practice management to physicians nationwide. Based in Chapel Hill, NC, Tracy serves clients worldwide and is the Executive Producer and Host of the Thriving Practice podcast. Her guiding philosophy: Survival is not enough; life is meant to be celebrated.
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Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Practice ownership comes with a unique paradox: the autonomy you fought for also means carrying the full weight of clinical work, business management, and leadership. In this episode, Tracy breaks down the World Health Organization's three-phase burnout framework and reveals why nearly half of all physicians are experiencing burnout symptoms—and what makes practice owner burnout distinctly different and dangerous.
Click here for full show notes
Is your practice growth-ready? See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment
Episode Highlights
- The WHO's three phases of burnout: exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy—and why recognizing which phase you're in determines what help you need
- Why American culture makes Phase 1 exhaustion nearly impossible to recognize (hint: we've been conditioned to see depletion as a badge of honor)
- The shocking global statistics: from 43% burnout rates in the US to 66% emotional exhaustion among Portuguese physicians
- Why practice owner burnout can't be solved with employed physician solutions—you can't "delegate up" when you ARE the up
- Real examples of what each phase looks like: from sitting in your driveway without energy to enter your home, to thinking cynical thoughts that horrify you
- The $4.6 billion annual cost of physician burnout to the US healthcare system—and the incalculable personal cost to you, your practice, and your family
- Why autonomy alone isn't enough: the protection it provides versus the isolation and weight it creates
Memorable Quotes
- "Burnout is not a personal failing. It's a predictable occupational phenomenon with identifiable phases."
- "Phase one exhaustion is your prevention opportunity. This is where you still have an easy exit ramp. If you catch yourself and actually address it—not by doubling down, but by making strategic changes—prevention strategies actually work."
- "You can't think your way out of cynicism using the same thinking that got you there."
- "Your practice will survive a few weeks without you, but you might not survive continuing to push through phase three."
- "When you're the owner, you can't just leave. Your practice is your livelihood, your investment, and your legacy."
- "You are not broken. You are not weak. You are responding predictably to chronic stress that hasn't been successfully managed."
Closing
Understanding burnout isn't about labeling yourself—it's about getting clear on what level of support you actually need. Whether you're in the prevention zone, need intervention, or are facing a crisis, there's a path forward. Join us next episode as we dive into the strategic prevention approaches that work specifically for independent practice owners.
Tracy’s Bio:
Tracy Cherpeski, MBA, MA, CPSC (she/her/hers) is the Founder of Tracy Cherpeski International and Thriving Practice Community. As a Business Consultant and Executive Coach, Tracy helps healthcare practice owners scale their businesses without sacrificing wellbeing. Through strategic planning, leadership development, and mindset mastery, she empowers clients to reclaim their time and reach their potential. Based in Chapel Hill, NC, Tracy serves clients worldwide and is the Executive Producer and Host of the Thriving Practice podcast. Her guiding philosophy: Survival is not enough; life is meant to be celebrated.
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Friday Nov 28, 2025
Friday Nov 28, 2025
In this candid snack episode, Tracy sits in the interview seat as Miranda explores the practical reality of AI for private practices. Following Tracy's conversation with David Herman about AI in dental marketing, this episode addresses what practice owners are really asking about AI implementation, where these tools genuinely help, and the critical questions to ask before investing time and resources. Tracy shares insights from a recent burnout workshop with Silicon Valley physicians and offers a framework for thinking strategically about technology that supports—rather than replaces—human connection in healthcare.
Click here for full show notes
Episode Highlights
- AI's real role in healthcare: Where these tools genuinely help (administrative tasks, scribing) versus where physicians have serious concerns (primary care AI models)
- The "band-aid on a fixed system" reality: Why AI tools can reclaim time but don't address the systemic commodification of healthcare delivery
- Implementation without drowning: Tracy's framework for introducing new technology when you're already stretched thin, including the time leadership quadrant approach
- Real physician experiences: Stories from Tracy's primary care doctor and Miranda's daughter's cardiologist about AI scribing tools reclaiming 3-4 hours weekly
- The marketing-systems connection: Why beautiful marketing campaigns fail when practices lack the infrastructure to handle increased inquiry volume
- Questions to ask before implementing AI: What end result you want, how to ensure HIPAA compliance, where volume will come from, and whether your team is resourced for success
Memorable Quotes
"It's not about fear of being replaced, it's fear about causing harm."
"The system isn't broken—it's fixed. One quarter of a degree at a time, the temperature has been increased to the point where it became normalized."
"These people go to school for 8, 12 or more years to practice medicine and are now well paid but not well enough for the amount of hours they put in—business administrators, basically admin paper pushers."
"We want all of our providers to be well rested, to have bandwidth, to not have to be reactive all the time. We want that as patients."
"If we're not going to be human, then what's the point?"
"Our clients do not love slowing down, but it's the way that we can gain clarity."
Closing
AI represents both genuine opportunity and potential pitfall for independent practices. The key lies not in whether to adopt these tools, but in approaching implementation with clear strategic thinking about your desired outcomes, team capacity, and practice ecosystem. Before investing in any AI solution, take time to work on your business from that essential 30,000-foot view—because technology without strategy is just expensive noise.
Listen to David Herman: AI in Healthcare: How Technology Makes Patient Care More Human, Featuring David Herman, EP 207
Is your practice growth-ready? See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment
Miranda’s Bio:
Miranda Dorta, B.F.A. (she/her/hers) is the Manager of Operations and PR at Tracy Cherpeski International. A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design with expertise in writing and creative storytelling, Miranda brings her skills in operations, public relations, and communication strategies to the Thriving Practice community. Based in the City of Oaks, she joined the team in 2021 and has been instrumental in streamlining operations while managing the company's public presence since 2022.
Tracy’s Bio:
Tracy Cherpeski, MBA, MA, CPSC (she/her/hers) is the Founder of Tracy Cherpeski International and Thriving Practice Community. As a Business Consultant and Executive Coach, Tracy helps healthcare practice owners scale their businesses without sacrificing wellbeing. Through strategic planning, leadership development, and mindset mastery, she empowers clients to reclaim their time and reach their potential. Based in Chapel Hill, NC, Tracy serves clients worldwide and is the Executive Producer and Host of the Thriving Practice podcast. Her guiding philosophy: Survival is not enough; life is meant to be celebrated.
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