The Medical Sisterhood: Balance and Boundaries in the Holiday Season, With Angela Lamb, MD

Welcome to The Medical Sisterhood!

In this holiday-themed episode of The Medical Sisterhood, host Mona Shahriari, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University, welcomes Angela Lamb, MD, associate professor of dermatology and vice chair of clinical operations and strategy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Together, they examine the realities of balancing clinical responsibilities with family life during one of the busiest—and often most emotionally taxing—times of the year.

Lamb begins by outlining her professional roles and the intentionality required to maintain a meaningful life beyond medicine. As a leader overseeing operations across a large dermatology department and as a mother of three children spanning preschool to late adolescence, she frames balance not as perfection but as continuous recalibration. She emphasizes that physicians often discuss science, therapeutics, and disease, yet true professional fulfillment is inseparable from personal well-being.

A major theme of the conversation is the importance of partnership—both at home and professionally. Lamb describes “divide and conquer” as essential, crediting her spouse’s support as a foundation for managing demanding clinical schedules and a dynamic household. She stresses that partner selection is one of the most consequential decisions physicians make, noting that qualities such as selflessness, compassion, and forgiveness enable sustainable long-term collaboration. Shahriari echoes this sentiment, reflecting on similar advice from her mentor and on how parenting reshaped her understanding of empathy and boundaries.

The episode also explores the concept of the “mental load”—the invisible cognitive labor behind daily tasks such as arranging childcare, planning holiday events, and managing household logistics. Lamb candidly describes the necessity of her “paid village,” a network of long-standing helpers who bridge the gap between work and home. She encourages women physicians to release guilt associated with outsourcing and instead evaluate what truly requires their personal attention. Tasks that do not impact long-term values, she notes, can often be delegated for the sake of emotional and logistical bandwidth.

Both physicians discuss the structural changes needed to better support physician parents. Lamb acknowledges the limitations of clinical schedules surrounding holidays and high-demand weeks. To preserve her well-being, she now takes the full week of Thanksgiving and the final two weeks of December off—an intentional shift that has improved her mental health, patient interactions, and personal fulfillment. Shahriari adds that small, purposeful adjustments, such as taking a post-travel “reset day” with her daughter, mitigate guilt and strengthen family connection.

Despite the seriousness of their discussion, moments of levity surface, including Lamb’s retelling of a near-disastrous road trip in an undercharged electric car—an anecdote that ultimately nudged her family to finally purchase a vehicle.

In closing, Lamb encourages physician mothers to lead with grace, self-forgiveness, and clarity. She urges listeners to ask directly for what they need, seek mentorship without fear of judgment, and avoid gatekeeping when supporting peers. Shahriari reinforces that authentic conversations and shared transparency form the backbone of the sisterhood the series celebrates.

As the episode concludes, both physicians remind listeners that balancing leadership, motherhood, and medicine is not about achieving perfection but about embracing community, intention, and compassion—especially during the holidays.

Editor’s note: This episode was summarized with the help of artificial intelligence tools.

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