About Family Planning for Docs - Thriving or Surviving?
This podcast is an extension of our platform at www.familyplanningfordocs.com, a website created for Canadian medical trainees to highlight useful information about family planning in a medical career. Our group has a mission to inform medical trainees about their options regarding family planning while navigating training, career and personal life.
Our research has demonstrated that personal stories are highly impactful and we hope to provide access to a diverse number of stories to current trainees. On our podcast, we hope to capture the stories of medical professionals who have navigated the training process and a medical career while planning parenthood, parenting and the support along the way.
Maternity Leave, Money, and Medicine: Thriving or Surviving with Dr. Zhou
Dr. Stephanie Zhou is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto where she created the financial literacy curriculum and is the Director of Addiction Medicine at Sunnybrook Hospital. She sits on the board of Toronto Public Health.
Dr. Zhou immigrated to Canada and grew up in subsidized housing, which led to her investing in education and housing initiatives through philanthropy.
She founded the annual Physicians Financial Wellness conference, a national, philanthropic conference for physicians on financial education and practice management. The ticket proceeds were used to establish The Equity Award, an endowment fund supporting students with financial need.
Dr. Zhou received Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women award and the Ascend Canada Social Impact Award for her work in improving economic mobility through financial literacy. Dr. Zhou is a nationally invited speaker on personal finance and runs a popular financial education blog on Instagram and Youtube called Breaking Bad Debt. Her biggest accomplishment is being mom to a former NICU baby named Eleanor.
In this episode, Dr. Zhou shares her personal journey through an unexpected high-risk pregnancy and her daughter's preterm NICU stay, all while balancing a diverse career spanning clinical practice, administration, and teaching.
We also dive into the financial realities of maternity leave for physicians and the often-overlooked strategies she used to fund her leave, including insurance, investments, rental income, and creative revenue streams.
If you're navigating pregnancy, planning a family, or trying to build a fulfilling career in medicine while raising kids, this episode offers both inspiration and practical insights to help you thrive, not just survive.
Episode Resources:
Pregnancy and Parental Leave Benefit Program (PPLBP) for Physicians: How to Apply & New Updates: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z103-1PTSiY)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z103-1PTSiY
PPLBP Website: (https://www.ontario.ca/page/pregnancy-and-parental-leave-ontario-physicians)
https://www.ontario.ca/page/pregnancy-and-parental-leave-ontario-physicians
• Maternity & Parental Leave in Canada (Residents): (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF4ybpVmZ3Q)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF4ybpVmZ3Q
Planning for Pregnancy & Infertility: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvfNpcc8MaU)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvfNpcc8MaU
El Benefits & Childcare in Canada: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0jOcsK14dg)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0jOcsK14dg
Advocacy Updates:
• OMA updates: (https://www.oma.org/practice-professional-support/running-your-practice/operations-and-practic e-management/human-resources-management/pregnancy-and-parental-leavel)
https://www.oma.org/practice-professional-support/running-your-practice/operations-and-practic
e-management/human-resources-management/pregnancy-and-parental-leavel
• Parental Leave Facebook group advocating to extend leave to 22 weeks for physicians on the old PPLBP. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1729207944684550) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1729207944684550
15 Oct 2025
Family Planning Across Borders: Thriving or Surviving with Dr. Hiraki
Dr. Linda Hiraki, Clinician-Scientist, shares her experiences balancing a medical career with family planning, discussing cultural differences in maternity leave and the importance of support systems in this interview.
15 Oct 2025
Navigating Family Planning During an MD-PhD: Thriving or Surviving with Mimosa Luigi
Mimosa Luigi, an MD-PhD student at McGill University, discusses integrating family planning into a demanding medical career while balancing motherhood and her studies in this interview.
Who has been a guest on Family Planning for Docs - Thriving or Surviving?
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Linda Hiraki
Mimosa Luigi
Dr Piggott
Dr Jamie Kroft
Dr Michael Ordon
Podcast Authority Score: 19 / 100
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