The Defiant Career | Career Strategy for Women in Medicine

How do you balance advancing your career in medicine with starting or raising a family and all the responsibilities that come with that? In this episode, Dr. Qaali Hussein introduces the Defiant Career Strategy Framework, a step-by-step system for advancing your career as woman in medicine without sacrificing your family and without burning out. In this episode, you'll discover why it seems impossible to balance a thriving medical career with family, how the systems you're navigating contribute to it. and what to do to navigate workplace culture, negotiate for flexibility, and build a sustainable career. Whether you're pursuing starting a family, considering career advancement as you grow one, or redefining what success means, this framework gives you the tools to advance on your terms—even in hostile environments. If you're stuck in your career and not sure where to begin → take the Career Diagnostic If you're a woman in medicine and you're ready to strategize to build the life and career you want → Book a Strategy Call with Dr. Qaali

Stop shrinking. Stop coping. A toxic work environment doesn't require survival—it requires strategy. In this episode, Dr. Qaali Hussein sits down with Muna, a Black Muslim woman engineer who refused to let a hostile workplace cost her health, confidence, and wealth. Hear the 5 things she stopped doing—and learn how to reclaim power in yours. Two invitations: If you're stuck in your career and not sure where to begin → take the Career Diagnostic If you're a woman in medicine and you're ready to strategize to build the life and career you want → Book a Strategy Call with Dr. Qaali Dr. Qaali Hussein is a double board-certified trauma surgeon, mom of six, and founder of Defiance Academy. New episodes every other week.

I had a patient bleeding to death at two in the morning while my team ignored my orders. So I went to a women in medicine conference looking for help on how to lead through it. The keynote speaker, a diversity expert, had just named every gap women face. I asked her about mine. She said, "I don't do race," ended the Q and A, and walked away. Fifteen women followed me out of that room. Every one of them asked the same thing: did she give you an answer? Women of color from every specialty in that building had come looking for the exact same solution, and not one of us got it. This is the episode about what happens when the rooms built to help you have nothing for you. I name the three reasons high-achieving women of color leave careers they spent years building. I take apart the advice that gets handed to us, the advice that quietly makes everything worse. And I tell you what I did instead of quitting. Two invitations: Take the 2-minute quiz to see what your workplace is costing you → What's really going on at work? Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room Have a question? The best ones become full episodes → SUBMIT A QUESTION Dr. Qaali Hussein is a double board-certified trauma surgeon, mom of six, and founder of Defiance Academy. New episodes every other week.

For three years, I interviewed accomplished women on this show — surgeons, founders, lawyers, executives. Different fields, different decades, different lives. And every one of them had been handed the same advice: work twice as hard, prove yourself, earn your seat, and figure out the rest of your life on the side. They all paid the same price — burnout, exhaustion, and no guarantee that success was even waiting at the end. I know, because I'm one of them. After 15 years of becoming a double-board-certified trauma surgeon, raising six kids, and following every rule, I almost walked away from medicine. This episode is the relaunch. New name, new mission, new question I want every ambitious woman to start asking. The Professional Muslim Women Podcast is now The Defiant Career — same feed, no need to resubscribe. In this episode: the advice nobody named, why "work twice as hard" was never built for you to win, and the image of the broken ladder you won't be able to unsee. Two invitations: Take the 2-minute quiz to see what your workplace is costing you → What's really going on at work? Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room Have a question? The best ones become full episodes → SUBMIT A QUESTION Dr. Qaali Hussein is a double-board-certified trauma surgeon, mom of six, and founder of Defiance Academy. New episodes every other week.

Holding onto limiting ideas and beliefs while trying to break with social norms and standards can be challenging. It's important for us to question and interrogate why we have these beliefs and examine how they limit us from expanding our horizons. Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

In the pursuit of careers, especially in the STEM fields, one of the biggest gaps in professional development is the lack of leadership training during the early parts of the journey. While these skills are important in helping you to advance in your career, they're also relevant in helping you overcome obstacles, negotiate changes both at work and in your personal life, and prioritize your goals. In this episode, we discuss this gap and the ways in which Defiance Academy is hoping to bridge it for the next generation. Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Deqa is a premed student passionate about pursuing surgery. She's a first-generation student who lost her father at a young age and was was raised by a single mother. As a Black Muslim woman, she found it difficult to identify with the mentors she was presented with at networking events. Now as an alumna of the Taking UP Space Course, Deqa's mindset is transformed. Listen as she shares her journey thus far and how a mindset shift impacted her ability to dream big. Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

In a society that teaches you to be risk averse, can taking calculated risks in your personal and career goals be the key to overcoming obstacles? In this episode, Dr. Sondos Al Sad and I dig deep into what it means to be a Muslim woman navigating life and career while maintaining your faith and values and how calculated risks pay off. You can reach Dr. Al Sad on Twitter @SadSondos Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Our first Mentoring Moments segment! In this episode, I answer the question "How do you become a surgeon?" I outline the process from high school, college, medical school, all the way to fellowship. Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

In this episode, we discuss how we can use our biggest strengths - our families and our communities - to our advantage in building the life and career we want. Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

In this episode, Dr. Emma Wiley shares her path into medicine how the growth mindset impacted her journey the importance of maintaining faith her incredible work with the Muslim Women of Merton in advocating for Muslim women and combatting Islamophobia her work with the British Medical Association on hijab and bear-below-elbow policy for Muslim women working in the operating room (or operating theater as they call it in the UK!) To follow Dr. Wiley's work, follow her on Twitter @EmmaWiley16 Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

After you prove yourself and surpass all expectations, you're given the respect you deserve and opportunities to advance in your career, right? Sadly this expectation is inconsistent with the reality of the workplace, especially for the minoritized and underrepresented. In this week's episode, we discuss the importance of developing a strategy early in your career and how you can take control of your career trajectory. Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Welcome to Season 2! We're so excited to be back. We're picking up right where we left off after a two-year pandemic break. Our personal and professional lives have significantly changed since the start of the pandemic. So in this season, we'll be doing things a little differently. We'll introduce the new format of the podcast, our respective roles, and new exciting segments and projects we have in store for you. Happy listening! Check out Defiance Academy for more information. Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Welcome back! The ladies of The Professional Muslim Women podcast sit down and catch up on all that 2020 has dropped into their lives. As front line healthcare workers in the pandemic, their personal lives have been deeply affected and they discuss what they have been up to in the intervening months. They also discuss the protests for racial justice and the ongoing struggle for racial equality, particularly through the lens of the healthcare system. They discuss the impact Covid19 has had bringing into stark relief the racial disparity in health outcomes. . They give their take on the upcoming Election and discuss how voting is a powerful tool for progressive change. We are not powerless and they offer some ideas on how to use our power to improve our lives and our communities. Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Building wealth is not as hard as you think. The secrets have been out years ago. We just have to remind ourselves again and again and make a conscious effort to follow it. What comes to mind when you hear terms like the stock market, bonds, investment, and other financial jargon? It sounds intimidating and scary, right? And you feel like you'll just lose money if you invest it, so you never really bothered. But it doesn't have to be. After listening to this episode, you'll learn useful financial information to get you moving towards building wealth! Our guest is Saima Ali, a neurologist who has a deep passion for finance and teaching others the financial skills they needed to improve their financial wellbeing. She shares important resources to manage your debt and make saving money easier. Saima talks about the difference between halal and haram investments, and things you need to know about life insurance. She also speaks about what it means to live below your means and pay your future self first and how to set your mindset for financial success. Her goals are to have every woman retire as a millionaire. She created a free introduction to the stock market training, which can be accessed below. In this Episode, We Talk About: The story behind Saima's finance projects Resources to improve your financial wellbeing Managing debt wisely Building your credit score What it means to live below your means Why finance is a mindset game Instant pleasure vs. delayed gratification How to make saving money easier The FIRE movement How to ensure your assets What you need to know about life insurance Halal vs. Haram investments Where to reach Saima Ali Instagram @wealthymuslimwomen Resources: The Stock Market: mini-training Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women? Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out! Let us know what you think and what part of the podcast conversation you enjoyed the most by leaving us a review and rating here! Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Quitting your job to start your own business is probably one of the riskiest paths you'd ever take. It's full of uncertainties. What if you fail? You will surely scratch your knees along the way but once you get past the trying times, the results are going to be gratifying! Join us in this episode as Samira Ali shares her inspiring journey of entrepreneurship and how she left her secured employee position to start her own company. She shares her experience being in the field of HR and how it is like to do volunteer work for a charitable organization. We also touch the topic of self-worth and how you can stand up for yourself. Find out what compelled Samira to leave her secured work and follow the risky path of being an entrepreneur. In this Episode, We Talk About: How Samira got into the field of HR Volunteering for a charitable organization Samira's journey to entrepreneurship What the star method all about Self-worth Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women? Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out! Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Science and faith are often in conflict but our guest for today has integrated both science and faith into her own life that created the synergy to accomplish her aspirations. Join us in this episode as we discuss the rich tradition of faith and science in Islam with Oncology Hospitalist Marium Husain! She is a hematology-oncology at The Ohio State University. She actively works on community service projects and has volunteered with the WHO on nutrition-related projects. Religion is the opposite of scientific principles, but Marium will educate us about the impact of Islam and the contributions of Muslim scientists to medicine and science in general. Marium also talks about the importance of finding your talents and pursuing a career that you love to enjoy life and fulfill your purpose! In this Episode, We Talk About: What led Marium to the field of hematology-oncology Marium's experience working in international medicine and abroad Sustainability, science, and faith The role of Islam in relationship to Medicine and Science Finding your talents and pursuing a career that you love Where to reach Marium Husain Facebook Resources: IMANA Science Jummah Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women? Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out! Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

Know that you will fail. Know that you will scrape your knees but you will be okay and you'll be so much stronger. ⁠— Deqa Gelle To get to where you need to be, you must take the initiative and take action to get there. You won't learn how to run unless you learn how to walk. In this episode, we explore Deqa's journey in finding her path and how she started One Stone HR. Deqa is an experienced Recruitment Manager with 10 years of experience in the recruitment industry. She helped build successful and harmonious teams for corporate organizations and she currently helps individuals and corporations in cultivating their brand. She talks about how taking action - big or small helps her show up every day for herself and others. Find out how Deqa overcame her adversaries and what motivates her to push through and take continuous action. In this Episode, We Talk About: Deqa's journey to HR Recruitment What drives Deqa to keep pushing on Making the leap and getting over self-doubt The stigma around divorce Action, action, action Where to reach Deqa Gelle Instagram Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women? Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out! Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

"Make your mark and don't be afraid." -Dr. Samira Hassan Dr. Hassan, General Practitioner, Family Medicine Specialist and vice president of the British Somali Medical Association shares with us her unconventional path to medicine. On this episode, we explore Dr. Hassan's journey of finding her self through the culture shock of being transplanted in the Somali community as a teenager, her meandering path to solidifying her interest in medicine including turning down an offer of admission to medical school, and dealing with the agony of rejection after re-application and how she learned the importance of seeking feedback in the face of it. She also shares her passion for community outreach in addressing health awareness and literacy including mental health awareness as well as creating career fairs for the youth. She has certainly made a mark and has influenced Somali youth globally with the spread of her Careers Fair platform on a global scale. In this Episode, We Talk About: Dr. Samira's journey to medicine The value of listening to your inner voice The value of finding yourself and what your true passion really is Community outreach Hidden blessings Where to reach Dr. Samira Hassan LinkedIn Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women? Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out! Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room

It's never easy being a mom and having a full-time job. Balancing work and home is always a very challenging feat but is it really impossible to become successful at both? Recently, the Harvard Business Review published an article that talks about women, being an ideal worker or a perfect mom. The article was demeaning as it deems that women have to choose between motherhood and career if they want to excel and meet society's high standards. Join us in this episode as we break that narrative that society continues to throw at us. We will also tackle the issue of pregnancy and breastfeeding in the workplace as well as debate on why the article written by Harvard is wrong in many ways. In this Episode, We Talk About: Pregnancy and breastfeeding in the workplace Why there is nobody who's an ideal worker and a perfect parent Filtering out people who aren't good candidates for you to work for or work with How to advocate for yourself Want to hear more stories from amazing Muslim Women? Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast platform. Get notified so you never miss out! Join The Strategy Room inside Defiance Academy → The Strategy Room