Meet Kathleen Muldoon of Kathleen Muldoon Coaching

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Muldoon.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my career as an anatomy professor at an Ivy League medical school, teaching embryology: the beautifully complex science of how humans come to be. I loved the work—and I was good at it! In all the traditional ways of winning awards and gaining recognition—but my understanding of medicine and humanity shifted profoundly when I became the parent of a critically ill newborn. I spent six weeks in the NICU, often alone in the quiet hours of the night, pacing between cribettes, watching the monitors, interpreting signs with the vocabulary of my medical training. But it wasn’t until my 3-year-old daughter visited for the first time, looked at her brother and said, “Look, Mommy! He has a head! Isn’t he perfect?” that something inside me changed. Through my training, I had forgotten: these weren’t cases or conditions. They were people. And that realization cracked something open in me.

Since then, I’ve been on a path of realignment—not balance, because balance implies stillness. And life in healthcare isn’t still. It’s motion. It’s complexity. It’s contradiction.

Now, I’m a certified coach, working with physicians, residents, and healthcare professionals and students, many of whom are exhausted, stretched thin, and wondering how they lost themselves in the process of caring for others. I often work with academic moms and caregivers who are doing it all and still wondering if they’re enough. I also teach at Midwestern University – Glendale, where I created courses like Humanity in Medicine, Medical Improv, and Narrative Medicine. It’s so important to incorporate these lessons early in training. Burnout is real. So is grief. So is healing.

I coach providers who are looking for space—to breathe, to reflect, to reconnect with why they chose this path in the first place. I believe you can be a strong clinician and still honor your own humanity. You can lead with clarity—even in the chaos. You can hold your role with purpose without losing yourself in the process.
If you’re someone in medicine who feels like you’re falling short or barely holding it together,

I want you to know: I see you. You’re not alone. Let’s stay in the room. Let’s ask better questions. Let’s begin.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not a smooth road, but a meaningful one.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is within medical education itself. There’s often pushback when you focus on what some still see as “softer skills” – communication, presence, narrative, humanity – especially in an environment that’s already overwhelmed with demands for more basic science, clinical training, and research output. Time and resources are tight, and it can be hard to make space for what doesn’t always come with a multiple-choice question or an evidence-based protocol. But I believe that being human in medicine is a core competency, and I’ve learned to stand firm in that belief, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Outside of work, living and leading authentically brings its own challenges. My family and I are navigating the same shifting, uncertain world as everyone else. We talk openly, even when the conversations are hard—we practice what I call “courageous conversation” as a family value. That kind of vulnerability isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it. One of the ways we stay connected is through play. We actually use improvisational theatre games at home, which help us build communication, empathy, and joy together. We have mandatory days of fun. We craft. We color. We love.

So no, it hasn’t always been smooth. But it has been rich, real, and deeply aligned with what I care most about: bringing more humanity into every space I can, starting with my own.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work lives at the intersection of healing, leadership, and humanity in healthcare.

I coach and support people across the medical field—students, trainees, professionals, faculty, and organizations – who are navigating the intense demands of caregiving, clinical training, and leadership, often while carrying the invisible load of their own personal challenges. My mission is simple but essential: to create space for healing the healers.

I specialize in working with individuals and organizations who are looking to realign – not just “balance” – their professional and personal lives. That includes trainees in transition, mid-career professionals at pivot points, women balancing caregiving and clinical work, and health-related nonprofits or institutions looking to offer internal coaching and sustainable support to their teams. Whether someone is facing burnout, reevaluating their career, or trying to find themselves again in the chaos of caregiving and clinical demands, I help them breathe, reflect, and reconnect with their purpose.

What sets me apart is the combination of lived experience, academic depth, and community-building. I bring 20 years of leadership in higher education, a national reputation as an award-winning educator, and a deeply personal understanding of caregiving, disability, and what it means to show up as a whole person in a system that often asks us to fragment ourselves. I’ve developed and led innovative curricula in areas like narrative medicine, medical improv, and courageous conversations – creating psychologically safe spaces where vulnerability, learning, and leadership can co-exist.

Brand-wise, I’m most proud of the authenticity behind what I offer. This isn’t just a business – it’s a calling. I help people build wellness from the inside out, so they can become the kind of providers and professionals they aspire to be—and that our communities so desperately need.

Services I offer include:
– 1:1 coaching and mentoring for healthcare professionals and caregivers
– Group-facilitated courageous conversations focused on well-being, identity, and leadership
– Custom curriculum and resource development for organizations (including internal coaching, workshops, and retreats)
– Speaking, publishing, and editing work focused on healing, inclusion, and whole-person care

At the heart of it all, I believe that healing care begins with healed caregivers. I help individuals and systems alike move from burnout to alignment—so we can all show up more fully, more humanely, and more sustainably in the work we do.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something that surprises people is how much play is woven into my life and work. While I’m known for doing heavy advocacy work and leading serious conversations about burnout, equity, disability, and healing in healthcare, I also bring a strong foundation in improvisational theater and creative communication into nearly everything I do.

At home, my family and I regularly play improv games (yes, even around the dinner table!). It’s one of the ways we stay connected, practice courageous communication, and create space for joy even in the midst of hard things. It’s also how I stay grounded. That spirit of curiosity, spontaneity, and human connection is a huge part of what I bring into coaching, workshops, and teaching. It’s not performative – it’s permission-giving. It helps people take a breath, get out of survival mode, and reconnect with themselves and each other.

So while my work sits at the intersection of healing, advocacy, and education, what people might not see right away is that it’s also rooted in creativity, levity, and play. That’s often the unexpected spark that makes the deeper work possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/kathleenmuldooncoaching
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmuldooncoaching
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565653026644
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/105028050/admin/dashboard/

Image Credits
Image credit: Kathleen Muldoon