Dr. Tiffany Moon on Success, Criticism, and Her Journey to Joy

Have had people ask me for, like, a propofol nap, and I'm like, we call that the Michael Jackson special, and we are not doing that today.

Hi, everybody, and welcome to the podcast. This is Generations md. My name is Stephanie, and I'm joined here by my colleague Dr. Sarah Davis, who's also my mother. And today we have a very special guest, Dr. Tiffany Moon. Dr. Moon is a board certified anesthesiologist, entrepreneur, and mother and cast of Bravo's Real Housewives of Dallas. She's currently an associate professor of anesthesiology at UT Southwestern. She's the CEO of three companies, and she has a new book coming out this spring called Joy Prescriptions. Please welcome to the show Dr. Tiffany Moon.

Hi, guys.

So thanks so much for being here. We're so excited to talk to you about all the things you have going on in your life. But I kind of want to back up a little bit and talk about how you got into medicine and kind of how you got to use anesthesiology.

Well, ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a doctor, right? So while the other girls were like playing house, I was playing doctor and making my stuffed animals be sick and stuff so that I could make them feel better. So I actually was such a big nerd that I ended up going to an early college entrance program. So I basically finished high school when I was 15 years old and went to college. So then I was 19 when I graduated from Cornell and I went straight into medical school at UT Southwestern. So when I graduated, I was 23. Then of course straight into residency at UCSF. And our chair of the anesthesia department offered me a job. So I had one job interview, came back home to Dallas, and that's the job that I currently have. So I've had like one job post residency, which I think is sort of rare. You know, people tend to move around a lot these days. I chose anesthesiology because, one, I tend to be a little bit of a control freak. I like to be in charge of things, and there's no better profession than anesthesia to be, like, in charge of someone's life while they're being cut open. I also tend to have, like, OCD tendencies, and sometimes that doesn't serve me well in my life, but in my profession, it serves me very well because I'm very methodical, very regimented, and that's the kind of anesthesiologist that you want. Not like a willy nilly, like, oh, whatever, it'll be fine. Let's See what happens. I'm like, no, like we don't ever miss any steps. Like, that's not okay. And I strive for perfection. So when I rotated through anesthesia, I wasn't expecting a whole lot because I think some of the other specialties, like poo poo on anesthesia, quite frankly, because I think they don't understand a lot of what's going on back there. Sometimes it looks like I'm not doing a whole lot, and that's truthful. But when something does happen, you really want someone who's quickly able to get on their feed and, you know, kind of diagnose and treat at the same time. The other backups that I had been toying with when I was a medical student were derm, because I like skin care and stuff. And if you watch me on social media, I have a lot of like, beauty skincare stuff. But what I quickly realized when I did my derm rotation is that I like good skin and pretty skin. I don't like diseased skin. So I was like, oh no. Like, I only want to do aesthetics. And they're like, oh, no. Like, that's not, you know, like rashes and blistering diseases. Anything that was contagious, I was like, I'm out of here. And then the. The other one was like surgery, maybe general surgery or GI or endocrine or something like that. But ultimately I chose anesthesia because it's like a little bit of medicine, a bit of surgery, a little bit of psychiatry. Some days it was just a really great match for my personality.

Yeah, great.

That's awesome. That makes sense. I. I kind of want to back up to just going through school so fast. Like, what made you do that? And I know you talk about in. We can get into a little talking more about your book, but you touched on kind of striving for perfection and this aspect of things. Was there something that was pushing you to get to the next step?

Was it your mom?

It was my dad, yeah. In, in Asian cultures they talk about having a tiger mom. My mom was fine. She was like an average tiger mom. But my dad was extreme tiger dad level. He wanted me like at least two grades ahead of whatever grade I was actually in. Which I guess he manifested to become true because I graduated high school basically when I was 15 years old. So I was two grades ahead. Essentially. I was born in China and I came to the United States when I was about five and a half. In the midd of the school year, my parents had already immigrated to America, but I was still in China with my grandparents. And then one day, my grandparents were like, you're going to go join your parents in America. And I was like, oh, I don't really want to do that. Like, I like it here, you know? So I basically got ripped out of my grandma's arms at the airport and put on a plane by myself with a lovely flight attendant who gave me lots of snacks. And then I landed in New York City, and my parents were there. This was back in the olden days when you could still go up to the gate to, like, receive passengers. Now you can't. But I met my parents again. They were completely foreign strangers to me because I hadn't seen them in almost two years. And it's not like we FaceTimed or anything. You know, back in 1989, life in America was hard. You know, they were struggling, trying to make ends meet. I didn't know any English. I got bullied at school. Just all the terrible things that happened. And I really found solace in books. Books were my only friends. I wasn't allowed to, like, have playdates after school or do any extracurricular. So basically, I rode the bus to school, took the bus home after school, and then would do my homework and read. We didn't even own a television set. So I just became a big nerd. And I think over time, I just really, like, love to learn and love to read, and that basically accelerated my path in school. So sometimes people are like, why did you rush through school? And I'm like, I don't know. For me, it didn't feel like rushing because I didn't really know any other choice. Like, my dad was like, no, you have to graduate early. You have to take all these advanced tests. You have to take the SAT when you're, like, 13 years old or something crazy like that. So I. I really didn't know any better.

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure that might have been, like, exacerbated, too, going into medicine. We kind of talk about this a lot in the podcast, how it's always like, getting to the next step, being into med school, getting into residency, going on to the next thing. Do you feel like your perspective on that has change after finishing your medical training?

Yeah, it's changed a lot. I mean, forever until I was, like, 30, it was basically like, the cart and then the carrot in front of the horse that's dangling, and you just keep chasing it, right? Because it was like, go to college early, Graduate from Cornell, graduate from UT Southwestern, graduate from UCSF residency. So I was 28 years old when I became an attending. Some of my residents were like older than me. It was really weird. And then I got married, got pregnant and had twins by the age of 30. So it was like, it was a lot. So then one day in my mid-30s, you know, I'm sort of working, taking call, doing liver transplants at night. I have twin toddlers at home. Like, left is right and right is left. I don't know what day of the week it is because when you take overnight call, it's like you like missed a day. I'm like, is it Thursday already? Like, how, where did Wednesday go? Like, oh yeah, Wednesday. I was up all night and then I came home and slept and so I like missed a day, you know. And your circadian rhythm is just all sorts of jacked. And one day I just decided, like, I don't want my life to be like this anymore. Like, I didn't see my kids ever in the morning because I had to be in the operating room at 6:45 setting up. And my kids usually woke up around like 6 7, 7 30. So in the morning my husband would always be the one to go into their rooms and like wake them up and have breakfast with them. And I'm just like, I don't know, I don't want to do this anymore. And I would always miss like the Halloween party at school or the Valentine's Day party, just all the things. Because when you're in the or, like you're in the or, like it's, you're, you cannot be anywhere else when you have a patient on the table. And I just decided that I didn't want to do that anymore. So that's when I decided to take a little bit of a step back from medicine so that I could have time and bandwidth in my life for other things like my book and TV and social media. When, when I, when I backed down from medicine, like one day a week, it was at first I didn't think that I would eventually fill my plate so full that I now have like three full time jobs. I was supposed to be like backing down so that I could like rest and spend more time with my family. But instead I just added like three more jobs.

Well, talk about that transition a little bit. Transitioning into more of like an entrepreneurial role. How did you get involved with that? When did that kind of start? I think we've touched on this on the podcast before of in medicine. It sometimes it can look so linear of, okay, you do this, you do this. And then, you know, now you have this job. But I kind of want to talk about pivoting a little bit because, you know, it doesn't have to look the same for everybody.

Yeah. I didn't realize it until my friend said something to me. I think I was complaining about not being able to go on spring break with my kids because there's one week of spring break where everyone in Dallas is off that week, but not everyone at the hospital can be off that week. Somebody has to stay back and take care of the patients. So we have this like vacation lottery system. And I didn't get spring break, so I told my husband. I was like, I guess we can't go on a trip this year because I have to work that week. And I was complaining about it to my friend and she said, you know, as long as you work for someone else, all you have is a job. And you have no flexibility and no creativity and no leniency to do things the way you want unless you, you know, own your own practice and have a business or something. And I said, well, I can't own my own practice because I'm an anesthesiologist. Like, I'm a hospital based profession. Nobody ever comes to the hospital like, wanting an anesthetic. Although I have had people ask me for like a propofol nap. And I'm like, we call that the Michael Jackson special and we are not doing that today. So I decided that if I wanted to have a little bit of flexibility and creativity, that the only way I was going to be able to achieve that is if I did a business outside of medicine. And I wanted to do something outside of medicine. Because when you're doing like medicine, medicine, medicine all day, like, it's a little bit, I don't know, not boring, but it's just redundant. So the first business I ever started was with my husband because he's an entrepreneur and has a business background. So we opened up a winery together in Napa. And then I started my own company by myself, Aromaesthesia, which is a candle company. In 2020. I thought it would be really clever if I made candles that were named after anesthesia drugs. So there's like propofol candle, Ketamine candle. You know, I. I didn't think about it very hard back then because in 2022, when I decided to like take out some advertising to try to acquire new customers, all my ads got taken down because the website thought I was trying to like sell Propofol, Xanax. Facebook was like, you cannot Sell drugs. And I'm like, it's just a candle. I was like, do you think if this had ketamine in it, it would be so cheap? You know, things that you learn in marketing, right? Like maybe don't name your products after drugs. Just this year I created a new line of candles that we're calling our luxury collection or luxe collection. And they're not named after drugs. And my third business that I started was also earlier this year, which is basically a in person women's empowerment conference that just passed. Literally two weeks ago. We had our inaugural one. We had almost 200 women in the room. It was fabulous. I'm still recovering a little bit. Everyone's asking me to do another one for next year. So I'm kind of looking at dates and trying to figure all that out.

Yeah, I, I saw some stuff on your social media about that and I, it, it looked, it just looked amazing. But yeah, can you tell us a little bit more about that conference and, and who it was really directed for and, and, and what you guys did?

Yeah, so I've been practicing medicine, gosh, for 12 years now, right. So I've been assist of resident research. I have over 50 peer reviewed book chapters and manuscripts out there. And when I sit down and think about the problems that I'm facing, none of them are about patient care. Like, oh, how do I anesthetize this elderly woman with a hip fracture who has critical aortic stenosis? No, I can handle that. How do I take care of this guy who came to Parkland and got shot or stabbed and now we're doing massive transfusion protocol? I got that. The problems that I was having was what I say, like those soft skills, leadership, negotiation. As my businesses grew, how do I hire the right people and motivate them to see the vision that I have for my company and carry out the tasks that I need them to. How to have difficult conversations with people, how to learn about marketing and like inventory and supply chain management. It was like mini business school almost. And I was reading so many books. I mean, you see all these books behind me, but I love to read nonfiction. So like, if it's fiction, like I won't bother. But if it's like a memoir, like a business book or a memoir that's also a business book, I'm like all over those. And I was thinking about attending a conference because my work gives me money literally to attend a conference every year. And I was like, I don't want to attend that. I don't Want to attend that. And I was talking about it with my husband and he said, why don't you just create your own conference that's geared toward female professionals? But you talk about these soft skills that you just described and not talk about, like, you know, how to do medicine or how to open an llc. Because that kind of stuff you can, like learn on the Internet, read a book. It's not that hard. And I, I was like, maybe, maybe I will. So that was in February of this year. And slowly but surely, you know, I made a website, we put together some packages, I found a date that the hotel was open. And people are like, how did you put together this whole conference for like almost 200 people? And I'm like, it's the same way you do anything else in life. You have a plan, you have a mission, and then you just start chipping away at it, like, little by little.

Yeah, it's kind of like playing in a party. It's just a big party.

It was, it was a really big party. It was a three day party. It was really fun. Yeah. And we had people, I mean, from all over the US but we had international people. Dubai, the Philippines, Scotland, England. Like, we had women flying in from all over the place.

And so it was for women. So women physician, but also just other female entrepreneurs.

Yeah, I would just say, like professional working women. Yeah, I would say maybe half of them were medical. And not even all doctors, but like nps, rns, pas, and then lots of lawyers, people who worked for private equity, venture capitalists, just, you know, professional working women. Because at the end of the day, you know, when I get together with my girlfriends, we all have the same issues, no matter what field we work in.

Yeah.

No, I love that. And I love that the idea of empowering women to just get out there and do it. I think especially in medicine and even talking to some of my friends. And I think that you've experienced this a little bit when you started your own practice. Just this idea of, oh, wait, I don't, you know, I just went to med school. I don't know how to run a business. I don't know how to do this. It's like, well, get out there and read about it and figure it out. And you are capable of doing this thing that you want to do.

Yeah. And sometimes there's things that are just trial and error, you know? You know, you don't have all the answers, but you just start doing it and then. And then things come along long. And so. Yeah, I love that also Your conference just looked so fun. Like there was like, fashion and.

Yes. It's not. It's not your basic boring conference. Yeah, because I've been to a lot of those.

Yeah.

Well, it sounds like you have a lot going on.

You.

You are full, packed, a big schedule. How. How do you do it? How do you balance everything?

You know, I think you have to prioritize the things that are important to you. I time block, you know, when it's time for meetings, like everything else is off the plate. I delegate a lot. I have a great assistant that helps me with stuff. I automate as much as I can. And then there's a lot of saying no. You know, like, you see the things that I'm doing, but actually what you don't see is the nine things that I said no to because there's just too many things. I mean, I get asked for stuff all the time and I feel bad, but I cannot possibly do that. And so the things that I do do, I do with like all my heart. And I give my all to the things that I do choose to participate in. But a lot of the time I have to tell people no.

Well, thanks for saying yes to us. Yeah, we feel good.

Yeah.

I do want to talk about Real Housewives for a second. How did you. How did you say yes to that?

I said no for two years before I said yes. It's like, it's like the guy that keeps asking you out and you're like, fine, fine, I'll go on a date with you. Like, I gotta eat dinner anyway, you know, it was that my friend was on it. You know, I had been on the show, like in the background, no speaking or anything. They just kept wanting to have an interview. So one day I was like, fine, I will sit down and have an interview with you. But just so you know, like, I have no interest in. In doing this. And I don't know what happened. We kept going and then they were like, we want you to be the newest housewife. And I was like, okay. And then we started filming and it was terrible. I was like, this is not at all what I thought. It was probably my bad because I didn't really know what I was signing on to. I mean, I'm not stupid. So I know that the show is about like middle aged women who have drama and stuff, but I thought it was kind of like fake. I thought that, like people gave them lines and then they fought and then when the camera shut down, they like hugged it all out or whatever. I didn't realize that they were, like, actually vicious and came for you and your job and your family and all that stuff. So my bad. I asked to quit. I asked to be demoted to a friend of the producers, were like, no, you signed a contract. You have to finish the season. So I finished the season, I did what I said I would do. And then I was like, I have no interest in doing that ever again.

How did you balance that with just being a physician and being a doctor? I feel like, I don't know, I'm kind of struggling with this, too. Same thing with social media is I'm trying to be able to, you know, like, build a business and have a social media presence and do that sort of thing, but still also maintain the professionality of the profession that we're in, medicine. How did you just kind of handle all of that?

I mean, I decided for myself that, like, I'm going to be who I'm going to be. I know that I'm an excellent anesthesiologist. I mean, I don't need to show you my cv. I don't need to show you this D magazine, best doctor, doctors, things like, I know that I do great anesthesia. The surgeons that I work with know that I do great anesthesia. And what I choose to do when I'm not in the hospital really has no bearing on my skills as an anesthesiologist. Unless, of course, you know, I'm doing something, like, illegal or terrible. But I would never do those things. So if I go out to a party with my friends on a Saturday night and have a couple glasses of wine and dance on a table, is that terrible? I mean, some people say yes, and some people say no. It's her life. Like, let her live a little. You know, you can't keep holding physicians and teachers and whoever else to this different standard that is impossible to meet. So unless you're doing something like gravely, you know, terrible or unethical, like let people live and know that, you know, that has no bearing on their abilities as a profession. And some might even argue makes them a better doctor because it humanizes them. And then I'd rather have a doctor who has a life life and is happy and has friends and go out than some miserable person. You know, I know a couple of people who seem professional. They just don't put their lives out there. And trust me, I wouldn't want some of those people being my doctor. So there's a way that the public perceives it. And I do understand, and I think there is A fine line, and you have to tread carefully, but I think it shouldn't stop you from having hobbies or a business or putting yourself out there.

Yeah, I, like, really, really appreciate you saying that because it's in med school right now. It's hard. They're telling us all these things, of the things that we can do, the things that we can post, all of this stuff. Maintain professional. Maintain professional.

I'm like, whoa.

I'm. This is my job. I. I hope that this is gonna be my job. You know, it's. It's. But again, you know, obviously not doing anything illegal or anything like that, but. Right.

I feel like I have a patient on the table, and I'm, like, dancing. Like, common sense people. You know what I mean? But, like, okay, a lot of times in academic medicine, you know, things are delayed or the surgeon's not even in the hospital yet, so the patient's in pre op. I already put in their iv. All my drugs and equipment is pulled up or whatever. The operating room's empty because we're, like, waiting for the surgeon to come. I'll make a TikTok. It might be a dancing one. I might pull the circulator because we're all just sitting there waiting anyway, you know, and is that wrong? You know, they're like, oh, you should never make a tick tock while you're in the hospital. I'm like, why not? I'm, like, literally sitting here doing nothing. So I could make an educational video. I could make a funny video. I could go, you know, take a lunch break or walk around a little bit. But, like, why can't I make a TikTok? I'm not talking about patients. There's no HIPAA violation. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. I just think we need to reevaluate, like, those kinds of arbitrary rules that people have.

Yeah, I totally agree.

Yeah. The arbitrary thing that I just. This gets to me a lot. So.

Yeah.

I've been called into my supervisor's office to talk about my presence on social media, and I'm like. And, like, what's the problem? He's like, oh, some of your colleagues are concerned with your prep. Oh, what. What is their concern then? Does it affect patient care? Why are they even watching if it bothers them so much?

Scroll on.

But they're watching. They're watching.

Yeah, yeah. Stephanie's done tiktoks. You know, just satire, stuff about being a med student or, you know, other types of toxic students and things. And, you know, not everybody. Not everybody loves that. And she's like, you know, it's funny. And there's zillions of people like that. And if people think that that tick tock applies to them, well, maybe they should take a harder look at themselves, not. Not the tick tock.

Right, Right.

So, yeah, but I appreciate that. And. Or just, just the conversation in general. I think also in regards to the general public, I think, yeah, people might not understand all the logistics that goes into being in the OR and having time to make a TikTok and all of that. So I can see how that can be a difficult thing to balance, especially when you're in. When you're a part of something. Like, bravo. When it's everybody, it's not just a subset of people in medicine. So I can see how that can be difficult to navigate, though.

Well, and that kind of leads me to. I saw you had a recent Instagram post where somebody had emailed you not.

Liking an outfit that you had worn. I. Yeah, I wish I was making this up, but I'm really not.

Yeah. Will you just tell that story briefly to our listeners?

Yes. So I belong to a charity in Dallas that's a very prominent one. I've been on their board of directors since 2020. And this year I co chaired one of our largest fundraisers, which raised over $1.3 million for communities in our neighborhood that are affected by domestic violence. So we had a party at a fashion place at 5pm and I wore a dress that I thought was fashionable and fun. It wasn't a 10am board meeting. You know what I mean? There was like champagne being served and it was at a shopping. It was a shopping event. Several weeks later, like, several weeks later, I get an email from another board member of this organization, basically telling me that she and others thought that my outfit for that event was inappropriate. And here. Well, let's just. Let's just read the email because there's like sometimes this, like, tone of like, it's patronizing or it's condescending. There's just like one word in there that kind of like flips it. Because if it had been worded differently, I think I might have been a little bit more receptive. But just something about the way it was worded, like, irked me. It's a very short email. It won't take me but 60 seconds to read if I could actually find it. Okay.

And you posted the dress on Instagram too, so people can go look.

Yeah. Because if you're going to criticize it, then. So if you swipe right. Then it's the dress in question. And all the comments were like, wait, this is the dress we're arguing about? Like, they read the email and then I was like, swipe right to see the dress. And then they're like, wait, I expected to see like, like your butt hanging out. And they're like, this is the dress. So, yeah, okay. Hi, Tiffany. I hope your symposium went well. Thank you. It did. And admirer, I feel a responsibility for passing along a suggestion. There were a few comments after the event about dressing appropriately and representing the organization. I know it's so fun to dress up, but we do have several fairly conservative donors and supporters. Perhaps more important, we all have to remember the serious issue that our organization addresses. I know that we all want to see the most positive and appropriate images on social media, so perhaps save your cute, low cut dresses for another event. I am so sorry to pass along these thoughts that I have heard, but I want to help you. And I was just like, my mouth, I was like, I'm speechless. And for anyone who knows me, I'm not usually short on words. So for me to be rendered speechless, I was like, wow, Like, I need a minute to think about how to respond to this because I got to see this person or our next meeting. It's not like this is like some rando on the Internet because, you know, I get tons of like, hate from like, randos on the Internet with four followers and no profile picture. But I'm like, I don't know who you are. This is like an esteemed board member of an organization that I've been involved with. It's not a rando. And so I take this to heart. And so the first thing I thought was like, oh my God, what was I wearing that day? This was like eight weeks ago. Like, I don't even know what I had for dinner last night. So then of course I go on my photos because I, you know, have everything. And I, I saw the dress and I'm like, this is what she's so upset about. And then I, I was like, how do I respond? And I was like, you know what, I'll just ask the Internet for help. I have826, 000 followers. Surely one of them can help me formulate a thoughtful and articulate reply to this email. So I posted it and redacted some parts of it and then said, swipe right to see the dress. And then the Internet did what the Internet does, and they came up. People are like, oh, I have a response. It only has two words. I was like, but other people actually wrote like a whole email that was like, oh, we should focus on the missions of our organization. And you know, for an organization that deals with domestic violence, this has an undertone of like victim shaming, victim blaming, that kind of thing. Like, oh, what was she wearing? You know, that kind of thing. And I was like, oh, that's really, like, like I didn't even pick up on that. But wow. So, yeah, I guess the point here is that no matter, I guess what you're doing or what good you're doing, there's always going to be somebody who has something negative to say about it. You can't let those people get to you. We have a holiday event coming up next month. My friend suggested that I wear a short mini dress with lots of cleavage and thigh high boots. So I'll take that into consideration when I'm choosing what to wear. I don't even know why we're having a discussion about what I'm wearing, because I was there to raise money to help our community and.

Yeah, and just to be clear, this is something you volunteered to do. You know, raised over a million dollars, did all of this stuff and looked absolutely gorgeous. I mean, also, you are gorgeous and glamorous and you looked that way in that photo. And you know, you just kind of feel like, look, I'm Tiffany freaking Moon. I'm gonna wear whatever I want.

I just, I didn't even think it was a provocative outfit. You know, it didn't even cross my mind. And, and a lot of people in the comments were like, and this is exactly what jealousy looks like. And I'm like, what an ugly disease you know, that jealousy is. Because I just hosted a summit to empower women and lift each other up. And then you got things like this happening in the background. And I love this like, like patronizing, like, save your low cut dresses for another event. And, and I'm just trying to help you. And as a friend and admirer, like, it's just. No, you're not a friend or admirer. Like, just, just stop. Right? Like, it's just, it's, it's so full of bs and the condescension is just so I, again, I didn't respond because I thought in this circumstance that no response would be my response because you don't have to engage in every battle that you're invited to.

Yeah.

And I simply don't have the time.

Totally agree. I think that's, I think that's very wise. And you know, and I, And I do. I hate to. I mean, now I kind of even regret bringing it up because it's such like a. There's so much positive in the world, and then you get, you get this little slice of negative. Although sometimes it's good to see that and then realize, like, think that is just. That's the exception, not most.

No, I think it's good that you brought it up because people see and they see the Instagram feed, which again, is like your greatest hits, you know, so I don't post when I look disheveled and, you know, I haven't washed my hair in three days and my kids are acting crazy. You know, you post when you're looking cute and you just got a promotion and you're at a party and all this stuff. So I think it's good to. For your listeners to know that, you know, there is negativity that comes at you and how you choose to deal with it sort of defines how you see things. You know, I could have chosen to engage with her or, I don't know, cover myself up or, you know, dim my light and dress conservatively and boring, but quite frankly, it's not who I am. And I'm wearing a hot pink sweater right now. You know, like, anybody who knows me and anybody who, who has me as part of their organization knows what they're getting. I never falsely advertise myself or my services. Like, if, if you want me, then this is what you're getting, and you either take it all or don't take any of it. But I'm not going to water myself down so that I'm more palatable to you, especially when I didn't do anything wrong.

Yeah, yeah.

No, I, I appreciate you bringing that up and I, I appreciate just the whole conversation. Yeah. Because I think just, just, you know, as somebody like me, a young woman looking up to somebody like you and you, mom, just older physicians in general, you think that, like, they're doing everything right and everybody is happy with them and their life looks perfect, but just seeing, like, okay, you can be. Can be doing everything right and still get backlash from people, and that shouldn't make you question yourself and your own judgment. So, yeah, I, I appreciate you just posting that and talking about it. I think it's a good conversation and.

I think all success comes with some backlash. You know, I think to experience that if your social media following continues to grow and then you're going to be doing your rotations or in residency and there's going to be some backlash for it.

Yep. If you are trailblazing in any kind of way, you're going to have some haters. In fact, my friend says she was like, honey, if you don't have any haters, work harder.

That's awesome.

That's good.

Yeah.

Well, we won't take up too much more of your time. I know you are such a busy lady, but I did just want to touch on your upcoming coming book a little bit if you want to talk about that.

I do, I do. So my book is called Joy Prescriptions. It is officially released on May 6, but we have pre orders up now. And I do need people to pre order it because that really helps with getting it on some of the bestseller lists and such. But the book is basically my passion project of taking all the different chapters of my life and the lessons that I learned in each of those chapters. And then at the end of each chapter, I offer the reader a joy prescription to infuse their life with more connection, gratitude, laughter and joy and let go of some of that perfectionistic tendency that I said is good in the operating room but not so good in life, though. It's really just a lot of the advice that I want to give people. A lot of the stories that I've told before, before on podcasts or on Real Housewives, there's little snippets, but my hope is that the reader reads it and is able to take a lot of these joy prescriptions back into their own life.

That's awesome.

That's perfect. I love that. And I.

Fun to read.

Yeah, fun to read. And I think it especially for kind of people in my shoes, maybe in med school.

Yeah, I think it's perfect. It's not like too heavy. You know, you can take a break from studying and like read a chapter or something and, and I think you'll, you'll. A lot of people will see themselves in it because we're all sort of that like, overachiever type A must get into medical school. Like must get into a good residency, that kind of stuff. So I think it'll be relatable for a lot of people.

Yeah, that's great. Is the best way to pre order it. I mean, I guess you could do it online. Should you also try it like at.

A local bookstore or that it's not out yet. So right now you just have to pre order it. So if you'll get go to joyprescriptions.com there's a button that says pre order now. And then you can get it from an indie Bookseller or Target or Amazon or Barnes and Noble. So it doesn't matter which of the retailers, as long as you get it through one of those. Got it, Got it.

Okay, perfect. Good.

Well, I'm excited to read it. Just I. As we're kind of wrapping up here, I like to ask everybody this just. And we talk about a lot of advice and you talk about a lot of advice in your book. But I always ask our guests, as somebody who's a first year medical student, we have a lot of my peers and other med students and people, pre meds, people starting this path. What's some short advice that you would give people who are just starting out on this long journey?

Oh, my gosh. Surround yourself with good people. You do not need to have hundred friends. If you have five, even good friends that you can count on, hold those people tight. My two best friends that I have right now who were at the summit, Lisa and Michelle, they're also in my book. We met in cadaver lab. So the joke is that we met over a dead body. They are my two best friends. They're both pediatricians. I refused to do pediatrics because I scared of little people.

And.

They are. I would not have gotten through medical school without them. They were there for when there were breakups. There were there for when there was failed quizzes and just all the things of life in between. But surround yourself with good people. And the corollary to that is when you get an ick from someone like toxic people that drain your energy, you need to get those people out of your life. Because for so long, I let myself hang out with toxic people who drain my energy. And then a few years later, I was like, why did I do that? You know, housewives, anyway, you know, learn to set boundaries around your time and your sanity and your bandwidth and the very little free time that we do have. Spend it with good people who uplift you.

I love that. I think that's so important.

Yeah.

And where can people find you? All your socials, all your websites and everything.

Oh my gosh, there's so many things now. So aromaesthesia. The candles is aromaesthesia.com lead her summit, which we're going to start planning for 2025 is leadhersummit.com the book is joyprescriptions.com and then I'm@tiffanymoonmd.com or across all the social media platforms at tiffanymoonmdash.

And you guys know where to find us @Generations MD on Instagram, Generations MD on Tik Tok and If you have any questions, you can email us ataskgenerations MD gmail.com and we will talk to you next week. Bye guys.

Bye guys.