Book Vaughn

Hi, I'm Vaughn

A little of my story

Vaughn Kohler sitting on a pasture gate in Kansas

I'm not writing
from a mountaintop.

I've wrestled with distraction, overwhelm, fear, and uncertainty, and I know what it's like to feel pulled in too many directions.

My Whole Story

Most clinicians I meet are good at their work and quietly running on empty. I know that feeling.

Whether it's my coaching, speaking, courses, or podcast, it all flows from one conviction: when the clinician grows, everyone they serve has a greater opportunity to flourish.

Some are physicians. Some are nurse practitioners, PAs, or nurses. Some own a practice and lie awake wondering whether it will survive the next staffing crisis. Many are carrying all of it at once.

What they often have in common is a kind of ordinary exhaustion. They're competent in the exam room but unsure of themselves in the office. Successful on paper, they still wonder whether they're building the life they actually want.

Why me

Vaughn Kohler

Healthcare leadership coach, speaker, and author.

I've spent more than a thousand hours coaching physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and the owners of medical clinics and med spas through burnout, imposter syndrome, hard decisions, and the strain of building a practice.

I learned business from the inside as a co-host of The MFCEO Project, and today I serve as a coach inside Spinoso Medical Empires, a mastermind for medical and aesthetic entrepreneurs. I've spoken to healthcare audiences from the stages of BTL, Elite NP, and AICC.

I hold degrees in speech communication, English and creative writing, and theology, and I've taught writing, public speaking, and leadership at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The compliment I hear most is, "I feel like I can tell you anything." People do. I count that as the real credential.

Vaughn Kohler speaking on stage

Beyond the credentials

What Shaped Me

Vaughn Kohler on the Kansas prairie at sunset

Credentials only tell part of the story. My own life has shaped me just as much as my career.

If my experience can help you find clarity, make wiser decisions, and care for others without losing yourself, then it's been put to good use.

  • Ten years as a

    Pastor

    Before coaching, I spent a decade sitting with people through crisis, grief, and the cost of caring for others.

  • Coming into the

    Catholic Church

    Entering full communion with the Catholic Church after a decade as a Baptist pastor forced me to wrestle with questions of truth, identity, and purpose.

  • The other side of the

    Exam Table

    A cancer diagnosis put me on the other side of the exam table and reminded me that life is too fragile to spend chasing things that don't matter.

  • Everything I've learned at

    Home

    Marriage, raising four daughters and a son with special needs, failure, friendship, and faith have all been teachers in their own right.

Vaughn Kohler seated beside a statue of Socrates

What I'm really about

Formation, Not Optimization

The ancient Greeks had a word for it: paideia. It means the lifelong process of becoming the person you were created to be.

Clinicians spend years in formal training learning to diagnose, treat, and heal. Almost no one trains them to know who they are, lead a team, set boundaries, handle criticism, or face the fear that comes with responsibility for other people's lives and livelihoods. That's the gap I work in.

  1. 01Who am I?
  2. 02What do I want?
  3. 03What am I afraid of?
  4. 04What's my next step?

My Catholic faith shapes how I understand all of this: human dignity, suffering, joy, and what a flourishing life is ultimately for. You don't have to share my faith to benefit from my work. But I won't pretend the deepest answer to burnout is one more productivity hack.

What I'm working toward

Healthcare leaders who know who they are, lead from overflow instead of burnout, and leave a legacy worth passing on.

Five things I hold to

  1. 01Your life is a gift. Be radically generous with it.
  2. 02Depth over scale.
  3. 03The person before the practice.
  4. 04Love is overflow.
  5. 05All things work together for good.
Vaughn leads and coaches with passion and intention. If you have the chance to work with him, don't hesitate. Get ready to win in every area of your life!
Ben NewmanPerformance coach and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Uncommon Leadership

What you'll find here

Ways to Work with Me

Vaughn Kohler standing on an arena stage
For event organizers Keynotes and Workshops I speak to conferences, health systems, and leadership teams about burnout, imposter syndrome, compassionate leadership, and the inner work that shapes outer success.
Vaughn Kohler seated for a conversation
For clinicians and healthcare leaders One-on-One Coaching I help you gain clarity about who you are, what you want, what's holding you back, and what to do next.
Vaughn Kohler in conversation on stage
For anyone in healthcare Clinician, Heal Thyself My podcast. Short, practical soul care for the people who spend their lives caring for everyone else.

Prefer to read or learn on your own? See the books and the courses.

Where I've spoken and served

Stages and Collaborations

I collaborated with healthcare executive Donn Sorensen on Big-Hearted Leadership: Five Keys to Create Success Through Compassion, and I co-created the children's series Otis and Charley's Hardworking Tails with Andy Frisella.

Open the Media Kit
Vaughn Kohler at an event
  • Stages:
  • BTL
  • Elite NP
  • AICC
  • Spinoso Medical Empires
  • The MFCEO Project

Follow @vaughnkohler

If you want honest talk about burnout, leadership, faith, and family, you've come to the right place.

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