We recently connected with Dr. Taniqua Miller and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Taniqua, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

In the Spring of 2022, I found myself behind the wheel of my mini-van sobbing. I was incredibly anxious and professionally burnt out. I had spent the past decade in my career as an academic OB/GYN and there was a restlessness within me telling me that I needed to do something new be something and someone else. With those stirrings came a great deal of shame. I was a first generation American, college graduate, and physician. Being an assistance professor at an elite institution was the American dream. However, I was exhausted, felt as though I was chasing the dreams and accolades just to keep my head above water and to feel relevant at my institution. On the advice of a colleague, I took a 4-week medical leave for anxiety and burnout, which again was not a norm for anyone I knew in medicine. The first several weeks I tried to keep myself busy and willed myself to “get over it” and just fix myself by reading all the books on Burnout that I could possibly find. However, the real work was just for me to sit still and face the fact that I was changing. My interests were changing. From this pause came a prayer and then a pivot. I became really clear on who I wanted to serve in my role as a physician- women in midlife, perimenopause and beyond. I returned to work with this at the forefront of any decision that I made. And just 5 months after returning to work, I submitted my letter of resignation. This past year has been met some wobbly moments. But in the last 12 months, I have established a coaching practice for burnout recovery, started my concierge telemedicine practice called Revival (serving people in the menopausal transition), launched my podcast, “Midlife Revival,” and now offer a hybrid coaching offer, called Boundless Midlife, which provides coaching AND medical treatment to people in the menopausal transition.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am originally from Bronx, NY. `1st generation American (my family is from Trinidad and Tobago), college graduate and physician. I attended Yale University and received my BA in Psychology and then worked as a marketing research analyst until I started medical school at Harvard Medical School in 2004. I have always been drawn to women’s healthcare. As a little girl, I could be found taking volumes of the Encyclopedia Brittanica off the shelf and reading about the female body. I would take my newfound knowledge back to the girls in the neighborhood and hold class on the playground!

With the founding of Revival Telemedicine and the Midlife Revival Podcast, I am committed to serving women and all people who will experience the menopausal transition (perimenopause, menopause, and beyond). I am certified menopause physician through the Menopause Society since 2016.

Clients can work with me in 4 ways:
– as a patient in my concierge telemedicine practice. I am accepting patients in the states of GA/MD/TN/TX at this time.
– as a coaching client in my Boundless Midlife coaching container. This offer provides not only medical treatment if you reside in one of the above states but also 6 months of midlife coaching where we explore midlife burnout and work to complete a “Revival” project. A Revival project is a dream deferred. For many of my clients, they have spent their 20s and 30s and early 40s always in service to others while putting their own dreams on the shelf. we do the work to take one of those dreams off the shelf and put a plan into action. If that is starting a podcast, writing a book, reading more, exercising more… at the end of six months, it will happen!
– I am also a paid speaker and offer keynotes on burnout recovery, equity in menopausal healthcare. I also offer interactive and quite fun menopause educational workshops.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

After spending over a decade in my academic role, I feel I have left an indelible mark on the women in my community. When I show up to any client intake, my first question is always “what is YOUR goal for this visit?” Unfortunately, many visits to the doctor’s office can feel rushed and depersonalized. As a gynecologist, it is not lost on me that menopausal care is sensitive. I am not just helping my patients navigate the physical changes of menopause but also the psychosocial aspects of this life stage- raising children, becoming an empty nester, losing a partner (either with death or divorce), becoming a caregiver to aging parents. I show up in full-service to my patients. My style of doctoring has earned me the honor of being names one of Atlanta’s Top Docs in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When you are in your training as a medical student, you see a particular way of doctoring. And I had to unlearn that very quickly when I decided to pivot. While private practice options were visible to me, I saw many physician business owners struggling. Being employed seemed like a smart and viable option. In fact, when I told my immigrant family that I was leaving my job, they questioned whether or not I had lost my mind. In this last year, I have been able to piece together a new way of doctoring in a direct specialty care model. My visits are directly contracted with patients, which they can use their HSA/FSA dollars for they visits. I have found this model allows me to fully pour into my patients and serve them at the highest level and with attention to detail that I was unable to do as an employee. I have also allowed more rest and flexibility into my work schedule, especially as I raise my three children.

Contact Info:

• Website: TaniquaMD.com
• Instagram: @taniquamillermd @joinrevival
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniquamillermd/
• Other: Podcast: Midlife Revival: https://taniquamd.com/podcast/