Battling Burnout: A Speech Pathologist’s Journey to Innovating Self-Care and Equity in Healthcare with Ed Johnson - The Entrepreneurial Clinician Podcast

Fatigue and being overtired are two of the most common symptoms of burnout. However there can be a much darker side which can have a significant impact on your mental health. In this episode, Jo is joined by Ed Johnson who openly and vulnerably shares his experience of burnout which culminated in a diagnosis of psychosis and PTSD. 

In this episode, Jo and Ed discuss:

• Ed’s journey from being a child interested in language to being the co-founder of a social enterprise designed to provide access for underserved communities to speech pathology and occupational therapy support,
• The struggle (and cost) of juggling multiple projects at the same time
• The cycle of burnout and (partial) recovery Ed experienced throughout his career
• The work-related circumstances that led Ed to be diagnosed with psychosis and PTSD
• How burnout is often focused on the person, not the environment that contributed to it, and
• The importance of speaking up if you are struggling or if you notice behaviour changes in your colleagues.

About Ed Johnson: Ed Johnson is a social entrepreneur and academic with degrees in linguistic anthropology and speech pathology. He worked in rural and remote Australia (mainly in Wiradjuri, Kamilaroi, and Iningai communities) for over a decade as a speech pathologist before moving into academia. Ed completed his PhD in 2021 at the University of Sydney which focused on the phenomenologies of rural families of children with intellectual disabilities, and humanistic digital allied health support delivery and capacity-building with National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants across rural and remote Australia. He co-founded his scale-up Umbo, based on the findings to support Australians in underserved communities and populations to access speech pathology and occupational therapy support. Umbo has saved NDIS participants over $8m since its inception and continues to invest 50% of profits into funding services for people who can’t afford to see a therapist.

 Ed now lives on Dharug land and is the coordinator of the Remote and Rural Enterprise Program at the University of Sydney which aims to support indigenous and rural communities to create and consolidate sustainable social enterprises in the bush. He lives by the quote from his favourite existentialist, Franz Kafka: “Do what is right, not what is acceptable.”

You can find Ed on LinkedIn here

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Future Proofing Health Professional Facebook group