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Nikia Smith

Nikia Smith

Dr. Nikia Smith, MD is a board-certified anesthesiologist and founder of She Is Fire Forged, coaching high-achieving women of color through burnout.

Oct 19, 2026

7:03
So can you just talk to the audience today so that they can recognize whether it is burnout or if it is something else? It's so sneaky.
7:14
It's very sneaky.
7:15
And although it's become more common and a more used term, I think people are still unclear about it.
7:20
And I would have been the first to tell you I wasn't burnt out.
7:22
I was just tired.
7:24
If I just had a week off or a good vacation, I would be fine.
7:27
But once I did take time off, I still was depleted.
11:35
So can you talk about boundaries a little bit then?
9:37
What's happening at the first point of your feeling this sense of burnout? What was going on?
9:43
Yeah, that's very interesting because looking back, I realized I was starting to burn out before I realized I was, right? At first, I just felt like I was just more exhausted and I was getting a bit more irritable.
9:55
I was feeling a little bit off, but I didn't identify it as me being on the path to burnout.
9:59
But it's kind of insidious like that.
10:02
You know, like I started a job, my very first job.
10:05
I loved it.
10:06
I love my colleagues.

18 MINS LATER

28:18
What's something from either your professional or personal experience you could say just encourage her for where she is now?

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