#90 - From OBGYN to Menopause Advocate: How Dr. Kudzai Dombo Built a Borderless Career in Telemedicine

**What happens when a board certified OBGYN who delivered thousands of babies realizes she can no longer be that person and has to reinvent herself from scratch through a computer screen?** **Host Dr. Leo Damasco welcomes Dr. Kudzai Dombo, a board certified OBGYN and menopause expert with over 20 years of experience in women’s health. Raised between the US and Zimbabwe, she has worked with Doctors Without Borders and NGOs across multiple countries and now serves as Director of Advocacy and Outreach at Alloy Women’s Health while maintaining a boutique private practice.** **They discuss her move into telemedicine in 2022 as an adjunct that grew into a full career pivot, the identity shift from delivering babies and surgeries to broader impact, personal challenges with perimenopause and moral injury in hospital settings, and the fear of caring for patients through a screen. Dr. Dombo shares how she proactively created an advocacy and outreach role to bridge patient hesitancy, the realities of rejection in the telehealth space versus brick and mortar, learning new skills, becoming a PC owner, and balancing clinical work with education and social media. She ends with advice to her intern day one self: believe in yourself as a unique individual.** **Top 3 Takeaways:** - **Transitioning to telemedicine often requires a major identity shift, especially for procedural specialists, and can move from “side gig” to full time fulfillment when driven by purpose rather than just volume.** - **Rejection is common in telehealth (unlike traditional medicine) it is rarely personal and requires resilience, patience, and a belief in abundance while mitigating risk.** - **Proactively identifying gaps (e.g patient hesitancy around menopause care) and proposing solutions can create new roles; combining clinical work with advocacy, education, and social media expands impact beyond borders.** **About the Show:** **Telemedicine Talks explores the evolving world of digital health, helping physicians navigate new opportunities, regulatory challenges, and career transitions in telemedicine** **About the Guest:** **Dr. Kudzai Dombo, MD, FACOG, MSCP is a board certified obstetrician gynecologist and menopause expert with more than 20 years dedicated to women’s health. Born in the US and raised partly in Zimbabwe, she brings a cross-cultural perspective shaped by global work with Doctors Without Borders and NGOs in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, El Salvador, South Africa, and Haiti. She is Director of Advocacy and Outreach and a prescribing physician at Alloy Women’s Health, runs a boutique private practice focused on menopause and midlife care, and is a Fellow of ACOG, Diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, and member of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (Diversity and Equity Committee).** **Connect with Dr. Kudzai Dombo** **Instagram:** @dr.kudzai **About the Host:** **Dr. Leo Damasco – Pediatrician and emergency medicine doctor turned telemedicine advocate, helping physicians transition to digital health.** **Connect with Leo Damasco:**  [**leo@telemedicinetalks.com**](mailto:leo@telemedicinetalks.com) telemedicinetalks.com   The information provided in *Telemedicine Talks* is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical, legal, or financial advice. While we discuss best practices, industry trends, and real-world experiences, every situation is unique. Listeners should consult with qualified professionals before making decisions related to telemedicine practice, compliance, contracts, or business operations. The views expressed by the hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of any organizations they may be affiliated with. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.