
“Patient Lee” Tomlinson
From Burn-out Back to Brilliance – Recovering the Joy of Work
“Patient Lee” has personally suffered the miseries of both burnout and cancer – at the same time. During that battle he experienced devastating, compassion-less care delivered by burned-out HCPs which caused him to seriously consider taking his own life.
Now, fully recovered from both, he’s a man on a mission. A mission to scare healthy HCPs into doing whatever necessary to avoid the devastation of burnout and stay healthy enough to be the equally competent and compassionate healers they were when they first got into medicine.
And, for those sadly within the grasp of burn-out, “Patient Lee” aims to inspire them to courageously admit it, take the proven effective steps he took to successfully recover and thrive once again.
Since recovering, “Patient Lee” has delivered 200+ Keynotes globally to the widest variety of HCPs including doctors, nurses, med and nursing school students, Hospital executives and his favorite, valet parking attendants. He has also presented a popular TEDxTalk, “The Naked Truth About Compassion is Revealed” and recently published his latest book: “Compassion Heals. From Self-Care to Healthcare.” Returning to his pre-burnout/cancer career in entertainment, “Patient Lee” now hosts his own Compassion Heals podcast and is producing a feature-length documentary to reveal the scientifically proven healing benefits of the “heart, science and business of compassion” on the receivers, the givers and the bottom line of the organizations in which their lives intersect.
Prior to his cancer diagnosis “Patient Lee” was a C-Level executive, award-winning television producer, owner/operator of the historic Culver Studios, developer of Albuquerque Studios, raised tens of millions of dollars for a Hollywood charity, a customer service expert/consultant, and a former world-ranked professional tennis player. He is currently on the He is proud to brag that that since his recovery he has gotten his golf handicap down – once again – to single digits. FORRRRRRRE!
He is currently serves on the Wellness Bundle Steering Committee at UCLA Health to improve the patient experience and is on the Board of the Beverly Hills Cancer Center.