Listen Now

   Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better…Jeff welcomes to the podcast board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon and patient advocate, David Hanscom, MD. For the first part of his career, David was absolutely fearless. Then one day at age 37, he began experiencing crippling anxiety. How did that happen?David says it’s key to remember that anxiety is the result of a threat - not the cause of a threat. We also know that mental threats and physical threats are processed in a similar manner. On top of that, suppressed emotions are even worse for your body than expressed emotions. Surgeons are masters at suppressing stress - it’s what we do and it’s often how we get ahead.If you spend your life trying to run from or “fix” your anxiety, you’ll just end up getting burned out. Anxiety isn’t something to be solved or controlled. However, you can move away from it and start pursuing the life that you want.What steps does David suggest we do to mitigate anxiety?Step 1 - Imagine the life you want to live.Step 2 - Remember that anxiety is a threat, not a problem to be solved.Step 2 - Develop a working relationship with anxiety.Most importantly, practicing working with anxiety! David Hanscom, MDDavid Hanscom is an orthopedic spine surgeon whose practice focused on patients with failed back surgeries. He quit his practice in Seattle, WA to present his insights into solving chronic pain, which evolved from with his own battle with it. The second edition of his book is, Back in Control: A Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain. His website,  www.backincontrol.com presents an action plan and his most recent program, “The DOC Journey” guides patients more clearly through the complexities of solving chronic pain. It can be accessed at www.thedocjourney.com. It includes weekly group sessions that have been a powerful addition to the healing process.His latest book is, Do You Really Spine Surgery? – Take Control with a  Surgeon’s Advice. It is intended for health care providers and patients alike to make a clear and informed decision about undergoing spinal surgery.

   Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better…Jeff welcomes to the podcast Dr. Dana Corriel, a board-certified internist and the founder of SoMeDocs.Dana strongly believes that all physicians can positively impact their careers by embracing social media the right way. It’s just another tool that needs to be used correctly. As surgeons, we’re very familiar with taking risks. The key is to understand the risk, its benefits and alternatives, and then make an informed decision. Social media is here and it’s here to stay. Physicians who aren’t using it are missing out on potential patients, speaking engagements, and other opportunities to leverage their intellectual property. You need to decide for yourself - what is your reason for engaging in social media? And it’s OK if you don’t have an answer right away! But this question will help inform how you approach social media. What does Dana suggest we do to integrate social media into our practices?Suggestion 1 - No matter what stage you are in your career, you can use social media to enrich your practice and leverage what you do know.Suggestion 2 -  No matter how much you think you know (or don’t know) about social media, that is exactly where you should start to build your social presence.Most importantly, start practicing to build or grow your social media brand and mission! Dana Corriel, MDDana is a board certified internist (with 14 years in practice), digital healthcare expert, and founder of SoMeDocs, or Doctors on Social Media, which is an online platform fueling healthcare innovators.Visit SoMeDocs to learn more and participate. Having personally experienced career growth through her own online endeavors, Corriel now helps build thought leaders through somedocs resources, which include community networking, lecture series, & marketing of intellectual property through the creation of curated series, courses, and projects. SoMeDocs has served as the spark for physician thought leaders, many of whom successfully occupy top healthcare position, appear in influential outlets, and accomplish feats doctors never thought could have be possible for them.Dr. Corriel has earned various recognitions, including Top Ten Internists to Follow on Twitter by Medical Economics and Top 20 Social Media Physician Influencers by Medscape. She has appeared in major outlets including LA Times, Gastro & Endo News, MDMagazine, The Boston Globe, Huff Post, Medscape, and EP News. Serving as guest faculty at conferences (including yearly at Harvard’s Healthcare Writers’ Conference) has been especially meaningful for Corriel, who values opportunities to pass on her skills through large projects. She led her own successful Writer’s Summit in Feb 2021, and plans to lead more.Dr. Corriel is skilled in online personal branding, strategy, and unique digital creations/marketing. In addition to running SoMeDocs, she serves as consultant to various startups, using creativity to help ventures stand out. Her dream is to ultimately inspire innovation through out of box thinking, and to play an instrumental role in facilitating connections between health experts and the general public.

   Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better…Jeff welcomes to the podcast physician and entrepreneur, Dr. Michelle Mudge-Riley. Michelle has spent more than 16 years assisting physicians with career strategy and transitions.Many physicians are afraid when they start to feel that a career in medicine isn’t what they want to do - often because we’re not really taught that there are other options available to us. But it’s important to remember that transitioning careers (even for physicians) is very normal, especially as we all live longer. In fact, according to research by the Department of Labor, most people have 5-7 career changes throughout their lives. What steps does Michelle suggest we do to approach career transitions?Step 1 - Get Started. Don’t worry about being perfect (I know this can be hard for a lot of physicians!). Sit down with a piece of paper and try to identify where you want to be career-wise in 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years.Step 2 -  Write / Edit Your Resume! Start getting down on paper what you’ve done professionally.Step 3 - Get on LinkedIn. Build out your profile and start networking.Most importantly, start practicing your transition! Michelle Mudge-Riley, DO, MHAMichelle is a physician and entrepreneur. She runs 4 different businesses and has spent over 16 years assisting physicians with career strategy. The doctors she works with are interested in using their degree in a non-traditional way, exploring a non-clinical career, optimizing their skills and passions within their career and rediscovering meaning and purpose in their work. Dr. Mudge-Riley was called the “Doctor’s Doctor” in a 2010 book she co-authored because of her success in working with other doctors. The book is titled Physicians in Transition.

   Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better…Jeff welcomes to the podcast psychologist, success coach, and international best-selling author Dr. Sharon Grossman.There are many factors that contribute to physician burnout - from system-wide issues, to internal demands that we place on ourselves. Because physicians are often high achievers, we often tend to push ourselves really hard. We’re constantly focused on doing, giving, and providing. In doing so, we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves.Emotions are contagious. If you’re surrounded by people who are irritable, you are likely to start feeling irritable yourself. Similarly, if you’re irritable, you may start infecting others around you. With that in mind, it’s important to try and control our emotions. A great way to do that is try to depersonalize situations.What steps does Sharon suggest we do to avoid becoming irritable?Step 1 - Assume it’s not about you. When you start getting irritated with another person, assume the issue is not about you - because it’s probably not!Step 2 -  Ask yourself what it’s really about. Listen without interrupting and try to understand where the other person is coming from.Step 3 - Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Don’t get defensive and work to empathize with the other person’s viewpoint.Most importantly, PRACTICE taking control of your emotions! Sharon Grossman, PhDDr. Sharon Grossman is a psychologist, success coach, and the author of the international bestselling book, The 7E Solution to Burnout: Transforming High Achievers from Exhausted to Extraordinary. For the past 19 years, she has coached physicians who are struggling with anxiety, overwhelm, and burnout. She works with them using her Exhausted to Extraordinary™ Method to break through the mental fog, boost their energy levels, and enjoy more of what matters in 90 days. Visit her at: www.drsharongrossman.com

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast certified physician coach and physician executive, Dr. Terri Malcolm.Terri reminds us that emotions play a pivotal role in our actions, behaviors, and thoughts. As physicians, it’s important for us to be emotional scientists. As a physician coach, Terri strongly believes that we need to attain a better understanding of who we are and how we tick by tapping into our emotions.As physicians and especially surgeons, we’re often taught to bottle up our emotions, but so much of how we behave is based on how we’re feeling. It’s essential that we dig into these emotions so we can better manage our actions, attitudes, and behaviors. While it isn't easy for surgeons to do this, what simple steps does Terri suggest we do to build our emotional vocabulary?Step 1 -Try a 1-5-7 Model. Find 5 times throughout the day to check in briefly with your emotional self for 7 consecutive days.Step 2 -  Step 2 -  Identify Your Emotions. At each of those 5 moments, identify the emotion that you’re feeling. Step 3 - Reflect on Your Dominant Emotions. On that 7th day, reflect back on your dominant emotions and assess how well those emotions were serving you in doing what you do, or in accomplishing your short- and long-term goals.Most importantly, PRACTICE tapping into your emotions! Check out this complimentary resource from Dr. Malcolm:Connecting actions to the emotions provoking them is a key part of developing your EQ Teresa Dean Malcolm, MD, FACOG, MBA, CPE, ACCDr. Malcolm (Terri) is a Certified Physician Coach and Physician Executive. Her coaching philosophy, The Malcolm Method, is rooted in the principles of social and emotional intelligence, positive psychology, and strengths-based leadership. Through-thought provoking conversations, she strives to deepen the awareness of her physician clients and further their actions, thereby helping them to thrive as they lead. Dr. Malcolm (known to friends and family as Terri) is a loving wife to her husband, Nate. Together they have three charming and athletic boys, Nathaniel, and twins, Roman and Colton.

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast Dr. Kara Pepper - a practicing primary care internist, certified life coach, and primary care physician for Atlanta Ballet.Most physicians are aware of the concept of second victim syndrome - the negative experience or emotion that physicians may experience after an adverse event. On top of the experience of second victim syndrome that many physicians are all too aware of, we are trained to ignore these emotions and just keep going, rather than process these emotions as they arise. This can lead to significant emotional issues that can build over time. What steps does Kara suggest we take to address second victim syndrome?Step 1 - Individuals - Take time and create space for yourself after an adverse event to acknowledge the emotions you’re experiencing.Step 2 -  Organizations - Provide support and screen for second victim syndrome by asking physicians about their state of mind after an adverse event.Step 3 - Where steps 1 and 2 are easier said than done, reach out to a community for ideas or assistance.Most importantly, PRACTICE these steps with other surgeons! Kara Pepper, MDDr. Kara Pepper is a practicing primary care Internist, Certified Life Coach, and primary care physician for Atlanta Ballet. Dr. Pepper helps physicians love the life they worked so hard to create. She specializes in burnout, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome. She provides one-on-one and group coaching and speaks on topics surrounding burnout and physician wellness.

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast Dr. Paul DeChant, an experienced physician executive, leadership coach, and an expert on physician burnout.We spend a lot of time on the personal aspects of burnout, but not nearly enough time discussing the organizational drivers of burnout. Most people understand the manifestations of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, cynicism, etc.), but not as many people are aware of the drivers that actually lead to burnout. The problem with burnout is not the physician. It’s the workplace. The system blames the physician for burning out when it’s the workplace that is creating the burn out.Paul reminds us that there are six primary drivers that lead to burnout:Driver 1 - Work OverloadDriver 2 - Loss of ControlDriver 3 - Insufficient RewardDriver 4 - Breakdown of CommunityDriver 5 - Absence of FairnessDriver 6 - Conflicting ValuesThe more we understand these drivers, the better we’re able to have a direct impact on our workplace and our overall well-being.Most importantly, learn the drivers of burnout so you can take steps to reduce its manifestations! Paul DeChant, MD, MBA, FAAFPDr. Paul DeChant is an internationally recognized expert on clinician burnout. He speaks from the unique combined experience as a family physician, medical group CEO, and consultant to C-level leaders on engaging physicians to reduce burnout while building the bottom line.In addition to 25 years of practicing family medicine, he has served as:President and Medical Director for High Country Health Care (a group he developed in the Colorado Rocky Mountains),Department director and compensation committee chair for Geisinger Health, Medical director, divisional president, and board member for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation,CEO for the Sutter Gould Medical Foundation,Executive advisor to Simpler Healthcare, andDeputy Chief Health Officer for IBM Watson Health.While he was CEO, the Sutter Gould Medical Foundation achieved the highest overall rating of 170 medical groups in California two years in a row from Consumer Reports and the California Healthcare Performance Information System, and improved provider satisfaction from p45 to p87 in the AMGA Provider Satisfaction Survey.He co-authored, “Preventing Physician Burnout: Curing the Chaos and Returning Joy to the Practice of Medicine”, and blogs regularly at www.pauldechantmd.com. He can be reached at paul@pauldechantmd.com.

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast psychologist, success coach and author of the international bestseller, “The 7E Solution to Burnout” -  Dr. Sharon Grossman.In her book, Dr. Grossman offers strategies for people in high stress professions (particularly physicians) to be able to coach themselves through burnout. Many people don’t have a firm grasp on the symptoms of burnout. As a result, they’re unable to accurately self-diagnose burnout and get the help they need. There’s also a stigma around burnout - especially in the medical community, which prevents physicians from admitting they’re burned out. It’s important to understand that burnout is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not the result of a moral failing or something you did wrong. One of the most common symptoms of burnout that doesn’t get enough attention is irritability.What steps does Dr. Grossman suggest we take to reduce our irritability?Step 1 - Identify your thoughts and feelings. If you find yourself feeling irritable, recognize that it has to do with the way you’re thinking. The thinking pattern that’s aligned with irritability is using the word “should” (how a situation should be different, or how an individual should be behaving). This type of thinking guarantees irritability. Ask yourself how you want to feel about a given situation. You have a choice in the matter!Step 2 - Consider your coping mechanisms. A glass of wine after a long shift (or a cup of coffee before an early shift) can be great, but don’t rely too heavily on these band-aid approaches to high performance.Step 3 - Start decreasing irritability by focusing on what you can control.Most importantly, PRACTICE recognizing the signs of burnout! Sharon Grossman, PhDDr. Sharon Grossman is a psychologist, success coach, and the author of The 7E Solution to Burnout: Transforming High Achievers from Exhausted to Extraordinary. For the past two decades, she has coached physicians struggling with anxiety, overwhelm, and burnout. Dr. Grossman works with them to stay calm, even in situations that are seemingly scary, to effectively manage the demands on their time, and quickly bounce back from adversity. Visit her at: www.drsharongrossman.com

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast Dr. Darin Davidson - an orthopedic surgeon and health & wellness consultant. Darin argues that we can and should be doing a much better job of practicing holistic wellness in our careers and in our lives. That means integrating the complementary areas of psychology, nutrition, sleep, and more to help better develop our overall health and wellness (for ourselves and our patients). By improving our overall performance as surgeons, we can improve the care we provide to patients and decrease our chances of burnout.We all want to provide the best possible care to our patients. In order to do that, we need to be performing at our best day after day. This can be difficult due to the demands of being a surgeon. These holistic methods can help keep us practicing at our best.What steps does Darin suggest we do to practice holistic wellness?Step 1 - Get in touch with your passion and purpose. This can serve as a guiding light in your day-to-day life as a surgeon.Step 2 - Remember what drew you to the medical profession in the first place. This can help you rediscover your purpose and reignite your passion.Step 3 - Start integrating holistic wellness practices into your daily life.Most importantly, PRACTICE something holistic to practice your best! Darin Davidson, MDDarin’s mission is to improve the health and wellness of everyone through the integration of holistic principles within the traditional medical model. By combining the best available knowledge and evidence from all fields which contribute to human performance and wellness, such as medicine, psychology, sleep, nutrition, and exercise we can obtain the greatest level of wellbeing. For the greatest impact, these skills should be developed as early as possible so that they can be available when needed most.

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast Dr. Kara Pepper, a practicing primary care physician, as well as a certified life coach!The topic for today’s podcast is Imposter Syndrome.Kara worked as a professional ballet dancer after high school. After a brief career filled with injuries, she needed to find a different occupation. So she went to medical school. Throughout her training she always had the nagging thought - “how did I trick these people into letting a ballet dancer go to medical school?”That sense of being an imposter is a common feeling among many physicians. While Jeff thinks this is partially related to heavier doses of “mentor” critiques and our negative inner critic, some of us feel like imposters - that we don’t deserve to be where we are, that we’re not smart enough, good enough, etc. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy despite objective success.What steps does Kara suggest we do to reckon with imposter syndrome?Step 1 - Understand that EVERYONE has some degree of imposter syndrome.Step 2 - Recognize that you have an internal narrative and acknowledge its nature. Is it self-effacing? Does it develop opportunities for growth?Step 3 - Shift your narrative by focusing on positive thinking and use your imposter syndrome to improve yourself.Most importantly, PRACTICE the narrative that serves growth! Kara Pepper, MDDr. Kara Pepper is a practicing primary care Internist, Certified Life Coach, and primary care physician for Atlanta Ballet. Dr. Pepper helps physicians love the life they worked so hard to create. She specializes in burnout, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome. She provides one-on-one and group coaching and speaks on topics surrounding burnout and physician wellness. 

   Jeff welcomes back to the podcast, Dr. Kyle Jones, Associate Professor in the Department of Family & Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah.Kyle’s book, Fallible: A Memoir of a Young Physician’s Struggle with Mental Illness, explores a lot of serious issues that impact many medical students and physicians throughout their careers. Over 40% of medical interns have diagnosable depression, while almost a quarter of interns have thought about suicide in the past two weeks. Those are horrifying statistics that we need to confront head-on.We need to open up the conversation to reduce the stigma of mental health and depression in the medical community. Physicians need to understand that it’s OK to seek help for these issues. As physicians, we need to do a better job about taking our own advice. We’re very good at telling our patients to eat well and exercise regularly but are often terrible at incorporating that advice into our own lives. Even though it’s likely not our fault that we have a mental illness, there are things you can be doing to proactively address your situation. If we’re not taking care of ourselves, we’re actually doing more harm than good.One great method for dealing with stress and anxiety is developing coping skills. It’s important to develop numerous coping skills to deal with stressors as they arise. Having just one coping skill is not enough. We need to develop several in the event that we are unable to tap into a specific coping skill.How does Kyle suggest we address the problem of mental illness in the medical community?Suggestion 1 - Recognize the issue. We need to be up-front in recognizing mental illness and have proactive conversations about how to address it.Suggestion 2 -  Develop your coping skills. Work on developing multiple coping skills to help you deal with stress and anxiety.Suggestion 3 - Find a trusted confidant who you can talk to about these issues. This could be a family member, friend, or colleague.Most importantly, be proactive about your well-being! Kyle Bradford Jones, MD, FAAFPKyle is an Associate Professor (Clinical) in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He completed his training at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and then residency at the University of Utah. He is author of Fallible: a memoir of a young physician's struggle with mental illness, and is currently Past-President of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and four children. 

   Jeff welcomes back to the podcast SurgeonMasters collaborator and Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker Robyn Symon. Last time she was on the podcast, we talked about Robyn’s documentary film Do No Harm which investigates the high rate of burnout and suicide among physicians and how it links to medical errors and patient safety. And with September being National Suicide Awareness Month, we thought it was the right time to bring her back for an extended conversation. You would think that the medical field would hold itself to a higher standard when it comes to the health and well-being of its own. But in fact, the opposite is true. In general, it seems like people in medicine treat themselves and their colleagues with less regard for their well-being. We’re focused so much on the “demand” and an assembly line model of care. But no one is focusing on the “supply” of physicians needed to take care of the demand. If we don’t address the supply (or doctor) side of the issue, patient care will suffer.Doctors also face tremendous risk when bringing these issues to light. Administrators often see them as “complaining” or “rocking the boat.” As a result, many physicians don’t want to speak out for fear of losing their jobs. We need to educate both physicians and administrators about how to effectively address these issues.The relationship between patients and physicians is eroding. Physicians want to spend more time with patients, but they’re being beaten down by this assembly line model of care. When patients see that they’re stuck in the same “assembly line” model, it really helps build back that trusting doctor-patient relationship.What steps does Robyn suggest we do to address the systemic issues causing suicide in the medical community?Step 1 - Realize that physicians are human beings, not superheroes.Step 2 -  Work with colleagues, patients, and administrators to continue the conversation on these important topics.Step 3 - Don’t be afraid to rock the boat! We need to collectively start speaking up on these issues for the betterment of ourselves and our patients.Email Robyn and the Do No Harm team: Info@donoharmfilm.comMost importantly, let’s start having tough conversations!Robyn SymonRobyn Symon is a two-time Emmy Award-winner, and an accomplished writer, producer/director, and editor. She began as a television news reporter in Texas, then joined PBS in Miami where she hosted and produced documentaries, public affairs programs and the TV series Florida! (6 seasons; Travel Channel). She wrote and produced the docu-series “Voices of Vision,” which focused on the work of non-profit organizations worldwide. She has produced hundreds of hours of TV series for major cable networks including Discovery, CNBC, HGTV and currently produces a series on the Reelz Channel. Prior film credits include: “Transformation: The Life & Legacy of Werner Erhard,” acquired for international distribution by Screen Media Films and “Behind the Blue Veil,” about the ancient Tuareg in North Africa, which was distributed by Journeyman Pictures. Her most recent documentary—“Uncle Gloria: One Helluva Ride!” — is currently on the film festival circuit.   

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast SurgeonMasters collaborator and physician coach, Dr. Errin Weisman. On this episode, Errin and Jeff talk about different coaching styles and clarify what coaching is.Errin uses her energy and experience in coaching to provide lots of encouragement. As a coach, she is not telling people what to do. There are a lot of misconceptions about coaching - with many people assuming it’s like therapy or an advisor / advisee relationship. It’s important to clarify these misconceptions around coaching so physicians have a better understanding of what it is and why it is so incredibly effective.Coaching conversations help their physician clients process thoughts, feelings, and actions. Coaches don't offer firm answers like advisors or consultants might. The physician, not the coach, holds the answers. Coaches help their coachees find those answers.What steps does Errin suggest we take to start down the path of coaching?Step 1 - Give coaching a try! Go ahead and “kick the tires” and take coaching for a spin to see what it is like.Step 2 - Find a coach with whom you can connect or who is offering messaging that resonates with you. All coaches bring different styles to the table. Find one who fits well with your personality.Step 3 - Don’t give up. If your first experience with coaching isn’t great, that’s OK. Finding the right fit is part of the process. Most importantly, give coaching a spin! Errin Weisman, DOErrin Weisman, DO is a life coach, podcaster, and fierce advocate for wellness in medicine. She faced professional burnout early in her career and speaks openly about about her story in order to help others, particularly female physicians and working moms, know they are not alone. Dr. Weisman wholeheartedly believes that to be a healer, you must first fill your own cup. She lives and practices life coaching and medicine in rural Southwestern Indiana, loves her roles as farmer's wife, athlete, and mother of three. You can find out more about Dr. Weisman on her podcast Doctor Me First, her website truthrxs.com or hang out with her on IG @truthrxs.

   Jeff welcomes to the SurgeonMasters podcast award-winning author, Karla McLaren, M.Ed. Everyone is experiencing some level of anxiety during this global pandemic. While most people try to avoid anxiety at all costs, Karla suggests we embrace our anxiety! Fear, panic, and anxiety are connected, but all different. It’s important to be able to identify what emotion you’re experiencing so you can know how to best deal with it.What does Karla suggest we do to embrace our anxiety?Suggestion 1 - Identify which emotion you’re feeling. Each emotion has a different purpose and can be dealt with in a different way.Suggestion 2 - Embrace those emotions - whether it be panic, fear, or anxiety. Don’t resist - face them head on.Suggestion 3 - Practice self-care to balance out these intense emotions.Most importantly, embrace your anxiety! Karla McLaren, M.Ed.Karla McLaren, M.Ed. is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and empathy pioneer. Her new book, Embracing Anxiety!, is out now.  Her lifelong work focuses on her grand unified theory of emotions, which revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways into self-awareness, self-healing, and healthy empathy. She is the founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics LLC and the creator of the online learning site EmpathyAcademy.org.

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast Senior Manager of Education Programs in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Miami and physician wellness advocate, Dr. David Cohen. While most of what you hear about mindfulness meditation these days focuses on things like exercises, mantras, breathing, and the like - there are other practices that focus more on cultivating compassion. Compare mental exercises to physical exercises. You can’t work out your entire body with one single exercise. The same is true in the mental realm. David advocates for Metta Meditation - a specific form of mindfulness meditation that involves repeating the mantra “May I be peaceful. May I be free from suffering.” Metta meditation focuses on developing pure compassion for yourself and others without the promise of anything in return. Read more about it in David’s Medium article, Metta for Haters Like You and Me. What steps does David suggest we do to practice metta meditation?Step 1 -  Do some brief meditation to get into the right headspace.Step 2 -  Start with yourself - repeat the mantra “May I be peaceful. May I be free from suffering.”Step 3 - Repeat this process for someone genuinely kind, your friends and family, someone random, and someone you don’t like. End with “May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be free from suffering.”Most importantly, take steps to cultivate compassion for yourself and others! David Cohen, EdDDavid Cohen, EdD, Senior Manager of Education Programs in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Miami, has been in graduate medical education (GME) for three years after working in higher education the previous 11 years in several areas, mostly the law school. When he is not managing the administrative GME duties, he enjoys creating and administering physician wellness initiatives both in his department and institution wide on the GME Wellness Committee. David is an active member of the UM/Jackson Wellness Committee, has presented many Grand Rounds lectures on Physician Wellness to different departments within the institution, and administers several wellness initiatives within his own department including a weekly humanities-based newsletter and opportunities for faculties and trainees to present on topics that interest them outside of medicine to build camaraderie. He is also a serious meditator. Be sure to check out David’s Medium article, Metta for Haters Like You and Me.

   Jeff welcomes to the SurgeonMasters podcast orthopedic surgeon and health & wellness consultant, Dr. Darin Davidson.The current pandemic provides a great example of how holistic methods can be used to complement the more traditional medical practices to result in an improved overall state of wellness.There are lifestyle factors that we all engage in that can decrease the functionality of our immune systems. Obviously, this is something that should be avoided especially during the current pandemic.What does Darrin suggest we do to boost our immune systems?Suggestion 1 - Manage stress. The more stressed we are, the more susceptible we are to various infections (including COVID-19). To manage stress levels, what if you incorporated some simple breathing or any daily meditation practice into your routine.Suggestion 2 -  Focus on nutrition. Our bodies need sufficient nutrition so that our immune systems can function at an optimal level. Increase leafy greens into your diet and consider whether you would benefit from vitamin D supplements.Suggestion 3 - Get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can reduce our immune system’s ability to fight off infection. Setting aside enough time to sleep each night can help keep our immune system in better shape.Most importantly, PRACTICE what the scientific research shows can boost your immune system! Darin Davidson, MDDarin Davidson, MD’s mission is to improve the health and wellness of everyone through the integration of holistic principles within the traditional medical model. By combining the best available knowledge and evidence from all fields which contribute to human performance and wellness, such as medicine, psychology, sleep, nutrition, and exercise we can obtain the greatest level of well-being. For the greatest impact, these skills should be developed as early as possible so that they can be available when needed most.

   Jeff welcomes to the SurgeonMasters podcast primary care physician and physician coach, Dr. Kara Pepper. There’s never been a more relevant time to talk about burnout in the medical community because so many physicians are experiencing it to some degree in light of the Coronavirus pandemic and the open wounds of racism. Burnout is not just common among medical professionals, it's an epidemic. Covid-19 will shine a light on that fact.Physicians are the glue that holds the healthcare system together. We need to do everything in our power to promote wellness and prevent burnout among physicians for the sake of our patients.What does Kara suggest we do to combat burnout in a post-COVID world?Suggestion 1 - Recognize a few ways how COVID-19 has changed your work routine for the better. Many physicians do not want to go back to the way things were before the pandemic, because they now realize how overworked and burned out they were.Suggestion 2 -  Understand and recognize that burnout impacts everyone differently when advocating for each other. For some physicians, it’s a distinct crash and burn. For others, it may manifest itself more subtly over time.Suggestion 3 - Find what brings you joy and purpose and take proactive steps to incorporate more of those things into your life.Most importantly, take stock and make the necessary changes to improve your life as a physician! Kara Pepper, MDDr. Kara Pepper is a practicing primary care Internist, Certified Life Coach, and primary care physician for Atlanta Ballet. Dr. Pepper helps physicians love the life they worked so hard to create. She specializes in burnout, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome. She provides one-on-one and group coaching and speaks on topics surrounding burnout and physician wellness. 

   Jeff Smith welcomes Heidi Allespach, PhD, an Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine, Medicine & Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine to the SurgeonMasters mini-podcast. Heidi is a clinical psychologist who has worked with graduate medical learners for more than 20 years. She devotes her time to enhancing surgeon wellness through their multidimensional behavioral medicine approach, teaching and working with surgery residents and surgeon faculty, as needed.Heidi believes cognitive restructuring is the secret to happiness for surgeons, physicians, medical students, and others in the medical field. It stems from cognitive behavioral therapy, and it’s a really simple tool that we all can use to take control of our feelings.Thoughts impact feelings. Feelings impact physical sensations. Those physical sensations impact our eventual behavior. Cognitive restructuring is about changing our thoughts to change our feelings. What steps does Heidi suggest we take to practice cognitive restructuring?Step 1 - When you feel distressed, become aware of those feelings.Step 2 - Focus on rational thinking and avoid negative over-thinking.Step 3 - Change your thoughts to change your feelings in an intentional way.Most importantly, practice the cognitive PRACTICE restructuring regularly! Heidi Allespach, PhDHeidi Allespach, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine, Medicine & Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. For over 20 years, Dr. Allespach has specialized in the training of family medicine, internal medicine & surgery residents & fellows, practicing physicians, medical students & counselors.She has developed a targeted cognitive-behavioral stress management (STM) model for physicians to utilize in a time-limited (3-visit) medical setting. She has also tailored this model specifically for use in nonpharmacologic pain management (NPM) & integrates the patient's spiritual beliefs into these frameworks when appropriate.Her main specialty areas within behavioral medicine are physician wellness, chronic pain, addiction, & teaching office-based cognitive behavioral stress management interventions. She has published numerous articles on physician wellness, difficult patients, chronic pain and addiction, among others, & has lectured extensively on those topics at many national conferences. Dr Allespach developed teaching models (including “The CALMER Approach” "Rule of Six 2s," and "The 7 Cs", “Wargaming with the Chiefs,” “Show and Tell Rounds”), specifically for physicians to use when working with challenging Dr-Pt encounters. She has also lectured both nationally and internationally on the topic of Motivational Interviewing.

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast Associate Professor (Clinical) in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Dr. Kyle Jones.Kyle is also the author of Fallible: a memoir of a young physician's struggle with mental illness. In his newly released book, Kyle describes his experience as a physician dealing with severe anxiety and depression. As physicians, we focus so much energy on our patients - often without tending to our own mental health. It’s essential that we reduce the stigma of mental health in the medical community and take steps to help ourselves and our colleagues cope with mental illness.What does Kyle suggest we do for coping strategies?Suggestion 1 - Take care of yourself and your colleagues. Treat each other with kindness and respect. As physicians, we are all in this together.Suggestion 2 - Give autonomy back to physicians to treat their patients, rather than giving that autonomy to regulators or insurance companies. Suggestion 3 - Develop at least 3 coping mechanisms (emotional PPE) to help yourself cope with the stressors of being a physician. This could be going for a run, doing a puzzle, reading a book, or whatever helps you recharge.Most importantly, we should proactively and intentionally create coping strategies for mental wellness! Kyle Jones, MD, FAAFPKyle Bradford Jones, MD, FAAFP is an Associate Professor (Clinical) in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He completed his training at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and then residency at the University of Utah. He is author of Fallible: a memoir of a young physician's struggle with mental illness, and is currently President of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and four children.

   Jeff welcomes to the podcast general surgeon and certified Gallup Strengths Coach, Dr. Laura Grimmer, MD. Now, more than ever, it is important to focus on what we do best. First, determine some of your strengths. What do you do best? What do you do better than your colleagues? What comes easier to you?What does Laura suggest we do to leverage our strengths?Suggestion 1 - Learn your strengths. What are the things that come naturally to you?Suggestion 2 - Work on improving your strengths continually over time. Suggestion 3 - Focus on your strengths!Most importantly, look for opportunities to leverage your strengths and do what YOU do best! Laura Grimmer, MDDr. Laura Grimmer is a practicing general surgeon in St Louis and Gallup-certified Strengths coach. She helps physicians discover their natural talents, and how to leverage those Strengths for a more authentic and enjoyable career. She believes that every physician is uniquely and wonderfully talented, and that our greatest potential lies in "leaning in" to those talents. She does departmental and residency workshops, as well as one-on-one coaching.