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How do we incentivize surgeons to evolve their techniques? Why hasn’t scarless thyroid surgery taken off in the U.S.?

In this episode, we dive into:

• The disconnect between those who stay stuck in their beliefs and those who have incentive to innovate
• Why we often don’t offer techniques we don’t fully understand
• Rethinking patient counseling for thyroid surgery
• The evolution of surgical standards
• The delicate balance between certainty and an open mind in the profession of surgery
• How rigidity in our convictions keeps us stuck—and how loosening our grip can create new possibilities
• The crisis of faith in healthcare and how clinging too tightly to beliefs may be making it worse
• The pros and cons of academia and the challenges of building something new
• Following the internal whisper that calls for change—and the stickiness of leaving a job
• Navigating career transitions while keeping joy and curiosity alive
• The art of offering all the options—RFA, transoral surgery, and traditional surgery—without bias
• The mindset of an innovator and the power of Vu Ja De (seeing the familiar in a completely new way)
• Ego and bias in surgery—how to channel them for good rather than letting them hold us back
• The unexpected joy of being bad at something (when no one gets hurt)
• How fear keeps us where we are—and the fallacy that life is ever certain
• Expanding your identity to unlock new career horizons

This conversation is all about embracing uncertainty, questioning our assumptions, and stewarding change in a profession built on tradition.

Tune in—this one will challenge the way you think!

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Dr. Jon Russell is the Founder of The Russell Center for Endocrine Health. Before starting the Russell Center, he was Director of the Division of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery at Johns Hopkins and directed the Thyroid Tumor Center.