Don't wait to experience the power of coaching. Join the Empowered Surgeons Group today. Sign up by April 25th 11:59 pm EST to get the Empowered Surgeons Workbook delivered straight to your door! If you miss the deadline, that's okay! You still get immediate access to the Empowered Surgeons Workbook in PDF form, no matter when you sign up. Our first group call is April 30th, 2025 at 4 pm EST. See you inside the group.

It's normal to fall out of the current in the OR. We know we've fallen out when our brain sends us into anxiety, urgency, and self-doubt.

Getting back into the current is as easy as ABC:

A: Awareness, Allowance, Acceptance, Aligned Action

B: Breathe; Get your Brain Back in your own Business

C: Certainty-->Curiosity-->Creativity

Now...

You learned how to operate.

You learned how to care for patients.

But no one taught you the essentials of being human in the world of surgery.

This program fills that gap.

✔ Gain clarity on your internal and external world.

✔ Develop the tools to surf your way through all of life's challenges.

✔ Learn how to evolve and grow with your career.

✔ Free yourself from confusion and powerlessness.

▶ When your patients have complications.

▶ On your commute to the OR and clinic

There’s nothing else like this.

This program distills everything I’ve learned from 12 years as a surgeon. It combines tested coaching concepts—proven in both the clinic and the OR—giving you the language to finally describe your experiences and navigate them effectively.

No more wondering why you dread going to work.

No more spinning in confusion or feeling like a victim.

No more unnecessary stress.

This program will empower you.

I will hold you to your highest power—

And what you create with that power is limitless.

Get immediate access to the entire program + bonuses like “Surgical Mistakes and Complications”, “Mindset Reset OR Day”, “Mindset Reset Clinic Day”, and “Diversifying Your Identity” (Diversifying my identity is exactly how I found the courage to evolve with my own career. While your path will not look anything like mine, you can’t evolve until you diversify.)

And because implementation is the hardest part, you get weekly group coaching with me.

Every Wednesday at 4pm EST, we will come together for an hour and work the process.

A place for you to be held in a non-judgmental, compassionate space and solve the collective problems and pain points we have all faced as surgeons.

While you may think you are the only one who experiences anxiety in the OR, imposter syndrome, or self-blame after complications, I can assure you, everyone feels the same as you do.

Being witnessed in your truth and receiving a weekly infusion of coaching is the most impactful gift you will give yourself this year.

And if you can’t make the calls, the replays will be available to you.

Carve out your time. And invest in yourself.

Get your hard copy of the Empowered Surgeon Workbook.

And remember…this is a risk-free investment!

There is no scenario where you lose value. Either you get value from the program or you get your investment back, no hard feelings.

It’s really that simple.

Purchase and get immediate access to the Empowered Surgeons Group HERE.

Sign up for Empowered Surgeons Group here.

It's not the prior auths, unfinished charts, or patient messages that are burning you out. While those circumstances need reform, they are merely symptoms of a much bigger problem—a problem that has everything to do with you, which is fantastic news because it means you can do something about it.

In this episode, you’ll:

• Learn how your human animal communicates with you
• Normalize feeling unfulfilled, even when you’ve achieved everything you ever dreamed of
• Understand how we sometimes use the profession against ourselves—and how that leads to pretending
• Explore how the perceived cultural forces of self-sacrifice, people-pleasing, and always saying “yes” prevent meaningful change
• Dive into the evolution of self and the importance of reconnecting with your essential self
• Unpack why internal conflict is so common among surgeons
• Understand that every surgeon has their own burnout timeline
• Recognize how resisting what is can reduce your capacity
• Discover how to be okay where you are—so you can feel safe enough to move forward

Because you have a human brain with a built-in negativity bias, it will naturally direct your attention to what’s wrong.

It will point out all the problems in your world, presenting them as if it’s simply reporting the news.

But it’s up to you to intentionally look for what’s right—to pause, scan your life, and notice what’s actually working.

From that place, you can make a conscious and deliberate decision about the direction you want to go.

And remember, you always have three choices:

1. Accept it
2. Change it
3. Leave it

Sign up for Empowered Surgeons Group today and don't miss any of my offerings by getting on my email list here.

Failure is required for success—but failing in surgery is different. It’s layered. It’s nuanced. It carries weight that most outside the field can’t fully grasp.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why failure in surgery is fundamentally different from other professions
• The distinction between objective failure and subjective failure
• How to process the complex emotions that come with failure
• Why evaluating failure is not optional—it’s essential
• A clear, compassionate process for evaluating your own failures
• How to detach your self-worth from your outcomes
• The power of strategic pessimism to help you prepare for and learn from failure

Whether you’re grappling with a recent complication or quietly carrying one from years ago, this episode offers tools to help you reflect, reframe, and move forward with intention.

Get free value curated for surgeons straight to your inbox here.

Want to learn how to create safety for yourself in the profession of surgery? Register for my upcoming webinars:

Register for Master Curveballs in the OR (and life) in 5 Steps here.

Register for Your Best Career Insurance: Know, Like, and Trust here.

Surgeons, text topics you want me to cover here.

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!

Follow Jon on instagram here.

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.

Learn more about how to get on-demand, lifetime, risk-free access to the Empowered Surgeons Curriculum here. One investment of $1,997 to learn essential concepts you didn't learn in training. This one course will change your perspective, and life, permanently.

Empowered Surgeons Curriculum is available now! This program will teach you everything you wished you learned but didn't in training. Read about everything you get in the program (group coaching, Empowered Surgeons workbook, bonus videos) here or sign up immediately here.

Surgeons, text topics you want me to cover here.

Dr. Colleen Plein, an otolaryngologist and coach for gifted adults, joins the podcast to explore the unique challenges of being a gifted or neurodivergent adult—something many of us in medicine and surgery can relate to. Find her on instagram here or email her [email protected]. She is resource for all of you gifted docs out there.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Neurodivergence isn’t something kids "grow out of"
• Gifted individuals often experience social struggles due to asynchronous development
• How normalizing your neurodivergence can be incredibly freeing
• The lack of support for gifted kids in school systems—and the lasting impact
• The performance cliff and how it affects gifted individuals
• How early praise for intelligence and achievement can lead to a fixed mindset and self-worth tied to external success
• Why gifted kids can struggle, even with loving, supportive parents
• The challenge of finding identity and self-worth beyond what you do or produce
• The overlap between giftedness, ADHD, and autism
• Why coaching can be especially effective for gifted minds, who are drawn to “out-thinking” their thoughts
• The impact of rejection sensitive dysphoria in residency
• How simply having language for your experience can be a relief
• A surprising reason you might procrastinate finishing your charts
• How coaching can fill in gaps that therapy often doesn’t
• The importance of connecting with other gifted and neurodivergent individuals who share similar lived experiences

This conversation is packed with insights that can shift the way you see yourself and your experiences.

Learn more about how to get on-demand, lifetime, risk-free access to the Empowered Surgeons Curriculum here. One investment of $1,997 to learn essential concepts you didn't learn in training. This one course will change your perspective, and life, permanently.

Empowered Surgeons Curriculum is available now! This program will teach you everything you wished you learned but didn't in training. Read about everything you get in the program (group coaching, Empowered Surgeons workbook, bonus videos) here or sign up immediately here.

Surgeons, text topics you want me to cover here.

Dr. Andrew Brunswick, a neurosurgeon at Kaiser Permanente in LA, joins us on the podcast to discuss the psychological challenges and culture in surgery. In this episode, we cover:

• The culture Andrew experienced while working on Wall Street
• The problem with getting stuck on the hedonic treadmill
• The power of the word "enough"
• Why satisfaction is a decision available to all of us at every moment
• Parallels between athletes and surgeons
• The psychological challenges of training in neurosurgery
• Navigating difficult conversations and the human tendency to self-blame after surgical complications
• How surgery culture addresses complications and mistakes
• The slippery slope of feeling like we owe our patients our lives
• The perils of perfectionism
• Reflecting on the kind of surgeon we would want if we were patients
• Self-care and balance during residency and beyond
• Making Mom proud in the OR
• The power of being courteous, patient, respectful, and empathetic
• How focusing on “What if?” can drain joy from the job
• The importance of modeling emotional intelligence and resilience
• Why protecting the asset is not the same as protecting the ego or being lazy
• How being salaried can reduce subconscious bias in decision-making

Follow Dr. Andrew Brunswick on Instagram here and find his clinical profile here.

Get on-demand, lifetime, risk-free access to the Empowered Surgeons Curriculum here. One investment of $1,997 to learn essential concepts you didn't learn in training. This one course will change your perspective, and life, permanently.

Empowered Surgeons Curriculum is available now! This program will teach you everything you wished you learned but didn't in training. Read about everything you get in the program (group coaching, Empowered Surgeons workbook, bonus videos) here or sign up immediately here.

Surgeons, text topics you want me to cover here.

Essentialism is the disciplined pursuit of less, and the profession of surgery could use a hefty dose.

Surgeon Essentialists do less, but better. This means we focus on the results we are trying to create, and then we reverse engineer the actions required to get us there. The primary goal of a surgeon is to help patients sustainably. In order to do that, we must honor two main essentials:

1. Showing up in service to the patient

2. Protecting the asset

 Learn more about Greg McKeown and Essentialism here.

Get on-demand, lifetime, risk-free access to the Empowered Surgeons Curriculum here. One investment of $1,997 to learn essential concepts you didn't learn in training. This one course will change your perspective, and life, permanently.

Empowered Surgeons Curriculum is available now! This program will teach you everything you wished you learned but didn't in training. Read about everything you get in the program (group coaching, Empowered Surgeons workbook, bonus videos) here or sign up immediately here.

Surgeons, text topics you want me to cover here.

Mental health struggles, self-sabotage, rock bottom, psychiatric admissions, having the "wrong" facial expressions and tone of voice, an intra-op assault accusation, grief, discrimination, bad teachers, big emotions, and creativity.

In this episode, Dr. Cindy Lee Neighbors shares her experience as a creative, passionate, and vocal presence in a system that couldn’t handle her. Her story highlights the immense emotional toll when training programs target their trainees.

I was definitely a troublemaker in residency too, and I watched other troublemakers get pushed out—just like Dr. Neighbors was. But are the troublemakers really the problem? Or are they the solution?

Cindy Lee Neighbors is a physician, writer, and advocate for mental health, education reform, and women's rights. Born and raised in Honolulu, she pursued her dreams of acting in Los Angeles before embarking on a career in military medicine. Her debut memoir, TOO MUCH, is a raw and honest account of her experiences navigating mental health challenges and fighting for change within the demanding field of military medicine. She won a 2024-2025 Reader Views Readers Choice Gold Prize in Humanities and was a Finalist in Memoir/Biography/Autobiography.

TOO MUCH is a gripping true story of a woman driven to the brink, sacrificing everything—love, loyalty, and sanity—in the name of retribution. It's a raw and honest look at the dark side of medicine, the challenges of mental illness, and the courage it takes to break free. It’s a story that will remind you how a brighter future is possible, even when it feels like everything is broken. This is the story of a whistleblower.

Find Dr. Cindy Lee Neighbors on instagram @cindyleeneighbors @surgerylandbooks @toomuchthebook, her websigte, www.cindyleeneighbors.com, and LinkedIN Cindy Lee Neighbors

TOO MUCH can be purchased from Amazon here, Barnes and Noble here, and Strand Book store here. Get Benji and Briana Become Booger Doctors here.

Here's that poem she talks about in our discussion and submitted to The Pharos:

I actually miss

The stupid little things

Retracting

In the OR

Suturing

People

Wearing a headlight

Starving

Not being able to pee

Freezing

Standing on a stool

Bumping heads

Having to suction the blood

Adjusting my loops “loupes”

Holding my breath

Because of the plume

Praying

Not to kill someone

Even though I know that doesn’t change thin

Get on-demand, lifetime, risk-free access to the Empowered Surgeons Curriculum here. One investment of $1,997 to learn essential concepts you didn't learn in training. This one course will change your perspective, and life, permanently.

Empowered Surgeons Curriculum is available now! This program will teach you everything you wished you learned but didn't in training. Read about everything you get in the program (group coaching, Empowered Surgeons workbook, bonus videos) here or sign up immediately here.

Surgeons, text topics you want me to cover here.

Going from trainee to attending requires a death and rebirth. One identity dies and another is born. Stepping into the identity of an authority, an expert, an attending IS the first step. If you are studying for oral boards or about to graduate, elevating your self-concept is the best thing you can do. Here are some self-concept qualities to consider for a trainee vs attending:

Trainee:

- In service to patient first, then program and self

- Surgery looks easy (it's not)

- Self-worth is detached from outcomes

- Striving

- Revere your mentors' ideas

- Say "yes" to everything for approval and popularity (sacrifice your own needs for success)

- World is small in a good way; it's a container you signed up for

Attending:

- In service to patient first, then self and practice/employer/institution

- Surgery might seem hard or scary, until you get to know your new environment and build muscle memory and confidence, then it can get easy to the point of boredom

- Self-worth is attached to outcomes (can shrink your world)

- Stagnation (unless you learn to strive for something you desire again)

- Revere your own ideas

- Say "no" more than "yes" knowing respect matters more than approval (unless you stay stuck in trainee identity, particularly the story that you have to sacrifice yourself for success)

- World can become big if you allow yourself to evolve or world can shrink from anxiety and experiential avoidance

Get on-demand, lifetime, risk-free access to the Empowered Surgeons Curriculum here. One investment of $1,997 to learn essential concepts you didn't learn in training. This one course will change your perspective, and life, permanently.

Empowered Surgeons Curriculum is available now! This program will teach you everything you wished you learned but didn't in training. Read about everything you get in the program (group coaching, Empowered Surgeons workbook, bonus videos) here or sign up immediately here.

Surgeons, text topics you want me to cover here.

From ambitious and intelligent young woman who fast-tracked through college and medical school to hard-working surgery resident to new mom in her chief year to attending trying to navigate life after training, Dr. Vassell tells us all about how she reinvented herself multiple times to create a career that aligns with her desires and values. Her story is an example of what is possible for all of us. We are NOT stuck. There are paths that allow us to help patients in meaningful and fulfilling ways without sacrificing our autonomy, freedom, or joy. We just have to get creative and learn how to feel comfortable with uncertainty. If she can find her happy place, so can you.

Dr. Rashida Vassell is the CEO and Founder of Safahla Medical PLLC, an integrative, cutaneous surgery and medical aesthetics practice. She is double Board-Certified in Wound and Hyperbaric Medicine and Anti-aging Medicine. Dr. Vassell spent years honing her clinical skills as a Medical Director at the teaching institution, Montefiore Mount Vernon, in Westchester County, NY; followed by Guthrie Corning Hospital.

Find out more about Dr. Vassell and Safahla Medical here. Follow her on instagram here.

Get on-demand, lifetime, risk-free access to the Empowered Surgeons Curriculum here. One investment of $1,997 to learn essential concepts you didn't learn in training. This one course will change your perspective, and life, permanently.

Empowered Surgeons Curriculum is available now! This program will teach you everything you wished you learned but didn't in training. Read about everything you get in the program (group coaching, Empowered Surgeons workbook, bonus videos) here or sign up immediately here.