The SurgeonMasters Podcast

Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better…

We are welcoming orthopaedic trauma surgeon, Phil Stahel, onto the MINI-podcast for the second time in a row, where he’ll challenge us to work on becoming minimizing risk in order to become better surgeons.

How does he recommend taking a pragmatic approach to risk? By answering these 4 questions:

• Question 1 - What is the best thing that can happen if I take the risk?

• Question 2 - What is the worst thing that can happen if I take the risk?

• Question 3 - What is the best thing that can happen if I don’t take the risk?

• Question 4 - What is the worst thing that can happen if I don’t take the risk?

If you’re not familiar with Dr. Stahel, his book Blood, Sweat and Tears - Becoming a Better Surgeon, is an enlightening dive into his 20-year journey from intern to successful surgeon and global patient safety advocate.

It is a perfect example of how surgeons can be both talented in the theater and talented outside of it.

Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better…

We are welcoming orthopaedic trauma surgeon, Phil Stahel, onto the NEW Surgeon Masters podcast, where he’ll challenge us to work on becoming better listeners in order to become better surgeons.

How does he recommend becoming a better listener?

• Step 1 - Shut Up

• Step 2 - Listen for 2 minutes!

• Step 3 - Don’t interrupt!

Dr. Stahel also recommends...

• Asking your patients how they want to be addressed. First name? last name? other?

• Asking your patients what makes them happy?

If you’re not familiar with Dr. Stahel, his book, Blood, Sweat and Tears - Becoming a Better Surgeon, is an enlightening dive into his 20-year journey from intern to successful surgeon and global patient safety advocate.

It is a perfect example of how surgeons can be both talented in the theater and talented outside of it.

Because it’s so important to me that you have an opportunity to hear Dr. Stahel’s invaluable insights, I want to make it as easy as possible for you to listen to our chat.

Today, I continue our conversation with  Dr. David G. LaVelle, MD on The SurgeonMasters Podcast. During his more than 30 years of surgical work, Dr. LaVelle has watched surgery transform from a practice that occasionally held a certain butcher-shop feel, to a highly technical  and refined art form. He has experienced every aspect of life as a surgeon, from pre-op to post-op to retirement.

Even though he’s no longer turning 12-hour days in the operating room, Dr. LaVelle remains in clinical practice and is a highly sought-after surgical consultant. His passion for pursuing excellence in surgery is still pronounced, and he works to help up and coming surgeons—and the surgical staff—become more familiar with the finer points of surgery.  

Dr. LaVelle is a proud graduate of the University of Tennessee Medical School at Memphis (1979). He completed his Orthopaedic Surgical Residency in 1984, and has remained on staff at the Campbell Clinic all these years.

Listen as Dr. LaVelle and I discuss a range of topics, including:

• Fighting with osteoarthritis in the hands—the great fear of an aging surgeon…

• Pushing through the pain versus knowing when it’s time to quit…

• The fluctuation between burnout and success…

• Why it’s important to have malleability in self-image…

• Finding gratification outside of the OR and work…

• Replicating the adrenaline rush of surgery with other things…

• And more...

Today, I welcome Dr. David G. LaVelle —an Orthopaedic Surgeon practicing for over 30 years—onto The SurgeonMasters Podcast. During his three-plus decades of work, Dr. LaVelle has seen the world of surgery change and change dramatically. No more dramatically than when he was recently forced to surrender his surgical practice due to progressive arthritis disabling his hands.

In spite of his forced-retirement from the OR, Dr. LaVelle continues to be one of the brightest surgical minds in the country. His passion for helping residents, nurses, and his fellow citizens hasn’t dissipated in retirement, and he continues to be of service both in his personal and professional communities.

Dr. LaVelle, is a pride of Memphis, as a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, the University of Tennessee Medical School, the Campbell Clinic / University of Tennessee Orthopaedic Residency (1984) before joining the staff at the Campbell Clinic, where he maintains a very successful career.

Listen as Dr. LaVelle and I discuss:

• His difficult transition away from operating room and how that transforms perspective…

• And what happens If you give a Surgeon a cookie…

Today, I welcome Dr. Kamshad Raiszadeh—a well-renowned spine surgeon with more than 20 years of surgical experience—onto The SurgeonMasters Podcast. During his two-decades of work, Dr. Raiszadeh has noticed a dramatic and dangerous increase in surgery for the treatment of neck and low back pain, a trend he is trying to combat through his new book, Take Back Control: A Surgeon’s Guide to Healing the Spine Without Medication or Surgery. While the content of his book might be extremely interesting and useful to those suffering from back pain, I invited Kam to talk about his background and experience that writing the book and getting it published. 

After receiving his medical degree from UCSF, Dr. Raiszadeh completed an orthopedic residency at U.C. Davis, and training in adult and pediatric spine surgery at the Hospital for Joint Disease in New York. Today, he is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, an active member of the Scoliosis Research Society, an active member of the North American Spine Society, and the medical director of the Advanced Spine Institute & Minimally Invasive Spine center at Alvarado Hospital.

Listen as Dr. Raiszadeh and I discuss a range of topics, including:

• Why he is so passionate about the non-operative care of the spine, despite being trained and driven to be a technically excellent surgeon…
• The importance of learning new medical and non-medical perspectives beyond your residency and fellowship training…
• His belief that surgeons are foolishly competitive…
• How to prolong your energy and career by doing what you love…
• How practicing unhealthy empathy and lack of self-care can lead to burnout…
• And more...