The SurgeonMasters Podcast

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 SurgeonMasters collaborator and physician coach, Dr. Helane Fronek. Helane joins Jeff to offer her perspective on where we’ve been making a positive impact on burnout in medicine. 

Regardless of how we feel about the B-word, we have most everyone’s attention when we use the term... Burnout. Helane has been working with physicians for over 10 years - helping them find joy and passion in their work. She highlights that some of the changes in medicine have made it more difficult to provide great patient care. That, in turn, challenges physician wellness. Additionally, we’re taught that talking about mental wellness and sharing our emotions is a sign of weakness or illness. We need a culture change that emphasizes the importance of talking about emotions and mental health.

Helane describes the two major changes that need to take place if we are going to reverse course. We should be doing both. 1. System Change and 2. Individual Change. While the system can make the biggest impact, those changes might come slowly. Helane adds a few to the many individual changes out there in the discussion.

One of her boldest suggestions to individual change may be one that has the greatest impact upon system change. 

What can we do?

What practical step does Helane suggest we take?

Listen to Episode 53 to find out!!

Helane trained in internal medicine and spent 30 years as a vein specialist. Dr. Fronek is also a coach who assists other physicians to regain their love of being a doctor while they enjoy a life full of other fulfilling activities. Her combination of fierce kindness and total commitment to her clients’ goals encourages them to dream big, think creatively, and find new and exciting ways of having the life they want. She is also an internationally recognized speaker whose enthusiasm and ability to clearly explain difficult subjects continues to inspire and enlighten her audiences. 

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 SurgeonMasters collaborator and physician coach, Dr. Errin Weisman. 

On this episode, Errin and Jeff talk about being comfortable with being UNcomfortable. 

Is there a new skill you want to learn or a hobby you want to pick up? Maybe there’s a physical habit you want to make routine, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Is there something you want but haven’t had the nerve to ask for?

Uncertainty and discomfort can stifle growth and progress. On the flip side, healthy uncertainty with a solid support system can be invigorating and lead to growth. 

Yes, it can feel overwhelming to make even small changes or add anything to our plate when it already feels so full. But we rarely experience progress without some level of uncertainty or unease. 

Errin tells us to embrace these feelings, and to work on gaining perspective and developing a plan to move forward.

What steps does Errin suggest we take to embrace being uncomfortable and spark growth?

• Step 1 - Awareness - Understand if you are running away from something or moving toward something. What is underlying your desired change?

• Step 2 - Assessment - Find clarity around WHY you feel this way and what has led to this point.

• Step 3 - Action - Take INCREMENTAL steps to start moving forward. Small steps can power SUBSTANTIAL growth.

Errin 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 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.

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 mini-podcast CFO & Practice Administrator of Access Omnicare and FORM Hand, Wrist & Elbow Institute, Amirra Besh. The topic of discussion in this episode is Walk and Talk!

As the practice administrator of two busy medical groups, Amirra is a strong wellness advocate. She witnesses first-hand the importance of healthy and (relatively) balanced lifestyles of the healthcare professionals under her management. Her husband and partner also happens to be a busy orthopaedic surgeon, so she has the unique perspective of seeing it from both a professional and personal perspective.

She notes that we’re all short on time, and can struggle to meaningfully connect. Amirra uses her strategy of “walk and talk” with people in her life to find time to connect. This can be an effective strategy at home with your kids or spouse, or in a professional setting with your peers. The connection you create and the subject of conversation can be deep and meaningful, or something more light-hearted and fun. 

Her important take-away is that it doesn’t take much to ask someone to go for a walk… and talk. The result can be impactful far beyond the amount of time, energy, and effort it requires. A long or short conversation. Inside the hospital or outside in nature with the family dog. Amirra reminds us that the power is in the connection.  

What does Amirra suggest we do to walk and talk?

• Step 1 - Think‌ ‌of‌ ‌someone‌ ‌in‌ ‌your‌ ‌personal‌ ‌or‌ ‌professional‌ ‌life‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌have‌ ‌been‌ ‌meaning‌ ‌to‌ ‌connect‌ ‌with.‌

• Step 2 - Ask this person to go for a walk, or a coffee, or something else simple that doesn’t take much energy.

• Step 3 - Talk! Have a conversation and connect.

Amirra Besh is a wife, mom & boss! She is a busy mother of five, healthcare administrator & CFO for FORM Hand, Wrist & Institute and Access Omnicare. Currently residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Amirra is the President of a local chapter for National Charity League and a Spartan racer. She finds her energy and wellness in fitness, philanthropy and connectedness. In addition to enjoying time being active outdoors, traveling  and growing a small business, Amirra loves volunteering with friends and family.

It's important we slow down and acknowledge our successes from time to time, look back and reflect on what we have accomplished. Let's set aside our perfectionist tendencies and focus on our impact. 

This is the 50th episode of the SurgeonMasters Mini-Podcast and I couldn't be more excited to share it with you. Here's to 50 (or 500) more!

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 mini-podcast internal medicine physician and physician coach Helane Fronek, MD. 

The topic of discussion in this episode is Comparison! 

It’s safe to say that physicians are a competitive bunch. There’s a certain driven personality attracted to medicine, and it often helps inspire our success. Helane notes how the culture often stacks us up against one another to get into the top medical school, residencies, and fellowship programs. As we move through training comparing ourselves to others, the strategy can add undue stress. We take this mindset into practice, continually striving (at whatever cost) to be better than the physician next to us.

Our competitive side fuels us, until it ceases to power improvement and instead stalls forward steps and impedes progress. 

How can we shift our thinking to limit stress and be our best?

Helane offers three steps:

• Step 1 - Become Aware. Recognize when you are comparing yourself to others.

• Step 2 - Shift Your Focus. Start thinking about what YOU are doing. How am I learning? How am I growing?

• Step 3 - Move Forward Toward Your Goal. Ignore everyone else’s lack of progress.

Helane Fronek, MD trained in internal medicine and spent 30 years as a vein specialist. Dr. Fronek is also a coach who assists other physicians to regain their love of being a doctor while they enjoy a life full of other fulfilling activities. Her combination of fierce kindness and total commitment to her clients’ goals encourages them to dream big, think creatively, and find new and exciting ways of having the life they want. She is also an internationally recognized speaker whose ability to clearly explain difficult subjects and enthusiasm for her work continue to inspire and enlighten her audiences.

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 orthopaedic surgeon and New York Times Best Selling author Timothy Browne, MD.  Tim recently released the third novel in a medical thriller series titled The Rusted Scalpel. Sounds like a great read for Halloween! Though you may want to start with the first two books in the series.

The topic of discussion on our podcast episode with Tim is Creativity! With the busy life of a surgeon, how can we possibly find time for creativity? Tim suggests that creativity is the foundation of who we are as surgeons. If we DON’T exercise our creative sides, we might be more likely to burn out. 

As the practice of medicine has changed, and physicians are taken further from their purpose by replacing patient care with mundane daily tasks, we are being taken further from our why. To combat this our goal should be to start moving our OWN creative passions forward. 

With all of us being pulled in so many directions at every stage of our careers, how can we possibly carve out time for OTHER THINGS? 

Tim has a few suggestions:

• Suggestion 1 - Be Intentional. Block out specific time for your activity.

• Suggestion 2 - Erase Self-Doubt. Start taking steps free of worry or care.

• Suggestion 3 - Surround yourself with others with similar interests! Build camaraderie to help you focus your creativity.

Timothy Browne, MD draws from life and work experience when writing. For many years, he has worked as an orthopaedic surgeon and medical missionary for Operation Blessing, Mercy Ships, and Hope Force International. His work has taken him to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Brazil, Ukraine, Borneo, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, North Korea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Haiti and Sierra Leone. He now resides in Western Montana with his wife, Julie, who along with their three sons, served with him.

Reach out to Tim! Email [email protected] or learn more online: www.authortimothybrowne.com

Amazon Goodreads Facebook