Operate with Zen

Louise Phipps Senft is the founder and CEO of Baltimore Mediation.  She is a well-respected attorney and mediator.  Louise practices "Transformative Mediation" in a number of complex settings -uniquely in healthcare - where techniques of mindfulness (like presence and non-judgement) are implemented routinely.  She is an expert in personality assessment, personal and relational interactio...

Humans are creatures of habit who crave control in sometimes uncontrollable circumstances.  In this episode, OWZ regular Angie Smith, MD and Professor of Urology at UNC Chapel Hill and I discuss "control" in a variety of surgical settings.  Control in the operating room, control in patient encounters outside of the OR, control over how we structure our lives, and how we achieve balance. ...

David Canes, MD is a urologist at the Lahey Clinic in Boston.  He is incredibly thoughtful in his approach to medicine and his approach to life outside of medicine.  Early on in this podcast, we discuss not letting urology [or surgery] to be the only thing of which you are proud.  We talk passion projects and David's newest adventure (wellprept.com).  And we talk about ways to avoid "pre...

Amanda North, MD is an accomplished Pediatric Urologist at Montefiore in the Bronx.  She is also an outstanding advocate for surgeons - leading the movement to understand burnout in our specialty (urology) and women in surgery.  Our conversation meanders through fascinating topics with a focus on the key components of a sustainable career.  We even touch on Ted Lasso (see picture behind her).

Chris Jaeger, MD is currently a pediatric urology fellow at Boston Children's Hospital.  He is a recent graduate from the Ohio State urology residency where he co-created and implemented a 12-week wellness program for the residents.  Chris shares his experience with the research protocol, thoughts on institutional wellness, and identifies "priority domains" highlighted by his work a...

Kyle Richards, MD, FACS is an Associate Professor and Urologic Oncologist at the University of Wisconsin.  This is his second OWZ podcast.  In this episode we talk about managing complications in a mindful way.  Starting with the emotions that arise when something bad happens to one of our patients, we discuss how to engage members of the team, the patient, and the patient's family to improve...

Neda Gould, PhD is a clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins.  She is also the Director of the Mindfulness Program at Johns Hopkins for faculty and staff.  In this episode, we talk through the scientific foundations of meditation practice and how to incorporate them, practically, into your life as a busy surgeon or physician.  We talk through...

To accompany the podcast, a great 10 minute practice great for all experience levels of meditation.

Tait Shanafelt, MD is an outstanding human being and doctor.  In addition to being a well-respected and renowned medical oncologist, he is the Chief Wellness Officer at Stanford Medicine and one of the most prolific writers of medical literature regarding wellness and burnout in medicine.  In this episode of OWZ, we discuss both individual and institutional approaches to wellness highlighting both...

Negative Feedback can arrive in a variety of forms in surgery including direct feedback from peers or bosses, patient complaints, or complications.  This solo podcast discusses a 4-step process to deal with negativity in our lives. (Music Credit: Sunshine, Simon Jomphe Lepine.)

Abraham Maslow was an American Psychologist who created a "Hierarchy of Needs" to describe an individual's ability to achieve their full potential - what he called self-actualization.  Achieving "wellness" in one's life is a challenge.  Understanding the framework of Maslow's Hierarchy and how it applies to medicine and surgery may help you climb the pyramid towa...

The United States military is among the elite fighting forces in human history.  Fostering a great military starts with fostering great soldiers.  Tanya Ivey-Bloom is a nurse practitioner at the Johns Hopkins Hospital but also the current Commander of the 336th Medical Detachment of the US Army Reserves in Fort Meade Maryland.  We compare and contrast military and civilian medicine, leadership sty...

"Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain."  – Vivian Greene  Dr. James Harris is a general surgeon and Chair of Surgery at Howard County General Hospital of Johns Hopkins Medicine.  James is an incredible surgeon and role model whose personal story has taken tremendous twists and turns.  Despite the ups and downs, James always finds a...

Dr. Casey Seideman is a pediatric urologist at Oregon Health and Sciences University.  A few years ago, Casey never ran a complete mile.  Now she is an outspoken advocate for wellness in the operating room and beyond.  In this podcast we tackle small changes and their ability make big impact, how mental preparation promotes a health surgical community, and how, as a surgeon, you can achieve great...

Paul Maroni is a urologic oncologist at University of Colorado in Denver.  He also runs the American Urological Association course on “Winning the Battle Against Burnout.”  Paul is also an extremely thoughtful and mindful surgeon, physician, and educator.  In this episode of OWZ, we tackle a lot more than burnout.  We discuss extreme ownership of the good and bad that occurs in our surgical practi...

No one is born with a mindfulness practice.  It takes time to discover your needs, to personalize your practice, and to cultivate that practice as you evolve as a mindful person.  Dr. Sima Porten is a skilled urologic cancer surgeon and incorporates mindfulness into her everyday routine.  Both her surgical skills and her mindfulness practice developed over an extended period of time and minor adju...

Taylor Riall, MD, PhD, FACS is the real deal!  Accomplished academic hepatobiliary surgeon, executive coach, competitive athlete, and a genuine inspiration to all who encounter her.  Dr. Riall was a major inspiration in my (ongoing) path to wellness and the creation of this podcast.  We tackle a lot in this discussion but start with changing surgical culture one surgeon, one inspiration at a time,...

Tracy M. Downs, MD, FACS is a Professor of Urology and Chief Diversity & Community Engagement Officer at the University of Virginia.  Tracy is a deeply thoughtful and compassionate surgeon and person.  His approach to life parallels his approach to patient care which parallels his approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion.  We explore the metaphor of endurance built during distance running...

Anne M. Suskind, MD, FACS, MS is an Associate Professor of Urology; Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences; the Associate Chair of Faculty Affairs and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and the Chief of Neurourology, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery at the University of California San Francisco.  She is an accomplished surgeon scientist and a wonderful human being.  She...

In Season 1, Episode 11 we spoke about Understanding Bad Behaviors.  In this podcast, we literally talk to the person who wrote the book.  Dr. Jody Foster is a psychiatrist and Assistant Dean for Professionalism at the University of Pennsylvania.  Among other roles, she is also the team psychiatrist for the Philadelphia Eagles.  She encounters “bad behaviors” for a living and, in this episode, dis...

Many of our guests on Operate with Zen are established in their careers and working to figure out a more mindful, healthy approach to medicine and surgery.  Jake Taylor, MD (Twitter: @doctorjakeuro) is a Chief Resident at NYU and while still developing in his surgical career, has well established routines and principles of mindfulness.  A great podcast for listeners at all levels of surgical and m...

Surgery is a physically and mentally challenging profession.  While many of us address physical health outside of operating room through a variety of activities - few of us are mindful about how to approach our physical well-being in the operating room.  Tim Anderson is an experienced personal trainer and creator of the Original Strength program designed to utilize simple concepts and movements to...

Many Eastern and Western Philosophies are rooted in a desire to understand who we are and what is our purpose.  Kyle Richards, MD (Twitter: @Uro_Rich) is a urologic oncologist who found his medical purpose in caring for patients with cancer.  Dr. Richards also talks about  how to "repurpose" some of our challenging activities as doctors to make them more meaningful and discusses life out...

Michael Joyner, MD (Twitter: @DrMJoyner) is a physiologist and anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic with expertise in human performance - specifically human physical performance.  We discuss analogies between sports and surgery, and how to function with maximum output, and peak efficiency in our surgical existence.  (Music Credit: Sunshine, Simon Jomphe Lepine.)

Jay Shah, MD (Twitter: @BladderCancerMD) is a urologic oncologist and Vice-Chief of Staff at Stanford Health Care.  His journey brought him through several outstanding medical institutions in this country and he discusses his evolution from trainee to academic and research all-star, and his now burgeoning leadership career.  Philosophies on leadership are discussed in addition to practical advice...