Scalpel and Sword: Conflict and Negotiation in Modern Medicine

💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed doctors don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let...

💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed doctors don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let...

💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed doctors don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let...

💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed doctors don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let...

💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed doctors don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let...

💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed doctors don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let...

💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed docs don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let Ge...

💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed doctors don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let...

  💰  This episode is sponsored by Gelt: The tech enabled tax firm for independent physicians. Independent physicians face unique tax challenges that employed docs don't. Multiple income streams, practice ownership, contract work, traditional CPAs aren't built for this complexity. Gelt is. Year-round strategy, optimization and compliance for physicians who chose independence over institution. Let...

What happens when those closest to the patient are no longer the ones driving care decisions? In this powerful solo episode of Scalpel and Sword , Dr. Lee Sharma takes a hard, unfiltered look at the shifting power dynamics within modern healthcare. Moving beyond the exam room, she examines how three dominant forces - malpractice systems, administrative structures, and insurance companies, have ste...

What if the biggest threat to physician wellbeing isn’t burnout, but the way we’ve been trained to communicate, lead, and respond under pressure? In this insightful episode of Scalpel and Sword , Dr. Lee Sharma sits down with Dr. Lillian Emlet, to explore the powerful intersection of communication, coaching, and system-wide resilience. Drawing from her experience in critical care, medical educatio...

What if the patients you see suffering from lack of access aren’t choosing noncompliance, they simply lost insurance due to life circumstances? In this powerful episode of Scalpel and Sword, Dr. Lee Sharma sits down with Dr. Jubril Oyeyemi, as he shares his unlikely journey from hospitalist to clinic founder after repeatedly witnessing patients return with advanced illness simply because they coul...

You've heard how conflict in healthcare causes burnout and poor patient care, but what if it could send someone to prison for multiple life sentences? In this gripping episode of the Scalpel and Sword Podcast, host Dr. Lee Sharma sits down with Heather Packer to examine the Lucy Letby case. What began as a spike in neonatal deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital quickly turned into accusations...

What if the biggest threat to vulnerable patients isn’t just individual wrongdoing, but a healthcare system that struggles to handle conflict, uncertainty, and early warnings? In this powerful solo episode of the Scalpel and Sword Podcast, host Dr. Lee Sharma shares the disturbing and still-unfolding story of the Lucy Letby case at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit in the UK. Beginn...

What if the conflict you're avoiding could actually become one of your most powerful tools for building trust, improving culture, and retaining top talent in healthcare? In this insightful episode of the Scalpel and Sword Podcast, host Dr. Lee Sharma welcomes Karl Pister, as he brings deep expertise in conflict management, mediation, emotional intelligence, and leadership development. Together the...

What if the biggest threat to patient safety isn’t a lack of medical knowledge, but the inability of highly trained professionals to work effectively together under pressure? In this powerful solo episode of the Scalpel and Sword Podcast, host Dr. Lee Sharma challenges the persistent myth of the lone hero in medicine. The brilliant surgeon or decisive physician who single-handedly saves the day. S...

What if the most powerful leadership skill isn’t being the smartest person in the room, but learning how to follow well, reflect honestly, and see every piece of constructive feedback as an act of love? Picking up right where Part 1 left off, Dr. Jessica Bunin shares the practical, human side of the CLEAR framework in action, from a deeply personal peer conversation about abortion that permanently...

What if the most powerful leadership tool in medicine isn’t a new protocol or policy, but the courage to say “I don’t know… but I’ll find out”? In this rich, practical conversation, retired Colonel Dr. Jessica Bunin, shares how a single residency remediation crisis became her leadership wake-up call. After 23 years in the Army, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and years as program di...

What if true advocacy for children starts not just in the clinic, but in communities, legislatures, and even within ourselves?  In this insightful conversation,  Dr. Lee Sharma sits with Dr. Alisa Minkin as she shares her journey as a pediatrician and mother of a daughter with autism, highlighting how personal advocacy evolved into broader efforts for inclusion and neurodiversity, including the ev...

Why do everyday conflicts, like eye rolls in the OR or “we’ve always done it this way” in meetings, erode healthcare teams, and how can physicians lead through them effectively?  In this insightful solo episode, Dr. Lee Sharma explores why medical training prioritizes decisiveness over emotional regulation and relational skills, fostering avoidance, dominance, or intellectualization that erodes tr...

What if the majority of what we call “ethical dilemmas” are really just conflicts in disguise?  In this rich, practical conversation, Dr. Haavi Morreim shares decades of experience as a philosopher-turned-mediator, attorney, and faculty member at UT Health Science Center. She explains how she moved from watching physicians get crushed by malpractice litigation to teaching clinicians the skills tha...

What if medicine's blind spot to caregiving isn't ignorance, but a mismatch in roles and expectations? In this thought-provoking episode of Scalpel and Sword , host Dr. Lee Sharma welcomes Dr. Kenneth Lamb, to unpack his JAMA Network Open editorial responding to a study on healthcare-caregiver teamwork post-knee replacement. Drawing from his dual lens as physician and family caregiver, Dr. Lamb qu...

What does conflict really look like in modern medical training, and how can it be handled in a way that supports both learners and patients? In this episode of Scalpel and Sword , host Dr. Lee Sharma welcomes Dr. Michael Miley. Having trained through every stage of academic medicine—medical student, resident, chief resident, and now attending—Dr. Miley offers a rare, longitudinal perspective on co...

What if reaching the top of your career mountain leaves you wondering, "Is this it?"  In this episode of Scalpel and Sword Podcast , Dr. Lee Sharma welcomes Jake Kennington, to explore the journey from professional achievement to personal fulfillment, and discover how to realign and redesign your life. Jake shares his origin story—from discovering engineering at BYU, building a career in Californi...

What if the way we were trained to give feedback in medicine is the very thing burning doctors out today? Every physician remembers their first day of residency—the fear, the overwhelm, and the sudden realization that medical school did not truly prepare them for the intensity of real-world practice. In this episode of Scalpel and Sword Podcast , Dr. Lee Sharma sits down with fellow OB/GYN Dr. Emi...