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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 board-certified psychiatrist and performance coach, Ryan Davis, MD. Ryan works with elite athletes and high-level professionals, including professional golfers on the LPGA tour.

Routine is important.

Through the lens of a golfer, it's important to have a pre-shot routine and a post-shot routine. This means that every single time a golfer steps up to the ball, they do the exact same thing. After taking the shot, they also take the exact same actions while thinking about what they liked and didn't like about the shot. This allows for consistency, and helps tamp down intrusive thoughts.

This can be applied in the realm of medicine too. As surgeons, we sometimes go off script by doing things differently than normal for one reason or another. But when we can stick to our routines, that's when the best outcomes occur.

What steps does Ryan suggest we take to stick to our routines?

• Step 1 - Develop a routine and know what it is. Many people already have a routine without even knowing it. Identify the elements of your routine so you can make sure you implement those steps regularly.
• Step 2 - If you notice you're falling off your routine, ask yourself why. Sometimes there is a justifiable reason, but in most cases it's best to stick to that routine.
• Step 3 - Refine your routine over time to optimize your performance and achieve your best results.

Most importantly, PRACTICE your routine to reach peak performance!

BIO

Dr. Davis is a Harvard trained, board-certified psychiatrist with advanced performance coach training. While not at the office Dr. Davis is a 3-time marathon runner, die-hard University of Michigan and Detroit sports enthusiast, and most importantly, an obsessed golfer.

Dr. Davis helps his clients gain insight into their psyche as it relates to their sport and personal life. Dr. Davis’ background allows him to offer unique mental coaching, creating resilient and driven athletes who live more purposeful lives. Dr. Davis provides performance coaching for elite athletes, teams, as well as business executives.

SurgeonMasters is a physician peer community dedicated to improving the personal and professional well-being of physicians.

Join your colleagues online at SurgeonMasters.com for events, resources, and more.

PRACTICE Your Best!

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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 retired orthopedic surgeon and leader, Dr. Richard Barry.

We should all strive to achieve a lightness of being in our everyday relationships. Lightness is a transferable personality and management skill.

The term “lightness of being” refers to the deeper concept of a life lived with openness, humor, and humility. In other words, it’s about living with less attachment (or less heaviness), and more lightness.

In a practical sense, lightness of being means letting go of guilt, resentment, or control to move through life with a freer spirit. Lightness involves connection (whether it’s a patient connection, dealing with hospital staff, or spending time at home with our families). In all these situations, we should strive to be fully present in the present moment.

What steps does Rich suggest we take to shift our mindset from heaviness to lightness of being?

• Step 1 - Reframe seriousness. Life if serious enough. Ask yourself “does this need to be heavy or can I hold it lightly?” Shift the narrative from “I have to” to “I get to” which flips burden into opportunity.
• Step 2 - Look upon impermanence as freedom. Situations, feelings, and identities shift. This change in perspective allows you to loosen your grip.
• Step 3 - Choose small over big. Heaviness often comes from trying to solve everything at once. Break big tasks into smaller tasks that you can celebrate finishing.

Most importantly, PRACTICE your own lightness of being!

BIO

Rich Barry is a retired orthopaedic surgeon living in Northern California. Rich has a somewhat unique background. Prior to medical school and residency, he served as an Air Force C-130 pilot on a combat tour in Vietnam. He returned to the States with an assignment as a T-38 instructor pilot before being selected to attend medical school on an Air Force scholarship. After residency, he served as an Air Force orthopaedic surgeon at Travis AFB, California. After serving in the Air Force, he was in private practice in Davis California for over 20 years. He served as a clinical faculty member for the U.C. Davis Department of Orthopaedics.

Rich is a past-President of the California Orthopaedic Association and a past-Chair of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ Board of Councilors. He served on the AAOS’ Board of Directors. He has been honored with the California Orthopaedic Association’s Founders Award and the COA’s 2011 Tipton Leadership Award. Rich and his wife remain active in the Lamplighters Orthopaedic Association, a leadership alumni group of Fellows and their spouses.

Since retirement, Rich has remained active in his community. He served as a physician at a Solano County Health Services inner-city, primary care clinic in Vallejo for several years. He was the Chairman of the Solano County Board of Supervisors Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board. He served as a member of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team for over 5 years.

Rich is a disabled veteran. He is married, and is very proud of their three children, and 4 grandchildren.

SurgeonMasters is a physician peer community dedicated to improving the personal and professional well-being of physicians.

Join your colleagues online at SurgeonMasters.com for events, resources, and more.

PRACTICE Your Best!

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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 pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist, Nicholette Kasman, MD, MAPP.

Just as there’s a big difference between the absence of illness and health, there’s a difference between flourishing and simply not suffering. Applied positive psychology is the study of what contributes to flourishing.

It’s a human tendency to have a negativity bias. Although we’re constantly looking to fix ourselves and our problems, our greatest area for growth is to lean into our strengths.

This is all applicable to the lives of physicians. When we strive for excellence, we tend to lean into that negativity bias of trying to fix everything around us. That can lead to people feeling browbeaten. If you instead train someone to look for their own strengths and the strengths in those around them, people start to feel seen and engaged. That is the foundation of psychological safety and exceptional clinical work.

What steps does Nicholette suggest we take to integrate positive psychology into the operating room?

• Step 1 - Develop a vocabulary of strengths. Take a strength survey or use another resource to grow your awareness.
• Step 2 - Start looking for the strengths in other people by noticing what they get excited about.
• Step 3 - Point out those strengths. When you name the strength you see in another person, it makes them feel seen and empowered.

Most importantly, PRACTICE identifying strengths in ourselves and others!

BIO:

Nicholette Kasman, MD, MAPP, is a pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist and Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesia at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She holds a master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and is a certified coach with additional training as a positive psychology coach. Her work focuses on enhancing well-being, psychological safety, and professional growth in academic medicine. She is a lead author of Team Building Through Positive Psychology Principles in the Pediatric Cardiac Operating Room (NEJM Catalyst) and was recently featured on SurgeonMasters discussing the use of strengths to support thriving in surgery and medicine.

SurgeonMasters is a physician peer community dedicated to improving the personal and professional well-being of physicians.

Join your colleagues online at SurgeonMasters.com for events, resources, and more.

PRACTICE Your Best!