The SurgeonMasters Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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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, Quality Improvement Executive Leadership Consultant, Margie Nelson, MS, MT, EMT, CPXP.

Margie has spent the past 20 years as a hospital quality and safety specialist handling risk, quality improvement, and communication enhancement. 

Margie has recognized that quality of care is directly related to how well a patient understands what the physician is telling them. Many physicians don’t always have time to develop the relationship that the patient requires to build that trust and desire to take care of themselves. 

Effective communication between physicians and their teams is foundational. Physicians need strong communication skills with peers and leadership, as well as with their patients. Often strong communication in one area will positively impact the others.

What steps does Margie suggest to improve communication between physician leaders, physician reports, and ultimately, patients?

• Step 1 - Set the expectation that colleagues can always come to you with questions, challenges, or suggestions. 
• Step 2 -  Exhibit the characteristics that you want to see in others.
• Step 3 - Acknowledge existing challenges and ask for partnership in solving those challenges.

Most importantly, PRACTICE improving how you communicate!

BIO

Margie Nelson, MS, MT, EMT, CPXP,  is a Quality Improvement Executive Leadership Consultant with a demonstrated history of working with hospital and healthcare systems on quality, safety and patient experience of care.  Most recently, she added Physician Wellness to her skills, administering a Physician Coaching program at Envision Healthcare, which made a significant impact on physician wellness and improvement of quality and safety scores. Margie’s education and training include a BS and MS from the George Washington University in Medical Technology and Healthcare Quality and Safety. She has worked on both sides of the care and regulatory aspects of Healthcare and continues to bring value to physician relationships with patients, leaders and colleagues.

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 ENT surgeon and professional coach Dr. Mel Thacker to the podcast.

Each of us carries two inner selves — the essential self and the social self. When these two are in harmony, we’re capable of extraordinary things. But when they’re out of alignment, it can lead to dissatisfaction, stress, or burnout.

The essential self is our true nature — who we are at our core, from birth. The social self is the identity we build over time to meet the expectations of others. As infants, we cry when we’re upset — pure essential self. As adults, we may feel like crying but force a smile to keep others comfortable — the social self at work.

So how do we bring these two selves into balance? Dr. Thacker offers three key steps:

• Step 1 - Recognize that most of us are living unconsciously. We tell ourselves we’ll be happy after we attain the next milestone. This is the arrival fallacy. Instead, we need to live consciously.
• Step 2 - Explore your earliest memories and consider why they stand out. These moments can offer valuable insights into your essential self — the version of you that existed before external expectations took over.
• Step 3 - Consider working with a coach to explore, identify, and integrate your essential and social selves. A coach can help you uncover unconscious patterns and align your path with who you truly are..

Most importantly, PRACTICE being your essential self!

BIO

Mel Thacker, MD, PCC, DipABLM is a fellowship-trained rhinologist/otolaryngologist, professional certified coach, and lifestyle medicine specialist.

After two years in academics, she realized how much she valued autonomy and pivoted to private practice, serving a Massachusetts community for nearly a decade. But when panic attacks and insomnia took hold, she turned to coaching—transforming the most emotionally painful year of her life into her greatest teacher. She emerged on the other side as a better human, clinician, surgeon, wife, mother, and friend. After that experience, her work evolved from taking care of patients to resourcing her fellow surgeons.

• Watch her TEDx talk, "How to Save Lives with Two Minutes of Listening," here.
• Her second TEDx talk, "Seeing Beyond the Red Swans," will be available in Spring 2025.

She is also the host of the groundbreaking podcast, Surgeons with Purpose, and the Founder of Empowered Surgeons Group, a program that will teach you everything you didn't learn in surgical training.

Social Media:

Follow her on Instagram here
Connect on LinkedIn here

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 CEO of Vital WorkLife, Mitch Best.

Burnout in the healthcare industry is prevalent among physicians and healthcare executives, driven by an inefficient system where critical decisions are made daily. These decisions often carry an immense emotional toll, including grief.

For the system to function at its best, everyone involved must experience wellness. Achieving this requires two key steps: 1) changing the system, and 2) cultivating healthy wellness habits. Reaching this goal will take a collective effort. It’s essential to continue identifying meaningful support resources to help physicians and healthcare executives mitigate burnout and stress.

What steps does Mitch suggest we take to mitigate burnout and stress among healthcare leaders?

• Step 1 - Talk About It. Speaking with a peer about the things that are causing burnout and stress can go a long way towards mitigation.
• Step 2 - Create a Culture of Optimism. This is one of the key components of combating burnout among leaders and their medical staff.
• Step 3 - Seek Help When Needed. Holding a healthcare leadership role can be quite isolating. Building relationships (whether formal or informal) with like-minded professionals can go a long way in alleviating burnout.

Most importantly, practice techniques to mitigate burnout!

About Mitch Best

As the CEO of VITAL WorkLife for over a decade, Mitch guides the company's vision, directs the senior leadership team, and works towards achieving organizational objectives. His focus extends to empowering hundreds of thousands of physicians and APPs, enabling them to reach their full potential, all while fostering a vibrant and celebrated company culture.

He began with the company in 2001 as Director of Business Development, moved up to Vice President in 2004, became COO in 2008, and eventually acquired the company in 2013. 

With a background in behavioral health consulting and diverse industry expertise, Mitch infuses his work with passion and enthusiasm, offering a quick start nature, servant leadership and diligent oversight. He has also been actively engaged in executive and mental health & well-being industry groups for more than 15 years.

Mitch, a Minnesota native, resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children, emphasizing work-life balance through family time and an active lifestyle. He holds a BA in psychology from the University of Minnesota.

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 back to the podcast sleep medicine specialist and Chief Medical Officer of Optimism, Dominic Munafo, MD. The topic of sleep hygiene is so important, Jeff invited Dominic back to give us more […]

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 physician (and physician coach) Dr. Michelle Mudge-Riley. Michelle is the founder of Physicians Helping Physicians and Scout A Career. The topic of our discussion in this episode is Run […]

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!

Send us a text

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 sleep medicine specialist and Chief Medical Officer of Optisom, Dominic Munafo, MD. The topic of discussion in this episode is Sleep Hygiene! Most surgeons could probably use more sleep, […]

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 back to the mini-podcast advocate and SurgeonMasters team member, Paul Hiller. On this episode, the team discusses the important role asking questions plays in performance improvement. Jeff explains that the old method […]

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!

Send us a text

Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better… Jeff welcomes back to the podcast plastic surgeon and SurgeonMasters contributor, Jonathan Cabin, MD. The topic of discussion in this episode is Opting-Out – a strategy Jonathan employs to manage his time and the […]

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 Basil Besh, MD, orthopaedic hand surgeon and physician leader. The topic of discussion is leadership, a quality Basil describes as natural to physicians and “intrinsic to the profession.” Whether […]

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!

Send us a text

Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better… On this episode, Jeff welcomes back Dr. Todd Swenning to discuss the importance of “Get To!” Todd points out that compromise is often defined in negative terms. If we want to encourage conflict resolution, we have to work toward collaboration.

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!