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S03EP05: Wellness in Surgery with Dr. Mary Brandt

S03EP05: Wellness in Surgery with Dr. Mary Brandt

The Intentional Surgeon with Sharon L. Stein, MD · Sharon L. Stein, MD

March 16, 202638m 18s

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Show Notes

In a medical culture that often views vulnerability as a deficit and burnout as a personal failure, Dr. Mary Brandt has spent decades advocating for a different path. A retired pediatric surgeon, ordained minister, and professor of medical ethics, Mary was talking about "wellness" long before it became a buzzword in surgical training.

In this episode, Dr. Sharon Stein and Dr. Brandt explore the injuries sustained in the pursuit of surgical "success" and how a return to compassion, truth-telling, and intentionality can not only save individual careers but transform an entire profession.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

  • The Evolution of Suffering: Why 50% or more of surgical residents are burned out and why this as a systemic crisis rather than a personal weakness.
  • Humility vs. Vulnerability: Mary challenges the idea that great surgeons must be infallible. In fact, she argues it is impossible to be a great surgeon without the humility to know (and grow) when you come up short.
  • Practicing GRACE: Mary breaks down a powerful mnemonic for focusing one patient and interaction at a time:
    • Gathering Attention
    • Recalling Intention
    • Attuning to Self and Others
    • Considering what will serve
    • Engaging and Ending
  • The "Imposter Syndrome" Reframe: Why Mary believes that what we call "imposter syndrome" is actually just a healthy level of humility medicalized into a deficit.
  • The Three Tasks of the Revolution: Mary invites every listener to join a grassroots effort to change medical culture through three simple (but not easy) tasks:
    1. Practice Compassion.
    2. Tell the Truth (Saying out loud, "That's not normal").
    3. Decide Who You Work For (Hint: It’s not the C-Suite).

Featured Guest:

Mary L. Brandt, MD, MDiv is a distinguished Professor Emeritus at Baylor College of Medicine and a graduate of the Iliff School of Theology. She is a world-renowned pediatric surgeon and an ordained minister dedicated to healing the healers. Learn more here: wellnessrounds.org

Key Takeaway for Listeners:

"If you frame this as a medical condition [imposter syndrome] by studying it that way, that’s what it becomes—a deficit. What if we just reframe it as what it actually is: humility?" — Dr. Mary Brandt

Connect with Dr. Sharon Stein:

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