The Intentional Surgeon with Sharon L. Stein, MD

Surgery is a team sport, yet many departments operate as isolated individuals sharing a call schedule. In this episode of The Intentional Surgeon, Dr. Sharon Stein welcomes Dr. Faisal Aziz (Chief of Vascular Surgery at Penn State Health) to discuss how his division built a true "one team" culture where surgeons stay long-term and support each other at 2 AM.

Key Discussion Points:

• The Recruitment Post That Sparked the Call: Why Pe...

Technical prowess and clinical knowledge are the bedrock of any surgical career, but they are only two pieces of the puzzle. The third—and arguably most impactful—element is communication. Despite its outsized influence on resident evaluations, operating room efficiency, and patient outcomes, intentional communication is rarely explicitly taught in medical school or residency programs.

In this episode of The Intentional ...

Surgeons operate in a high-stakes, highly penalized environment where mistakes carry immediate, human consequences. As a result, surgical culture has traditionally been deeply risk-averse, favoring short-term event tracking over long-term process evolution. But in an era driven by generative AI, non-linear thinking, and shifting generational values, how do we advance the craft without compromising safety?

In this episode, Dr. Sharon...

What does it take to train a modern surgeon? For decades, residency has relied on the "see one, do one, teach one" model. But according to one of the field's leading innovators, technical skill is only a tiny fraction of the job.

In this episode, Dr. Sharon Stein sits down with Dr. Patrick Jackson, Chief of General Surgery and the Robert A. Altman Endowed Chair of Surgical Education at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Backed ...

Physician burnout is often treated as a personal failure—a symptom of missing a meditation session or a hospital pizza party. But true burnout isn't about how much you suck; it’s about the rigid institutional matrix in which you operate.

In this episode, Dr. Sharon Stein sits down with Dr. Najjia Mahmoud, Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at University of Pennsylvania and past president of the American Society of Colon a...

In rural, underserved areas of Kenya, a lack of access to timely cesarean sections leaves young women vulnerable to the trauma of obstructed labor. Beyond the tragic loss of the child, the resulting prolonged pressure on pelvic organs causes severe tissue necrosis and the formation of vesicovaginal and rectovaginal fistulas. Leaking urine and stool continuously, these women are often heavily stigmatized and ostracized by their comm...

If the global healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-worst greenhouse gas emitter on the planet! Within hospitals, the operating room generates a staggering one-third of that entire carbon footprint.

In this episode, Dr. Sharon Stein sits down with Dr. Patricia Sylla (System Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System) and Dr. Shaneeta Johnson (Chair of Surgery at Meharry Medical College School of...

As surgeons, we’ve all been told the same lie: The only way to get ahead in your career is to say yes to everything. We are conditioned to believe that if we turn down a single opportunity, committee, or research project, the powers that be will stop asking, and our academic or clinical careers will stall.

In this episode on the Intentional Surgeon, Dr. Sharon L. Stein dispels this toxic surgical myth. Drawing from her own unc...

We often treat surgical culture as an immovable force of nature, something we simply have to survive. But what if the norms we pride ourselves on, the "win-at-all-costs" mentality and the "show no weakness" rule, are actually holding us back from our true potential?

In this episode, Dr. Sharon L. Stein welcomes Dr. Katrina Monton, an organizational psychologist and former professional athlete. Katrina bridges the worlds of high-perf...

In our surgical training, we are masters of the clinical and the technical. We know the anatomy, the indications, and the surgical techniques. But there is a missing pillar in our education — one that often accounts for 70% of the problems residency directors and surgical chairs face.

In this episode, Dr. Sharon Stein dives into the "Soft Skills" of surgery: communication, negotiation, emotional intelligence, and team building...

In surgery, we are taught the mechanics of saving a life, but rarely the mechanics of managing ourselves. In this episode, Dr. Sharon Stein sits with Dr. Daniel Eiferman, a trauma and critical care surgeon at The Ohio State University and author of the new book, Cut Open: A Surgeon's Stories of Loss, Resilience, and Growth. They dive into the "black book" of stories Danny kept for a decade, the lessons he has learned as a surgeon a...

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 s...

We often think that our traditional model of specialty-based hierarchy is the most effective - for our patients and us... but what happens when we rethink that model, and create more patient- centric models of care. It is one of many topics we cover in this episode, as Dr. Sharon Stein sits down with Dr. Vikram (Vik) Kashyap, Chair of the Meijer Heart and Vascular Institute and Vice President of Cardiovascular Health at Corewell ...

What happens when a surgeon and a hematologist-oncologist decide to take their commitment to public health from the bedside to the ballot box?

In this episode, Dr. Sharon Stein is joined by trauma surgeon Jana Hambley, MD, and her husband, Bryan Hambley, MD, a leukemia specialist currently running for Secretary of State of Ohio. From their early days meeting in freshman chemistry at Notre Dame to navigating residency as a married co...

In this episode of the Intentional Surgeon, Dr. Sharon Stein welcomes her longtime colleague and friend, Dr. Tanaz Ferzandi, Director of Urogynecology at Keck Hospital of USC and Past President of the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS).

Drs. Stein and Ferzandi dive into the power of "cross-pollination" between surgical specialties, the systemic gender inequities built into healthcare reimbursement models, and why surgeons must m...

Welcome to 2026! In this solo episode, Dr. Sharon Stein kicks off the year by exploring a topic that defines—and often derails—surgical careers: The Surgical Ego.

We all know the TV stereotype of the arrogant surgeon. But Sharon dives into a more subtle version: the ego that hides behind the mask of the "humble, meticulous surgeon." Whether you walk into a room saying "I’ve got this" or rack yourself over the coals...

In the final episode of the year, Dr. Sharon Stein sits down with Dr. Mel Thacker, an otolaryngologist and master certified coach, to discuss how surgeons can design success on their own terms.

Obligation vs. Creation Energy

Dr. Thacker explores the shift from "obligation energy"—performing tasks out of a sense of "should"—to "creation energy." By approaching surgery and clinic as a creative act, physicians can rediscover...

Dr. Monique Hassan, a fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon and former Army surgeon, joins the podcast to share the philosophy behind her brand, "Surgery with Soul: Rooted in Purpose, Powered by Compassion."

Dr. Hassan details her circuitous path to general surgery, motivated by a dramatic life-saving trauma case that cemented her commitment to becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. She discusses how this led her to bariatrics,...

Orthopedic trauma surgeon Dr. Lisa Canada joins the podcast to discuss her pioneering work in reforming surgical culture. Dr. Canada, who recently made history at UNC by being the first orthopedic surgeon to win both the Faculty Teaching Award and the UNC Mentorship Award, is a co-founder of Speak Up Ortho.

Speak Up Ortho was born from an overwhelming collection of anonymous stories revealing the pervasive culture of harassment, bul...