57. The Insane Privilege of Surgery with Dr. Bradley Erickson Artwork

Operate with Zen

While incredibly rewarding and honored vocations, careers in medicine and surgery are fraught with stress, burnout and challenges in work-life balance. OWZ is intended to open dialogue about a mindful approach to surgery - to create a space where physicians and surgeons can enhance their life's work and life experience with a focus on presence, purpose and practical skills. OWZ combines didactic-like monologues to provide baseline information and available scientific data on practical topics like time management, sleep hygiene and burnout; as well as interviews with surgeons and experts to share what works and doesn't work in their daily routines.

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Operate with Zen

57. The Insane Privilege of Surgery with Dr. Bradley Erickson

December 06, 2022 • Phil Pierorazio • Season 5 • Episode 12

Dr. Bradley Erickson is a Professor of Urology, a reconstructive urologist, and Director of Functional Urology at the University of Iowa. We are great friends and bonded over similar loves of baseball and skiing – sharing quite a few lift rides and challenging mountain runs in Colorado. Brad is also an extremely accomplished academic surgeon from very early on in his career – in fact, that’s what brought us together. I say this all because i had no idea, about 2-3 years into his practice, he had a major breakdown and called into question all of his motivations and purpose in surgery. This podcast covers that breakdown and his pathway back to purpose through the darkness of anxiety and insomnia. We talk about mindfulness meditation, dharma and the three H’s of hands, head, and heart, and achieving self-awareness and presence. Throughout the podcast we talk about the insane privilege of being a surgeon and how that impacts us all as human beings. I hope you enjoy.