In this episode of The Intentional Surgeon, Dr. Sharon L. Stein sits down with the esteemed Dr. Ross, a board-certified advanced Foregut and HPB surgeon with nearly two decades of expertise in robotic and single-incision laparoscopic surgeries. Dr. Ross has performed groundbreaking work in minimally invasive operations for conditions affecting the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, and liver, and is dedicated to training the next generation of surgeons through her leadership at the Digestive Institute at AdventHealth Tampa.

Dr. Ross's journey from serving in the Israeli Defense Forces to becoming a trailblazer in her field exemplifies determination and excellence. She talks a lot about being a woman in surgery unapologetically. From encouraging women in the pipeline to daring to own “aggressive”, to wearing feminine colorful clothing. Sharona challenges the premise that you need to fit in as a woman in surgery and encourages us to stand out as a woman in surgery.

The episode also highlights the 15th Annual International Women in Surgery Symposium, taking place February 7–9 in Tampa, Florida. This premier event celebrates and empowers women surgeons worldwide, fostering collaboration and innovation in surgical practice.

Register here!

Tune in to explore Dr. Ross's inspiring career and gain a preview of the upcoming symposium, where leaders in surgery will gather to shape the future of medicine.

Watch Sharona Ross’s Times Square feature here.

In this episode of The Intentional Surgeon, host Sharon L. Stein welcomes Dr. Husein Moloo, Director of Planetary Health and Professor of Surgery at the University of Ottawa. Climate change is one of the biggest concerns for people around the globe, and surgery creates a huge amount of waste.

In this episode, Dr. Moloo delves into the ways that we can change our eco-anxiety into eco-action - including simple measures that you can implement right now in your hospital and practice. Almost 50% of hospital waste comes from the perioperative period - as demonstrated in this dramatic video by Maria Koijck, where she photographed all the disposable garbage generated form her own mastectomy.

Tune in as they explore how environmental sustainability impacts healthcare and what it means for surgeons navigating the challenges of a changing planet.

Season 1 of The Intentional Surgeon Wraps Up!

What a journey it’s been! Season 1 has brought us incredible guests, tackled challenging topics, and sparked so much learning and growth.

As we plan for an even more impactful 2025, we’d love to hear from YOU!

• What intentions are you setting for 2025?
• Who would you love to see as a guest?
• Anything you’d like us to improve?

Your feedback shapes the future of the podcast, so don’t hold back!

• Let us know here: https://forms.gle/zB1GjkGHcPTW1Aer9

Thank you for being part of this incredible community. Here’s to making 2025 intentional and inspiring!

Jo Shapiro, MD, FACS, is an associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School and a consultant for the Department of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2008, she founded the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Professionalism and Peer Support, where she served as the director for over 10 years. In 2018, Harvard Medical School gave her the Shirley Driscoll Dean’s Award for the Advancement of Women’s Careers. She continues to educate and assist organizations in developing specific programmatic and educational approaches to patient safety and clinician wellbeing, such as peer support, disclosure and apology, professionalism initiatives, and conflict management.

Dr. Shapiro received her B.A. from Cornell University and her M.D. from George Washington

University Medical School. Her general surgery training was at the University of California, San Diego, and then UCLA. She did her otolaryngology training at Harvard, followed by a year of a National Institute of Health Training Grant Fellowship in swallowing physiology. She was a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at BWH for over 35 years. Her clinical expertise was in oropharyngeal dysphagia.

What is the value of coaching? Imagine being recognized for the value you bring, Choosing to show up for what matters, and Walking into the hospital with confidence each day. Imagine the power of being intentional. If you are ready to take control, I am here to help. Coaching, speaking, and team professional development programming for surgeons. If you are ready, let's chat.

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Jo Shapiro, MD, FACS, is an associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School and a consultant for the Department of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2008, she founded the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Professionalism and Peer Support, where she served as the director for over 10 years. In 2018, Harvard Medical School gave her the Shirley Driscoll Dean’s Award for the Advancement of Women’s Careers. She continues to educate and assist organizations in developing specific programmatic and educational approaches to patient safety and clinician wellbeing, such as peer support, disclosure and apology, professionalism initiatives, and conflict management.

Dr. Shapiro received her B.A. from Cornell University and her M.D. from George Washington

University Medical School. Her general surgery training was at the University of California, San Diego, and then UCLA. She did her otolaryngology training at Harvard, followed by a year of a National Institute of Health Training Grant Fellowship in swallowing physiology. She was a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at BWH for over 35 years. Her clinical expertise was in oropharyngeal dysphagia.

What is the value of coaching? Imagine being recognized for the value you bring, Choosing to show up for what matters, and Walking into the hospital with confidence each day. Imagine the power of being intentional. If you are ready to take control, I am here to help. Coaching, speaking, and team professional development programming for surgeons. If you are ready, let's chat.

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Dr. Bethany Malone is a colorectal surgeon, an actor, and a colorectal TickTok phenomenon. A native of Fort Worth Texas she did her medical training in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, before heading back to Texas to start practice in the middle of the pandemic. After just months, she was finding that her practice was making her miserable. She was running around doing acute care surgery, rather than colorectal surgery, and not seeing her kids for days on end. Bethany decided to lean into her own belief in her worth, her skills and change everything.

As a young attending, she left her practice without a new job in hand and has created a practice and a future she wants. She now does colorectal surgery, educates her patients directly through her TikTok videos, and is a shining example of what you can do when you believe and bet on yourself.

Follow Dr. Bethany Malone on her socials here:

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What is the value of coaching? Imagine being recognized for the value you bring, Choosing to show up for what matters, and Walking into the hospital with confidence each day. Imagine the power of being intentional. If you are ready to take control, I am here to help. Coaching, speaking, and team professional development programming for surgeons. If you are ready, let's chat.

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In this episode of The Intentional Surgeon with Sharon L. Stein, MD we hear from Steven D. Wexner MD, PhD (Hon), FACS, FRCS (Eng, Ed), Hon FRCS (I, Glasg). Anyone who knows Steve knows what an academic, clinical, and educational powerhouse he is. With over 600 articles to his credit, zillions of lectures, and hundreds of mentees, Steve is known around the globe as a colorectal surgeon, researcher, and leader.

He shares with Sharon his values and passions in surgery, which include caring for patients, improving outcomes, disseminating results, and importantly, learning from others. He talks about the influence of social media on flattening the hierarchy in surgery and promoting new discoveries. He talks about how advances in surgery grew from an idea to share surgical operations to disseminating ideas and opportunities around the globe. And he shares what he believes will be the future for surgery, using artificial intelligence and virtual surgery to improve care for our patients.

Follow Steven on Twitter/X here.

What is the value of coaching? Imagine being recognized for the value you bring, Choosing to show up for what matters, and Walking into the hospital with confidence each day. Imagine the power of being intentional. If you are ready to take control, I am here to help. Coaching, speaking, and team professional development programming for surgeons. If you are ready, let's chat.

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Dr. Buyske is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Board of Surgery (ABS). She joined the board in 1998, initially as a Qualifying Examination item writer, then an associate examiner, and finally, a director of the ABS starting in 2006. In 2008 she joined the staff full time as Associate Executive Director and Director of Evaluation, and in 2017 was named Executive Director. Prior to that, Dr. Buyske was Chief of Surgery and Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, and on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where her clinical experience focused on applications of minimally invasive surgery in all areas of general and gastrointestinal surgery. Still clinically active, she remains on staff at the University as an Adjunct Professor of Surgery on the acute care surgery service.

In this episode, Jo Buyske, President & Chief Executive Officer of the American Board of Surgery, Dr. Buyske shares her vision and dives into her vision for the American Board of Surgery and how it has and is changing to better serve us as surgeons. But also, Dr. Buyske demonstrates her talents as an amazing strategic thinker, and the lessons she shares are pure gold. She shares the idea of having a short game, an intermediate game, and a long game when thinking of making culture change - something that you are acutely working on, and planting the seeds for things that will happen way down the road. Her lessons on having patience and waiting until the time is right is an important strategy, and perhaps my favorite, the myth of the great argument, that when disagreeing with someone, telling them (again and again) why your perspective is better… just isn't a winning strategy.

Featured in this episode:

• Changing the American Board of Surgery to "let's get real folks" culture
• Strategies for playing a long game
• Switching from the myth of the great argument to patience and curiosity
• Prioritizing our well-being to improve healthcare

Are you enjoying The Intentional Surgeon podcast? Sign up for our newsletter here to receive an exclusive bi-weekly blog, offering deeper insights into each episode and additional content you won't want to miss. Share with us who you would like to hear from next, or rate us on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Imagine being recognized for the value you bring, choosing to show up for what matters, and walking into the hospital with confidence each day. Imagine the power of being intentional. If you are ready to take control, I am here to help. Coaching, speaking, and team professional development programming for surgeons. If you are ready, let's chat. Contact Sharon for more information.

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