How a Neurosurgeon’s Own Journey From Grief to Emotional Agility Helped to Buffer Burnout and Return Joy Back Into Medicine

I had the absolute honor of interviewing Dr. Jody Stern on Hope for Healthcare Podcast! Dr. Stern is Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Author  of “Grief Connects Us: A Neurosurgeon’s Lessons on Love, Loss, and Compassion”. In our discussion we take a deeper look into Dr. Stern’s own journey of grief, and how he was able to transform his practice, mentoring and leadership training to encompass empathy and compassion. What I love about our conversation is how Dr. Stern also addresses embracing our vulnerability as physicians can help us develop emotional agility, and ultimately more joy in our daily practice of medicine. 

 

Topics of Discussion:

 

• How did your deeper understanding of grief help you to embrace your own vulnerability as a physician?
• Why is it important for us to foster emotional agility when we are already the most resilient population?
• How does developing emotional agility help us to prevent and buffer burnout?
• What are key solutions that you propose to help drive compassionate patient care?

Listen to the complete podcast.