Surgeons with Purpose

A podcast for surgeons who feel like they are languishing in a career that didn't turn out to be as fulfilling or as prestigious as they expected. Dr. Mel Thacker, an ENT surgeon and coach, takes you on a journey to help you understand why you are feeling dissatisfied, burnt out, and stuck. With this newfound insight, you'll be able to reframe how you see your experience, rediscover who you are underneath your surgeon identity, and create a life that aligns with your authentic self.

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Surgeons with Purpose

Swan Theory

August 26, 2024 • Mel Thacker, MD, DipABLM • Season 1 • Episode 9

Our training has taught us to rely on white swans and fear red swans. In this episode you'll learn why approaching your patients this way creates roadblocks, can lead to misdiagnosis and mistreatment of the patient, causes you distress, and distracts you from reality.

The way to reduce medical errors, build rapport with patients, and increase efficiency is to identify the black swans--the unknown unknowns--and turn them into white swans--known knowns.

White swans exist both in the real world and in our brain. Red swans do not exist in the real world but do exist in our brain. Black swans exist in the real world but do not exist in our brain...unless we identify them by asking the right questions.

Great black swan questions:
-What don't I know?
-What would make this picture whole and complete?
-Is this a problem worth solving for the patient?
-Is my belief triad (belief in self, belief in surgery, belief in patient) strong?
-Is the patient's belief triad (belief in self, belief in surgery, belief in me as a surgeon) strong?

I want to hear from you! If you implement this framework, please email me your story at mel@melthackercoaching.com.

Get my Purposeful Pre-OR checklist here: https://www.melthackercoaching.com/contact-8