Pump the brakes on your week and take 10 minutes to make your life as a surgeon just a little better…
In this episode of the mini-podcast, Jeff welcomes Daniel Schlatterer, DO, to the SurgeonMasters mini-podcast.
Dan is an orthopaedic trauma surgeon and vice chair of the residency program at Atlanta Medical Center.
About four years ago, Dan suffered a stroke that left him on a long road to recovery. Naturally his family and friends wanted to do whatever they could to help. While their intentions were good, their actions were not always what he wanted or as helpful as intended. These challenges led Dan to develop a system – Let’s Make a Deal!
Can you think of any recurring circumstances where a moderately complex conversation requires some back and forth to create mutual understanding? What if you completed that conversation ahead of time, then just needed to have a quick conversation to confirm that the deal applied to each circumstance?
Maybe when a helping hand was, or would have been, helpful? Without a conversation beforehand, and no system in place to manage expectations, asking our colleagues, friends, or family for help can feel like a burden to both parties.
How can we start to make a deal?
Step 1 – Recognize common situations or circumstances where support is needed.
Step 2 – Identify individuals – colleagues, family members, or friends – who can serve as a support system during these times.
Step 3 – Make a Deal! Have a preemptive conversation to set up a system moving forward.
By having a conversation in advance, we can avoid awkward situations or conflict stemming from miscommunication.
If we know we have a support system in place, we can focus that much more on the task at hand, and that much less on managing the situation.
Most importantly, PRACTICE having conversations and the mutual understanding of – let’s make a deal!
Guest: Daniel R. Schlatterer, DO
Dr. Daniel Schlatterer received a Doctorate of Osteopathy (DO) from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1999. He completed a surgical internship at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY in 2000, an orthopaedic residency at Buffalo University, Buffalo, NY from 2000- 2004, and an orthopaedic trauma fellowship at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 2005. Dan is currently the Vice Chairman of the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program at Atlanta Medical Center. His interest in regenerative medicine and exosomes began during his recovery from a stroke in 2015. He provides editorial review for numerous journals, and writes extensively while also pursuing product development.