Lessons I Learned from the Trenches | WPS Remix Edition: S18 Ep89-Lessons I Learned from the Trenches

Video Transcription

Video Summary

This podcast episode from the ASPS Women Plastic Surgeons Forum features a WPS Symposium “remix” highlighting candid career and life lessons from four women plastic surgeons.<br /><br />Dr. Melissa Mastrioni discusses transitioning from academic medicine to a multi-specialty private practice. She explains how being constantly available early in her career led to burnout and strained family life, and how moving to a structured group practice helped her set boundaries, maintain a stable income, and preserve time for her children and personal wellbeing.<br /><br />Dr. Amita Shah focuses on hiring and firing in private practice. Her key message is to be slow to hire and quick to fire. She shares red flags to watch for in candidates, the importance of background checks, a detailed employee handbook, consistent policies, and careful preparation when terminating staff.<br /><br />Dr. Elizabeth Bourne presents research on women’s health and plastic surgery, showing high rates of infertility, miscarriage, obstetric complications, short maternity leaves, and breastfeeding challenges among female plastic surgeons. She advocates for better leave policies, lactation support, infertility coverage, and a more supportive culture for pregnant trainees and surgeons.<br /><br />Dr. Chris Ueno speaks about second victim syndrome, the emotional toll surgeons experience after bad outcomes. She emphasizes that complications can deeply affect both attendings and residents, and urges surgeons to seek support, recognize the stages of recovery, and use difficult experiences to improve patient care and help colleagues.<br /><br />Overall, the episode centers on boundaries, workplace culture, women’s health, and resilience in surgical practice.

Keywords

women plastic surgeons

private practice

burnout

work-life balance

hiring and firing

employee handbook

women's health

maternity leave

second victim syndrome

surgical resilience

breastfeeding support

workplace culture

lactation support