Send us a text

Learning practical skills such as surgery is challenging. In this episode of Doctors at Work, Brian Westerberg tells me about mental imagery. This is a technique that he has found through his elite sport contacts. It helps him anticipate and "practice" surgical steps, and is a way to train new surgeons too. We also talk about mindfulness, exercise, the importance of having non-judgemental support.

You might also like episodes 56, 80, 82, 108 on performance psychology, and episode 98 on the impostor syndrome.

Dr. Brian Westerberg, an Otolaryngologist specializing in Otology and Neurotology is based at the B.C. Rotary Hearing and Balance Centre at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver British Columbia. Dr. Westerberg graduated from Queen’s University Faculty of Medicine in 1989, completed two years of Residency training in General Surgery at Queen’s before transferring to University of British Columbia to complete further training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He subsequently completed a Fellowship in Otology and Neurotology at the California Ear Institute at Stanford University in 1996 and a Master degree in Health Care and Epidemiology at UBC in May 1999. He is currently a Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Westerberg has served the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as a Program Director at UBC, as a member of the Examination Committee, and as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Specialty Committee for his specialty. In addition, he has been a member of the Residency Accreditation Committee and a member of the International Residency Program Review and Accreditation Committee. He has supervised numerous Master and PhD candidates, and Clinical and Research Fellows. His interest in global surgery is apparent in his involvement in Zimbabwe and Uganda Hearing Health Care Programs, and local outreach to improve access to care for patients in rural and remote communities within British Columbia. As former Medical Director of the Branch for Global Surgical Care, he has been instrumental in improving education within the field of global surgical care through approval for and subsequent development of a Master degree program in Global Surgical Care at UBC.​ As an amateur athlete and as an academic surgeon, he has always been interested in the influence of our mental state on physical performance.

Listen at https://matdaniel.net/podcast/; https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8uLaUU1g5bYTRVuwUX7j?si=672ec26a73164d7f; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/doctors-at-work/id1701284564; or watch on www.youtube.com/@dr-coach/videos.
Production: Shot by Polachek

You can find out more about Mat's coaching to help doctors create successful and meaningful careers at www.MatDaniel.net.