Surgery is a team sport, yet many departments operate as isolated individuals sharing a call schedule. In this episode of The Intentional Surgeon, Dr. Sharon Stein welcomes Dr. Faisal Aziz (Chief of Vascular Surgery at Penn State Health) to discuss how his division built a true "one team" culture where surgeons stay long-term and support each other at 2 AM.
Key Discussion Points:
The Recruitment Post That Sparked the Call: Why Penn State’s group stands out as a unified team rather than a collection of independent contractors.
Culture Eats Strategy: Applying Peter Drucker's rule and Jim Collins’ Good to Great framework to surgical leadership.
Hiring for Character First: Why technical skills can be taught, but integrity and humility cannot.
Uncovering True Culture: Practical strategies for applicants to assess a department's real culture—from observing how staff are treated to Dr. Julie Freischlag’s "3-second pause" technique.
Vulnerability in the OR: How senior leaders asking for help builds psychological safety, breaks down ego, and improves patient care.
Cross-Generational Skill Exchange: Bridging the gap between open-operative mastery and modern endovascular/robotic techniques through mutual mentorship.
Featured Quote:
"I can teach surgeons how to do complicated operations. What I cannot teach is how to be kind, or how to have character and integrity. It is much easier to hire for character and invest in technical growth than to hire competence without integrity." — Dr. Faisal Aziz
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