S03E09: Stop Saying Yes to Everything with Dr. Sharon L. Stein

S03E09: Stop Saying Yes to Everything with Dr. Sharon L. Stein

From The Intentional Surgeon with Sharon L. Stein, MD by Sharon L. Stein, MD

May 27, 2026 · 22 min · Season 3 · Episode 9

About this episode

Dr. Sharon L. Stein discusses the importance of selectively saying yes to opportunities in a surgical career to enhance success and value of time.

As surgeons, we’ve all been told the same lie: The only way to get ahead in your career is to say yes to everything. We are conditioned to believe that if we turn down a single opportunity, committee, or research project, the powers that be will stop asking, and our academic or clinical careers will stall. In this episode on the Intentional Surgeon, Dr. Sharon L. Stein dispels this toxic surgical myth. Drawing from her own unconventional path, including the time her mentors told her she was committing "academic suicide" by dropping to a four-day work week, Sharon shares how learning to say yes selectively actually accelerated her success as a busy clinician, professor, and national society president. In This Episode, I Discuss: Why saying no to the wrong things doesn’t kill your career—it actually makes your time more valuable. A hard truth for perfectionist surgeons: doing a job badly is significantly worse than not doing it at all. The Opportunity Framework: Before accepting any new role, filter it through these five metrics to ensure it aligns with your short- or long-term goals: Skills: Will it teach you a new technical technique or leadership capability? Networking: Who will…

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