175: The Physician Brain, Neuroplasticity & New Horizons with Dr. Joseph Maroon

“One day I was doing awake brain surgery on patients with tumors in eloquent parts of their brain and the next week I literally was working in a truck stop, bequeathed to my mother, heavily mortgaged in Wheeling, West Virginia in the dead of winter. I was filling up 18-wheelers, flipping hamburgers, and wondering, how in the world did this happen to me?” -Dr. Joseph Maroon, Clinical Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh In this week’s episode, Dr. Jen Barna speaks with Clinical Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Joseph Maroon. Along with being the team neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dr. Joseph Maroon is also highly recognized as a co-developer of the ImPACT neurocognitive test, the only FDA approved test for concussion assessment and now the standard of care in most amateur and professional sports organizations. During the podcast, Dr. Maroon shares his personal journey with stress burnout and clinical depression. He notes that his recovery was mainly dependent on natural physical activity that worked to re-stimulate the relationship between the body and the brain. As discussed in his book Square One- A Simple Guide to a Balanced Life, Dr. Maroon talks about how physicians can create a balanced life of work, family, spirituality, and physicality. Dr. Barna and Dr. Maroon also discuss the topic of physician vulnerability and how physicians may feel challenged to hide any signs of personal health struggles. This week’s episode provides a meaningful conversation to confront this mindset. Dr. Joseph Maroon is Clinical Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and the Heindl Scholar in Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh Medical center, Pittsburgh, PA. Along with being the Senior Vice President of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, he has also published over 290 peer reviewed papers, 56 book chapters, and 6 books. In 1990, Dr. co-developed the ImPACT neurocognitive test which is the only FDA approved test for concussion assessment and is the standard of care in most amateur and professional sports organizations. He was the first neurosurgeon directly appointed to the NFL, serving as the team neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 35 years. In 2017, his book on overcoming adversity and “burnout”, Square One- A Simple Guide to a Balanced Life, was favorably reviewed by Dr. Sanjay Gupta and others. In his personal life, he has completed 8 ironman distance triathlons and in 2021 he placed first in his age group in the St. Petersburg Olympic distance triathlon. An inductee to the Lou Holtz Hall of Fame, he was selected as the 2019 “Man of the Year” by the Jerome Bettis Foundation and in 2020 was honored with the Physician of Courage Award by UPMC. To learn more about Dr. Joseph Maroon, please visit his website at josephmaroon.com and follow him on social media. Website: https://josephmaroon.com Twitter: @DrJosephMaroon Facebook: @drjosephmaroon Instagram: @josephcharlesmaroon7 LinkedIn: @joseph-maroon-md Find full transcripts of DocWorking: The Whole Physician Podcast episodes on the DocWorking Blog The past few weeks have been busy at DocWorking! We have been working behind the scenes to add more CME credits to the THRIVE memberships. Now you can get a credit for each small group coaching session as well as for each 1:1 coaching session, so 12 credits/year from monthly small group coaching sessions plus 8 credits for our foundational StressPal course+community coaching. That means there are now up to 20 continuing education/CME credits in our DocWorking THRIVE subscription and up to 32 CME credits in our THRIVE Platinum subscription! DocWorking empowers physicians and entire health care teams to get on the path to achieving their dreams, both in and outside of work, with programs designed to help you maximize life with minimal