Designing your practice to optimize physical wellbeing with Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. Erin Sheffield

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Q-optics. You can learn about them, the special rates they are offering for podcast listerners and schedule a demo via : https://q-optics.com/pages/surgicalergonomics-drlalDisclosure: Q-optics is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you. It also provides you with a discount and a giveaway to listeners of the podcast, so we hope that it is a win-win!Episode details:Dr. Erin Sheffield is a board certified oral maxillofacial surgeon, speaker, educator, and advocate. Her passion is reshaping the culture of surgery by amplifying the voices of women and redefining what it means to thrive in this high demand profession. She is the founder of The Doctor Is ALL In (formerly known as Elevate Summit), a wellness and leadership retreat for women in Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, and co-host of The Resting Stitch Face Podcast, where she leads unfiltered conversations about the realities of life as a woman in surgery.As a content creator, she is known for her openness and authenticity, inspiring the next generation of doctors and empowering patients to make more informed and empowered healthcare choices. She practices at Quincy Medical Group, a large multispecialty physicians group in Illinois. She previously served as assistant professor at the Univeristy of Iowa and currently serves on institutional committees for antiobiotic stewardship and ambulatory surgery. In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Sheffield- Shares how although dentistry training does a better job than surgical training reminding trainees about optimal postures during procedures, dentists have high rates of MSK injury- Outlines how she tries to incorporate ergonomic best practices in her own practice and while training dental staff. These include adjusting the height of the chair, sitting during certain procedures, stretching in between cases to name a few- Describes other strategies that she has adopted over the years, including investing in good overhead lights to avoid using headlights, only using loupes when absolutely needed and adjusting workflow to offload physical strain- Expresses how working with a physical therapist was really helpful for overall physical health even though she initially sought them out for pelvic issues post-partum- Discusses how smaller handed dentists (more likely to be women) often have issues handling dental instruments e.g. syringes used to inject local anestheticsYou can reach Dr. Sheffield on:LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-sheffield-dds-9ab281339/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drerinsheffield/Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRestingStitchFacePodcastWebsite: https://www.doctorisallin.com/Follow Surgical Ergonomics on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the podcastIf you found this episode valuable, please share it with a colleague or your perioperative team to help bring greater awareness to the role of ergonomics in career longevity. If you're enjoying the podcast, I'd be grateful if you left a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your reviews help others discover the show and support our mission of improving the health and longevity of surgeons and proceduralists worldwide.