Thriving in Urology: Dr. Kaplan on being a urologist and starting a business

“Thriving in Urology” is a new video series hosted by urologist Amy M. Pearlman, MD, of the Prime Institute in Coral Gables, Florida. Each video will contain conversations on combating burnout by cultivating balance within one's work life. In this first installment, Pearlman speaks with Steven A. Kaplan, MD, a professor of urology at the Icahn School of Medicine and director of the Men’s Wellness Program at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.

Transcription:

Pearlman: We are going to talk about the diverse roles and responsibilities that urologists do to maintain curiosity and innovation and combat burnout. There is nobody I could think of better to talk about and tackle this subject than Dr. Kaplan. Dr. Kaplan, thank you so much for spending time with us today.

Kaplan: Thank you for inviting me. I love the idea where you go on with it, and I hopefully can share experiences with the audience.

Pearlman: I had just shared my hypothesis with you, and I want to share with the group as well. We talk so much about combating burnout, and I have a hypothesis that some of the happiest urologists are not necessarily those who have the best work-life balance, but those who have the best balance within their work life. So why don't we begin by having you describe and define what are all the different hats that you wear as a urologist? What do those different roles look like?

Kaplan: My wife and family sometimes say I have too big a head, but I tell them of all the hats I have to wear. I think there's nothing better than being someone who helps somebody else. I think that's great. I mean, what better purpose in life than that? But I needed more, and the day to day, it was just not something that was going to work very well for me. I began to look at other opportunities to invest my brain energy...So we created a business. I have no business background at all. I grew up in Brooklyn, so maybe I have a little bit of street smarts. And we created a $6 billion company. The point was, I was doing urology at the same time, I was raising a family at the same time. But it was OK, because it really wasn't like I was doing all these things; it was just that's what I was doing. And, maybe even 20 years ago, I stopped working 5 days a week and went to 4 and eventually to 3 because I wanted to do other things. I love the notion of innovation. I love interacting with new people. I think the challenge we have is to do the same thing every day...Meeting new people and creating new ideas is where I wanted to go. And it's evolved and even at my stage of career, most people are retiring, and I've never been busier or had more fun. I guess the message is create it for yourself, and you create your own narrative. I remember years ago, I was sitting in a synagogue. The rabbi was giving a sermon after he was asking for money, of course. And then he said, "what do you want on your tombstone? That's how you should live your life." And I knew right away, it would be 1 word: "contrarian."...Even today, we're having this interview, I've seen some patients even though I'm away in Florida; I did the video calls. I had a business call talking with investors, or potential new business. It's great. It's just a lot of fun.

This transcription was edited for clarity.