What happens when a doctor becomes so committed to saving other people that he stops protecting his own health?

Dr. James C. Wittig is an orthopedic oncology surgeon who built his career treating children and adults with bone and soft-tissue cancers, performing complex limb-sparing surgeries, training under pioneers in orthopedic oncology, and even serving as a first responder at Ground Zero after 9/11. But after years of demanding surgical schedules, limited sleep, enormous responsibility, and pushing his body to perform, his own health eventually demanded his attention.

In this episode of the One Percent Doctor Podcast, Dr. Wittig and Adam Lamb have a candid conversation about physician burnout, sleep, stress management, peak performance, meditation, prayer, cardiovascular health, physician wellness, work-life balance, and the habits doctors often overlook while caring for everyone else.

This conversation is especially important for physicians, surgeons, residents, medical students, healthcare professionals, and high achievers who believe they can keep pushing indefinitely. Dr. Wittig shares what he would change if he could go back 10 years, why recovery matters just as much as performance, and why being your best physician starts with becoming your healthiest self.

You’ll Learn:

→ Dr. Wittig explains how a blue-collar childhood, EMT experience, NYU Medical School, Columbia residency, and mentorship from pioneers in orthopedic oncology shaped his career caring for cancer patients.

→ You’ll hear what decades of demanding surgical schedules taught him about physician wellness, sleep deprivation, stress, cardiovascular health, exercise, nutrition, recovery, and the danger of feeling invincible.

→ The conversation explores practical approaches to peak performance for doctors, including meditation, prayer, heart-rate variability, wearables, intentional recovery, neurofeedback, and creating moments of calm during demanding workdays.

→ Dr. Wittig also shares his evolving vision for Mandala Medical Group and a more holistic approach focused on brain, body, soul, spirit, wellness, longevity, performance, and supporting people through difficult healthcare journeys.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Dr. James C. Wittig
00:27 Why He Became a Doctor
02:14 Discovering Orthopedic Oncology
04:45 Serving as a 9/11 First Responder
06:25 Building an Elite Cancer Surgery Career
09:15 Did Success Come With Burnout?
12:55 When His Health Finally Caught Up
15:26 What He Would Change 10 Years Earlier
17:00 Sleep, Stress and Physician Longevity
20:35 Meditation, Prayer and Recovery
26:00 Reprogramming the Brain for Peak Performance
29:36 Success, Money and Treating Yourself Well
33:09 The Vision Behind Mandala Medical Group
36:53 A More Holistic Approach to Patient Care
39:27 Becoming Your Best Self as a Physician
43:06 Final Thoughts

Social Media Links

Instagram: @drjameswittig

Linkedin Profile: @drjameswittig

Other Social Media Links

www.TumorSurgery.org

www.JamesCWittigMD.com

www.MandalaMedicalGroup.com

Website: www.JamesCWittig.com

Adam Lamb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamlamb33/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adam.lamb.718/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-lamb-tx/

Website

One Percent Doctor: https://theonepercentlife.com/