Dr. Brian Cameron is a retired pediatric surgeon who has spent much of his life dedicated to global surgery. In this conversation, we discuss his new book Ripples from the Rupununi: Dr. Aidun’s Healing Journey. We talk about what it takes to write a book and also discuss the book itself. Let us know in the comments or via email: Have you ever thought about writing a book? Links: E78 Brian Cameron On Global Surgery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdetQSXBRMQ Ripples from the Rupununi. https://bo...
Aug 12, 2025•29 min•Ep. 183
Dr. Michael Leveridge is a urologist at Queen’s University. He specializes in urologic oncology and is the editor in chief of the Canadian Urological Association Journal. We spoke to him about his career, his role as editor in chief, and how he creates mental models in his practice. In addition, Dr. Leveridge did a masterclass with us on ureteric injuries. We also watch videos together and get his thoughts on how to avoid these injuries. Check out the YouTube masterclass here: https://youtu.be/i...
Jul 29, 2025•19 min•Ep. 182
Campbell Roxburgh is a consultant colorectal surgeon and Professor of Colorectal Surgical Oncology at University of Glasgow in Scotland. Mr. Roxburgh is a multi-faceted researcher, surgeon and academic. He has a large body of research in systemic inflammation and tumor response, as well as clinical trials. We were lucky enough to have him join us at Queen’s University for a week. In this talk he gave to the general surgery division, he talked about the development of robotic surgery in Scotland....
Jul 01, 2025•56 min•Ep. 181
Andrea Merrill is a surgical oncologist in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is the creator of Scrubbed Out, a website dedicated to highlighting the talents and passions of surgeons and trainees outside of the operating room. As listeners will know, Chad and I have been obsessed with exploring how to be the best surgeons we can be without losing our humanity in the process. Dr. Merrill had some really important insights on how we might walk the line between being completely immersed in surgery, but...
Jun 17, 2025•29 min•Ep. 180
Dr. Mohammed Bellal is a consultant urologist based out of Birmingham, UK. He specializes in complex functional reconstructive surgery. He’s also the UK’s first paralyzed surgeon. Dr. Bellal has probably one of the most powerful talks we’ve ever heard called “The Gift of Adversity”. During our conversation with him, we explore the power of fate, and how letting go of the outcomes is such a difficult but powerful life lesson we all need to learn. We also delved deeply into how Dr. Bellal has adap...
Jun 03, 2025•44 min•Ep. 179
In this second episode of our mini-series with the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), Richard Mimeault and Liisa Honey talk about the “Anatomy of a Lawsuit”. They talk about what you can expect if you are served with a College complaint or a lawsuit, what the process looks like, and how you can psychologically survive through it all. Links: https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/en/education-events/elearning/anatomy-of-a-lawsuit
May 20, 2025•30 min•Ep. 178
It’s hard to describe exactly what Dr. Stephen Foster is. Dr. Foster is a general surgeon, urologist, infectious disease doctor, entrepreneur, and missionary who has spent his career working in Angola. We caught up with Dr. Foster to talk about his life working in Angola and really to explore his thoughts on empowering non-MD providers to provide life-saving care. Dr. Foster has a fascinating biography called “The Benefit of Steel: The Life and Times of Steve Foster.” For us, the conversation wi...
May 06, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 177
Clip of Senate hearing with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. That was a clip from a Senate hearing with Robert F Kennedy Jr, who, as many listeners will know, is the current US Secretary of Health and Human Services. In 2025, many folks around the world have become interested in the way that science currently works, particularly around the process of peer review. Peer review is a process where scientific journals ask experts in the field to evaluate the validity and accuracy of articles that are submitted ...
Apr 08, 2025•47 min•Ep. 176
The only thing that can save us from our irascibly self-centered existence is to make sure that our existence is in the service of others Mark Shrime, ENT surgeon, global surgery researcher and now career coach is our guest on this episode. The quote I read was from his wonderful book, “Solving for Why: A Surgeon’s Journey to Discover the Transformative Power of Purpose”. It’s important to understand just how much of a fascinating person Mark Shrime is to get a context for this conversation. Dr....
Mar 11, 2025•57 min•Ep. 175
Tsuyoshi Konishi Dr. Tsuyoshi Konishi is an associate professor of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, USA. We again got a chance to hear several of his talks at the COLOSOS conference in Toronto in Oct 2024. Dr. Konishi is really helping to bridge the gap between “Eastern” and “Western” approaches to colorectal cancer. In this episode, Dr. Konishi really broke down the sometimes nebulous concept of complete mesocolic excision in right sid...
Feb 25, 2025•57 min•Ep. 174
This week we were joined by Dr. Jenny Seligmann. Dr. Seligmann is a Professor of Gastrointestinal and Translational Oncology and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at the University of Leeds. Dr. Seligmann is one of the authors of the seminal FOxTROT trial, which investigated the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced colon cancers. Dr. Seligmann is the lead investigator on the FOxTROT platform, the ARIEL trial, and continues to be on the leading edge of trials for colorectal cancer. I...
Feb 11, 2025•38 min•Ep. 173
This episode is an edited version of a talk I gave to our first years during their Surgical Foundations course. It’s mainly a reminder to myself: this too shall pass. Links: Steven Covey 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: https://www.amazon.ca/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/0743269519 “Memento Mori”: https://dailystoic.com/memento-mori/ Hans Zimmer soundtracks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJeBQabyLa_FvMxb6G67lkw...
Jan 28, 2025•8 min•Ep. 172
Selwyn O. Rogers Jr., MD, MPH, FACS, is a widely respected surgeon and public health expert. As founding director of the University of Chicago Medicine Trauma Center, Dr. Rogers is building an interdisciplinary team of specialists to treat patients who suffer injury from life-threatening events, such as car crashes, serious falls and gun violence. His team works with leaders in the city's trauma network to expand trauma care on the South Side. Dr. Rogers has served in leadership capacities at he...
Jan 14, 2025•42 min•Ep. 171
This episode is a recording of the Queen’s Department of Surgery William Ersil Research Day. This year our invited speaker was Dr. Thomas Forbes, chief of surgery at University Health Network in Toronto and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Vascular Surgery. In this “How I Built This” style episode in front of a live audience, we explored Dr. Forbes background, his training, the future of residency/fellowship training, his approach to leadership and how he goes “all in” for both work and his fam...
Dec 31, 2024•43 min•Ep. 170
We are delighted to release our new collaborative mini-series on “Medico-legal Risks for the Surgeon”. The Canadian Medical Protective Association and the Cold Steel podcast have teamed up to release this mini-series exploring some common legal issues that might arise for surgeons. In this first episode, we explore some basic legal issues that surgeons might face. We explore the peer-review system, documentation, inherent risk, the role of the system in medico-legal errors, and the impact these ...
Dec 17, 2024•44 min•Ep. 169
Thank you for joining us on Cold Steel ! Dr. Caprice Greenberg is a surgical oncologist at UNC School of Medicine in North Carolina. She is a preeminent health services researcher and also the founder of the Academy for Surgical Coaching. We caught up with her to do a deep dive on surgical coaching and the work that she’s done on a state-wide level to create a coaching program. Dr. Greenberg is an iconoclast and provides some really important insights on the importance on having a vision and pur...
Dec 03, 2024•35 min•Ep. 168
Dr. Adom Bondzi-Simpson is a general surgery resident and PhD student at the University of Toronto. He’s been nationally recognized for his advocacy work and research work on social justice and social determinants of health. He is a winner of the Canadian Medical Association for Young Leaders, the 2023 winner of the Mikhael Award for Medical Education from the Resident Doctors of Canada, among other accolades. In this episode we do a very deep dive on Adom’s upbringing and background, and his th...
Nov 19, 2024•43 min•Ep. 167
Thank you so much for joining us on Cold Steel! The tremulous surgeon seems like such an oxymoron, an impossible paradox. The reality of course, is that many surgeons have a tremor. Our discussion on this episode with Lilli Cooper on tremors was a wonderful exploration of performance anxiety in surgery. Lilli Cooper is a plastic surgeon in the UK, and produced a segment for the BBC on tremors in surgeons. We caught up with her to talk about what she’s learned about tremors and the insights she h...
Nov 05, 2024•39 min•Ep. 166
We’re really excited to bring you talks that we recorded as part of the CANUCS Surgical Fellows course. CANUCS is a national organization that stands for Canadian collaborative on urgent care surgery. Dr. Chad Ball and Kelly Vogt were instrumental in bringing together some really fantastic speakers to talk about the critical knowledge and skills that surround obtaining a staff job, as well as being successful both personally and professionally in a demanding career. Dr. Morad Hameed is an innova...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr
We’re really excited to bring you talks that we recorded as part of the CANUCS Surgical Fellows course. CANUCS is a national organization that stands for Canadian collaborative on urgent care surgery. Dr. Chad Ball and Kelly Vogt were instrumental in bringing together some really fantastic speakers to talk about the critical knowledge and skills that surround obtaining a staff job, as well as being successful both personally and professionally in a demanding career. Dr. Morgan Schellenberg is a ...
Oct 18, 2024•23 min
We’re really excited to bring you talks that we recorded as part of the CANUCS Surgical Fellows course. CANUCS is a national organization that stands for Canadian collaborative on urgent care surgery. Dr. Chad Ball and Kelly Vogt were instrumental in bringing together some really fantastic speakers to talk about the critical knowledge and skills that surround obtaining a staff job, as well as being successful both personally and professionally in a demanding career. Dr. Ashlie Nadler is an Assis...
Oct 17, 2024•27 min
We’re really excited to bring you talks that we recorded as part of the CANUCS Surgical Fellows course. CANUCS is a national organization that stands for Canadian collaborative on urgent care surgery. Dr. Chad Ball and Kelly Vogt were instrumental in bringing together some really fantastic speakers to talk about the critical knowledge and skills that surround obtaining a staff job, as well as being successful both personally and professionally in a demanding career. Dr. Kelly Vogt is an acute ca...
Oct 16, 2024•30 min
We’re really excited to bring you talks that we recorded as part of the CANUCS Surgical Fellows course. CANUCS is a national organization that stands for Canadian collaborative on urgent care surgery. Dr. Chad Ball and Kelly Vogt were instrumental in bringing together some really fantastic speakers to talk about the critical knowledge and skills that surround obtaining a staff job, as well as being successful both personally and professionally in a demanding career. Dr. Rob Leeper is an acute ca...
Oct 15, 2024•24 min
We’re really excited to bring you talks that we recorded as part of the CANUCS Surgical Fellows course. CANUCS is a national organization that stands for Canadian collaborative on urgent care surgery. Dr. Chad Ball and Kelly Vogt were instrumental in bringing together some really fantastic speakers to talk about the critical knowledge and skills that surround obtaining a staff job, as well as being successful both personally and professionally in a demanding career. I was really honoured to be a...
Oct 14, 2024•33 min
As a trainee, I rarely thought about the details of setting up your own office, and yet I always felt that there had to be a way of doing it better. Dr. Erin King-Mullins is a colorectal surgeon in Fayetteville, Georgia. She created the Colorectal Wellness Center. On this episode, we talk to her about why and how she created the Colorectal Wellness Center. Along the way we get her insights on entrepreneurship, creativity, and paving your own way. Links: Dr. King-Mullin’s children’s book “Mommy! ...
Oct 01, 2024•32 min•Ep. 165
Dr. Elena Parvez is a surgical oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery. Her clinical expertise and research interests are in breast cancer. She is exploring breast cancer outcomes in refugees to Canada who have breast cancer. She has received funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to conduct a trial which identifies a strategy to avoid post-neoadjuvant radiation therapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer who have a complete response to neo...
Sep 17, 2024•25 min•Ep. 166
Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast! In many philosophical and religious traditions, there is an emphasis on how intentionality is one of the fundamental tenets of being able to live a fulfilling life. Marcus Aurelius wrote, “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength.” One surgeon who is trying to restore that intentionality back to the culture of surgery is Dr. Sharon Stein. Dr. Stein is a colorectal surgeon who has been at the pinna...
Sep 03, 2024•47 min•Ep. 163
In this episode, we spoke with Drs. Jen McCall and Romy Nitsch about imposterism. Dr. McCall is a minimally invasive gynecology fellow at the University of Ottawa and Dr. Nitsch is a minimally invasive gynecologist at Queen’s University. The two researchers, along with Jessica Pudwell and Jamie Pyper, recently published a study in the Journal of American College of Surgeons on imposter phenomenon in women surgeons. Their study highlights the near universal phenomenon of imposter phenomenon among...
Aug 20, 2024•38 min•Ep. 162
On this episode, Dr. Elizabeth Squirrell joined us to talk about Crohns disease. Dr. Squirrell is a staff gastroenterologist at Queen’s University and has a special expertise in inflammatory bowel disease. In this two part series, we first talk about the diagnosis of crohns disease and the different patterns of its presentation. In part 2, we talk about the changing landscape of medical therapy for Crohns disease and how Dr. Squirrell approaches the treatment of Crohns. Make sure to check out th...
Aug 06, 2024•29 min•Ep. 161
On this episode, Dr. Elizabeth Squirrell joined us to talk about Crohns disease. Dr. Squirrell is a staff gastroenterologist at Queen’s University and has a special expertise in inflammatory bowel disease. In this two part series, we first talk about the diagnosis of crohns disease and the different patterns of its presentation. In part 2, we talk about the changing landscape of medical therapy for Crohns disease and how Dr. Squirrell approaches the treatment of Crohns. Make sure to check out th...
Aug 06, 2024•26 min•Ep. 160
