Cold Steel: Canadian Journal of Surgery Podcast

Canadian Journal of Surgery

Details

The podcast dedicated to discussing how surgeons can be the best versions of themselves, inside and outside the operating room. Hosted by surgeons Chad Ball and Ameer Farooq, Cold Steel explores the many facets of surgical life with guests at the cutting edge of surgical science. The official podcast of the Canadian Journal of Surgery.

Recent Episodes

AUG 25, 2026
E196 - Could AI help us solve PTSD and burnout in surgery? Jeremy Heffner on PTSD, burnout, and AI
Jeremy Heffner is a trauma and acute care surgeon at Lima Memorial Health System in Ohio. He is also the Chief Operating Officer of SurgeON, a social media company dedicated to surgeons. Heffner was also previously a bioengineer who worked at NIH. He has been incredibly open about his journey and struggles with PTSD as a surgeon, and how those struggles ultimately caused his breakdown. Sadly, Dr. Heffner's story is not unique, and we brought him on the podcast to hear his insights about how many surgeons struggle with PTSD. What is unique is Dr. Heffner's approach to dealing with his PTSD. His approach is outlined in his recently released book, Proof of the Impossible. Dr. Heffner used AI to try to find answers to many of the questions he had while struggling with burnout and PTSD. He had some very strange and unusual conversations with AI, including a moment where he felt the AI was having a "misalignment event", defined as when "AI acts in ways that go against human intent, safety, or core instructions". Our discussion spanned the gamut of PTSD in surgery, and how AI may or may not be a tool that can help with mental health and burnout. For me, the most powerful message Jeremy had for us was the power of human connection and also that the only way to deal with the hard things is to face them. We would just like to warn listeners that we do discuss some pretty traumatic things that Dr. Heffner experienced, and some of the description is pretty graphic. Also, we would always recommend professional help if you are dealing with mental illness, burnout, or suicidal ideation. We would love to hear your thoughts - do you think there is a role for AI in providing empathy to humans? Send us your feedback at [email protected]. Links: Source: LinkedIn https://share.google/yBOCofBF9BhotNeWh Pre-Order "Proof of the Impossible" https://share.google/w0jGPSiz9WLBstaqU SurgeON with Mark Soliman interview: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3znH6DkcDDcg7Zqyca2YSb?si=p3zoYYb_RCiNvL5hkX4l9g&utm_source=copy-link&sci=spotify%3Acard-config%3A0qjrdqA8ITGkKr0375x09R
38 MIN
JUL 21, 2026
E195 Bishal Gyawali and the Quest for Common Sense Oncology
This week's guest is Dr. Bishal Gyawali. Bishal is an oncologist at Queen's University and a policy researcher. His focus as a researcher has been both sensational and at the same time extremely fundamental. Bishal has been asking questions around how we decide which drugs are approved for funding by the government, as well as how we might best allocate resources to help cancer patients around the world. Bishal has been an integral part of the "Common Sense Oncology" movement, which will promote interventions that measurably improve the lives of patients, promoting effective treatments but also challenging interventions that might cause more harm than good. Our conversation focused around Bishal's training, how he became interested in cancer health policy and his thoughts around the idea of value in cancer care. We also discussed Bishal's thoughtful use of technology, blogs, and social media. Links: Grounded in Groundshot Podcast – Dr. Bishal Gyawali BG lab: Dr. Bishal Gyawali Common Sense Oncology: Home - Common Sense Oncology Mittal A, Kim MS, Dunn S, Wright K, Gyawali B. Frequently asked questions on surrogate endpoints in oncology-opportunities, pitfalls, and the way forward. EClinicalMedicine. 2024 Sep 13;76:102824. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102824. PMID: 39764569; PMCID: PMC11701476. Surrogate Endpoints: The 15 Most Common Misunderstandings in Oncology Cancer groundshot: Access to proven treatments must parallel development of new therapies Do Oncology Board Exams Make Us Better Doctors? Ending Medical Reversal: Ending Medical Reversal | Hopkins Press
60 MIN