Cold Steel: Canadian Journal of Surgery Podcast

Available Episodes

5 of 204

E179 - Mohamed Belal on Being Britain's First Paralyzed Surgeon and Designing the ORs of the Future
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 adapted to his paralysis and has come back to practice as a surgeon, and his insights on how we might design the operating rooms of the future. Links:The Gift of Adversity: https://youtu.be/uTPVvPMod2Q?si=VTn616zCI8M7oF71https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-63586045
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E178 - CMPA x Cold Steel Part 2 - Anatomy of a Lawsuit
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
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E177 - Stephen Foster on Global Surgery in Angola
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 with Dr. Foster has reminded us of the huge inequities that exist in the world, but also the tremendous effort of folks like Dr. Foster to make the world a better, more humane place.If you want to get in contact with Dr. Foster to support his foundation, you can find his email in our show notes.Links:Stephen Foster Email: [email protected] https://www.amazon.ca/Benefit-Steel-Times-Steve-Foster/dp/B07Y4K7CM4https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-a-little-respect-for-dr-foster.html
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E176 - Journal Club with David Maslove on Cash Incentives for Peer Review
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 to the journal. There are many challenges around peer review in the modern era, and one particularly thorny one is finding reviewers who have the time and expertise to provide high-quality reviews.David Maslove is a Clinician Scientist in the Departments of Medicine and Critical Care Medicine at Queen’s University. He, along with economist Chris Cotton and a team of other researchers, recently published an article in the Journal of Critical Care Medicine entitled “Effect of Monetary Incentives on Peer Review Acceptance and Completion: A Quasi-Randomized Interventional Trial”. Dr. Maslove performed what is, in some ways, a very simple study conceptually – does paying reviewers increase the rate at which reviewers complete their reviews? We delve into this study in depth and hear Dr. Maslove’s thoughts on this really important topic.What do you think? Do you think peer reviewers should be paid? Send us your thoughts via email at [email protected] or on X @coldsteelpod.Links:Cotton CS, Alam A, Tosta S, Buchman TG, Maslove DM. Effect of Monetary Incentives on Peer Review Acceptance and Completion: A Quasi-Randomized Interventional Trial. Crit Care Med. 2025 Mar 6. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006637. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40047491.Maslove DM, Tang B, Shankar-Hari M, Lawler PR, Angus DC, Baillie JK, Baron RM, Bauer M, Buchman TG, Calfee CS, Dos Santos CC, Giamarellos-Bourboulis EJ, Gordon AC, Kellum JA, Knight JC, Leligdowicz A, McAuley DF, McLean AS, Menon DK, Meyer NJ, Moldawer LL, Reddy K, Reilly JP, Russell JA, Sevransky JE, Seymour CW, Shapiro NI, Singer M, Summers C, Sweeney TE, Thompson BT, van der Poll T, Venkatesh B, Walley KR, Walsh TS, Ware LB, Wong HR, Zador ZE, Marshall JC. Redefining critical illness. Nat Med. 2022 Jun;28(6):1141-1148. doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-01843-x. Epub 2022 Jun 17. PMID: 35715504.Maslove DM, Badawi O. The Many Faces of Prediction Modeling in Critical Care. Crit Care Med. 2022 Apr 1;50(4):687-689. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005409. PMID: 35311775.https://med.stanford.edu/master-clinical-informatics-management/stanford-clinical-informatics/ms-phd-in-biomedical-informatics.html
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E175 - Global Surgery and the Power of Purpose with Mark Shrime
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 othersMark 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. Shrime was the International Chief Medical Officer at Mercy Ships, an international NGO that operates hospital ships. Mark is also one of the major figures in the global surgery space, and was part of the 2015 Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. If that were not enough, he is also an American Ninja Warrior! We explored why Mark felt the need to write a book on purpose as well as his insights on global surgery, amongst many other topics. This was such an important conversation not just for surgeons but for anyone trying discover meaning and purpose in their life. Links:https://www.markshrime.com/ https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dr-mark-shrime/solving-for-why/9781538734162/?lens=twelvehttps://www.thelancet.com/commissions/global-surgeryShrime MG, Alkire BC, Grimes C, Chao TE, Poenaru D, Verguet S. Cost-Effectiveness in Global Surgery: Pearls, Pitfalls, and a Checklist. World J Surg. 2017 Jun;41(6):1401-1413. doi: 10.1007/s00268-017-3875-0. PMID: 28105528.Smith ER, Kapoor P, Concepcion T, Ramirez T, Mohamed M, Dahir S, Cotache-Condor C, Adan Ismail E, Rice HE, Shrime MG. Does reducing out-of-pocket costs for children's surgical care protect families from poverty in Somaliland? A cross-sectional, national, economic evaluation modelling study. BMJ Open. 2023 May 2;13(5):e069572. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069572. PMID: 37130683; PMCID: PMC10163539
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