Dr. Varun Kapila is a vascular surgeon in Brampton, Ontario. He is the author of “Six Lessons for Everyday Leadership: From the Operating Room Into Everyday Life, What Surgery Taught Me About Leadership That Can Be Applied by Everyone”. In this episode we delve into Dr. Kapila’s thoughts on leadership and why everyone can be a leader in their own lives.

Links:

1. https://www.amazon.ca/Six-Lessons-Everyday-Leadership-Operating-ebook/dp/B0GQWHNYFS
2. https://learn.hms.harvard.edu/insights/learner-stories/driving-system-level-change-through-surgical-leadership
3. https://ontariohealth.ca/clinical/cardiac-stroke-vascular/abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-program
4. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/196/4/E112
5. https://www.thestar.com/news/hes-not-young-hes-my-doctor/article_bcec69e9-2822-54cf-bed1-c2322cefc558.html

For a newly graduated surgical resident, one of the most interesting and perplexing question that many folks have to deal with is a surprisingly simple one: what should a full-time surgical job look like? For many of us, we simply looked at what our predecessors job looked like, and modeled our own careers after them. This meant ensuring that our schedules were jam-packed with clinical activities every day, without much consideration for other aspects of our career (such as call and research, for example).

At the beginning of March, the American College of Surgeons released a framework of standards of what they think reasonable expectations are for a surgeon’s job. We have the link to the paper in the shownotes. The ACS is the one of the largest surgical organizations in North America, and this standard framework they have put out is really a statement on what they think is necessary to ensure that surgeons have a sustainable career. They put out standards for call, access to the OR, access to clinic, resource access, inpatient census, clinical support, and even fatigue mitigation.

Dr. Pat Murphy, trauma and acute care surgeon at the Medical College of Wisconsin, was a previous guest on the show to talk about his work trying to define what a full time acute care surgeon should look like. He actually brought this framework to our attention, and we invited him to join us once again on Cold Steel to discuss the implications of such a framework.
We would love to hear your thoughts. Send us an email at podcast.cjs@gmail.com, or find us on X (@colsteelpod, @ameerfarooq & @pbatesmurphy)

Resources from this episode:

1. Wood, Douglas E MD, FACS, FRCSEd; Wolinsky, Philip R MD, FACS2; Dodgion, Christopher M MD, MSPH, MBA, FACS3; Farmer, Diana Lee MD4; Gantt, Nancy L MD, FACS5; Napolitano, Lena M MD, FACS, MAMSE6; Timmons, Shelly D MD, PhD, FACS. FAANS7; Welsh, David J MD, MBA, FACS8; Winfield, Robert D MD, FACS9; Bura, Connie BA10; Essig, Rachael MD11; Turner, Patricia L MD, MBA, FACS10. Developing Specialty-Specific Workplace Standards for Surgeons: A Framework to Support Sustainable Surgical Careers. Journal of the American College of Surgeons ():10.1097/XCS.0000000000001880, March 03, 2026. | DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001880
2. https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/news-publications/news-and-articles/acs-brief/march-3-2026-issue/acs-releases-workplace-standards-framework-to-support-sustainable-surgical-careers/
3. Pat Murphy on Cold Steel: https://www.canjsurg.ca/content/e184-pat-murphy-workforce-planning-acute-care-surgery
4. https://calnewport.com/

Paul Fedak is a cardiac surgeon and translational scientist at the University of Calgary. He has written and spoken about what it means to pursue excellence and what it might cost us. Dr. Fedak unexpectedly had to cut short his clinical career as a surgeon due to spinal cord issues. The result has been a powerful exploration about identity, meaning, burnout and the pursuit of excellence. This is a conversation about that pursuit.

Bio: https://profiles.ucalgary.ca/paul-fedak

Links:

1. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-as-a-heart-surgeon-i-chased-excellence-it-cost-me-my-body-and-my-mind/
2. http://paulfedak.com/
3. https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_fedak_beyond_mastery_how_a_heart_surgeon_found_his_own_heart
4. https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-the-mountain-decides-who-goes-and-who-stays