Cold Steel: Canadian Journal of Surgery Podcast

Dr. Patrick Murphy is a trauma and acute care surgeon at Medical College of Wisconsin. In this episode we discuss his recent paper, “Understaffed and overworked: The stark reality of acute care surgeon staffing in the United States, an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter study.” This conversation turned into more than just a discussion around workforce planning, but also around how surgeons are compensated and surgical culture.

Links:

  1. Murphy, Patrick B. MD, MPH, MSc; Coleman, Jamie J. MD; et al; The ACS Staffing Authorship Group. Understaffed and overworked: The stark reality of acute care surgeon staffing in the United States, an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter study. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery ():10.1097/TA.0000000000004700, July 4, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/TA.0000000000004700 
  2. Murphy PB, Nahmias J, Bonne S, Coleman J, de Moya M. Defining the acute care surgeon: American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) panel discussion on full-time employment, compensation and career trajectory. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2024 Sep 30;9(1):e001500. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2024-001500. PMID: 39363886; PMCID: PMC11448165.
  3. Murphy PB, Coleman J, Karam B, Morris RS, Figueroa J, de Moya M. A national study defining 1.0 full-time employment in trauma and acute care surgery. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2022 Apr 1;92(4):648-655. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000003504. PMID: 34936589.
  4. Murphy PB, Coleman J, Maring M, Pokrzywa C, Deshpande D, Al Tannir AH, Biesboer EA, Morris RS, Figueroa J, de Moya M. Early career acute care surgeons' priorities and perspectives: A mixed-methods analysis to better understand full-time employment. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2023 Dec 1;95(6):935-942. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000004037. Epub 2023 Jun 15. PMID: 37418689.
  5. Smith RN, Freedberg M, Bailey J, DeMoya M, Goldberg A, Staudenmayer K. The importance and benefits of defining full-time equivalence in the field of acute care surgery. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2024 Jul 4;9(1):e001307. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2023-001307. PMID: 38974220; PMCID: PMC11227842.
  6. Robinson C, Lawless R, Zarzaur BL, Timsina L, Feliciano DV, Coleman JJ. Physiologic stress among surgeons who take in-house call. Am J Surg. 2019 Dec;218(6):1181-1184. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.08.023. Epub 2019 Sep 19. PMID: 31570199.
  7. Adi Kumar on Cold Steel: https://open.spotify.com/episode/52Hg2cCLGLZejD0QSfI9le?si=xSHFcSrPRdOOZ_RT_QWsAA 

Creators and Guests

Host
Dr. Ameer Farooq
PM
Guest
Pat Murphy

What is Cold Steel: Canadian Journal of Surgery Podcast?

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.