Category Archives: Surgery

For a glimpse into the world of surgical training over 100 years ago, one can look at The Agnew Clinic by Thomas Eakins and immediately observe the vast differences compared to today. Anatomist and surgeon David Hayes Agnew holds tools in his bare hands while his surgical team pins a patient down to a table and press…

The Nuances of Numbers “Medicine’s distinction is that lives are lost in those slim margins” To appreciate the value of perfectionism in medicine, one only needs to consider the difference between 99% and 99.5% success rates. This marginal half-percent represents entire human lives. It means that for every 1000 individuals receiving treatment, five people won’t…

What do the world’s elite athletes have in common with orthopedic surgeons? They’re both expected to perform at an expert level and they have both trained for years to hone their skills – but more importantly, they rely on a strong sense of confidence to perform at their optimal level. In the case of athletes,…

Michael Porter thinks the healthcare system is transforming into a system based on value rather than services. At Clinical Congress 2018, he urged attendees to “be leaders in this transformation, rather than be dragged along.” He believes such a transformation is necessary because healthcare costs are unsustainable: they’re rising faster than GDP and income in most developed…

Surgeon Education Surgeon training is a significant undertaking for both the learner and the teacher. To first do no harm, trainees spend countless hours learning to become competent and safe. The means to this end however has significant limitations. The cliché of see one, do one, teach one grossly oversimplifies the acquisition of a surgeon’s skill,…