The Making of a Heart Surgeon | Craig Smith, MD

The Doctor's Art

If you were to rank all the medical specialties by the arduousness of the training required, the technical complexity and high stress of the interventions involved, and the harshness of the working hours, cardiothoracic surgery would be near or at the top of anyone's list.

In this episode, cardiac surgeon and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center Craig Smith, MD takes us into the heart and mind of a physician who regularly cracks open a person's chest to manipulate some of their most anatomically intricate parts in order to save their lives. He is the author of the 2023 memoir Nobility in Small Things: A Surgeon's Path, and famously performed the quadruple bypass surgery that saved former US president Bill Clinton's life in 2004.

Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Smith discusses the joys of exploring the human body, what motivates him to get up at 4 a.m. every day with the same burning passion for his work, why his family is one of the most important elements of work life balance, how he deals with mistakes and adverse events in the operating room, and more.

In this episode, you will hear about:

2:23 - Dr. Smith’s initial path to medicine

4:43 - What drew Dr. Smith to the field of cardiothoracic surgery and how he handles the high-stakes nature of the work.

15:47 - What happens when a surgery goes not go according to plan

18:54 - Dr. Smith’s approach to comforting and connecting with patients prior to surgery

22:24 - Dr. Smith’s experience performing surgery while struggling through what he later learned was a very early case of COVID-19 in early 2020

29:03 - How Dr. Smith views work-life balance

34:17 - The role of spirituality and religion in Dr. Smith’s work

35:51 - How Dr. Smith has retained his sense of purpose and calling throughout his career

45:28 – A patient story that encapsulates why performing surgery is so meaningful for Dr. Smith

Dr. Craig Smith is the author of Nobility in Small Things: A Surgeon’s Path (2023).

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