Surgical Ergonomics

Geeta Lal MD
  • 5.0 (18)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Biweekly

This podcast will discuss everything relating to surgical and procedural  ergonomics i.e. the people, ideas and technology that will help enhance your physical wellness and career longevity. 

  1. How Hospital Leaders and Professional Societies Can Drive Improved Ergonomics with Surgeon-Executive Dr. David Berger

    1d ago

    How Hospital Leaders and Professional Societies Can Drive Improved Ergonomics with Surgeon-Executive Dr. David Berger

    This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Smart Step Surgical LLC. You can learn about them and schedule a demo via https://www.smartstepsurgical.com/blogs/news/surgical-ergonomic-podcast-promotional-discount Disclosure:  Smart Step Surgical is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you. They also provide our podcast listeners with a discount (20%), so we hope that it is a win-win! Dr. David Berger is  a physician executive and former hospital CEO turned digital health advisor — helping early-stage startups and healthcare investors navigate the complexity of building and scaling in the healthcare system. With 30+ years of leadership experience in care delivery, he now works with founders and VCs to bring clinically sound, operationally feasible innovation to market.   In this episode Dr. Berger: - Shares details about his career pivots, including his journey dealing with work-related MSK issues  - Describes how he navigated coming back to work after the multiple surgeries he needed, including altering his practice from full-scale surgical oncology to do mainly shorter cases due to ongoing symptoms - Discusses how hospital leaders (including Chairs of Surgery) can and should track lost days of work from MSK injury and support initiatives aimed at improving ergonomics in procedural specialties. - Shares why and how surgical societies, including the American College of Surgeons  and the ACGME can take steps to highlight the issue of the high rates of MSK injuries among surgeons You can reach Dr. Berger via his Linked in profile here. Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook and please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the show

    36 min
  2. The Hidden Toll of Veterinary Medicine with Dr. Sara White

    May 18

    The Hidden Toll of Veterinary Medicine with Dr. Sara White

    This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Sunoptic Surgical. You can learn about them and schedule a demo via   https://sunopticsurgical.com/surgicalergonomics/ Disclosure:  Sunoptic Surgical is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you.   Dr. Sara White is a veterinarian and has worked in mixed animal, small animal, shelter medicine and High-Quality, High-Volume Spay Neuter (HQHVSN) practices. Since 2006, Sara has operated Spay ASAP Inc, a nonprofit MASH-style mobile spay/neuter clinic. While working in spay-neuter, Sara developed an interest in ergonomics, health, wellbeing, and injury in veterinarians and staff, and  completed a Masters of Science in Health Ergonomics from University of Derby in the UK. She has been named Veterinarian of the Year by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, coauthored the Association of Shelter Veterinarians Spay Neuter Guidelines and is the editor of the textbook High-Quality, High-Volume Spay and Neuter and Other Shelter Surgeries  In this episode, Dr. White: - Shares her journey into working in a high-volume spay/neuter practice and how that sparked her interest in ergonomics -Describes the high rate of work-related MSK injuries among veterinarians and especially those in high volume spay-neuter practices. The period prevalence of MSD was 99.1%, with 76.7% experiencing hand or wrist pain and 98.2% experiencing body pain. Further details can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/3/1/85 - Emphasizes that increasing career length, increasing weekly hours in surgery and decreasing job satisfaction were the work-related factors with the greatest relative risk of hand pain severity and total pain. Interestingly, gender differences were not as prominent in her study, possibly because of the lack of instrument and hand size mismatch in the veterinary population - Shares that there wasn't any formal ergonomics training when she trained in veterinary medicine, however, there is now some incorporation of ergonomics teaching in programs and textbooks - Describes her journey into coaching veterinarians about ergonomics You can reach Dr. White via her website ergovet.com or via LinkedIn Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook and please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the show

    41 min
  3. OR Ergonomics from the Anesthsiology Perspective with Dr. Christopher Perkes

    May 4

    OR Ergonomics from the Anesthsiology Perspective with Dr. Christopher Perkes

    Dr. Christopher Perkes is an Anesthesiologist at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. His non-clinical pursuits have included serving as an Anesthesia Medical Director (Quinte Health), Premesis Inspection Committee member for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and delivering a Canadian Anesthesiology Society presentation on Ergonomics for the Anesthesiologist. His interest in ergonomics began in 2018 when he suffered a back injury that threatened his career.  In this episode, Dr. Perkes: - Shares how his own injury (herniated L5/S1 intervertebral disc) sparked his interest in ergonomics - Discusses the ergonomic risks faced by anesthesia providers in their daily work and the factors that keep people from getting help when their symptoms first develop - Emphazised the importance of working with a specialist (physical therapist, occupational therapist or ergonomist) to analyze our postures in our workflow - Outlines practical steps that practitioners can take to set up their environment ergonomically and also advocate for ergonomic equipment - Shared his thoughts on how good ergonomics can be incorporated into residency training and practicing providers  Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook and please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the show

    49 min
  4. OR ergonomics from the scrub technologist perspective with Ms. Jeannette Wagner

    Apr 20

    OR ergonomics from the scrub technologist perspective with Ms. Jeannette Wagner

    This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Smart Step Surgical LLC. You can learn about them and schedule a demo via https://www.smartstepsurgical.com/blogs/news/surgical-ergonomic-podcast-promotional-discount Disclosure:  Smart Step Surgical is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you. They also provide our podcast listeners with a discount (20%), so we hope that it is a win-win! Episode details: Ms. Jeannette Wagner is a Surgical Technologist and is  Team Lead in the operating rooms at University of Iowa Health Care, Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She oversees multiple services along with scrubbing a large variety of surgeries. Her true passion is scrubbing pediatric cardiac and takes pride in being a part of the surgical team. An important part of her role as Team Lead is education for staff and training Surgical Technologists, as well as nurses to the scrub role. She is a dedicated and motivated professional with a passion for lifelong learning and personal growth.  She is a member of the Scheduling Committee in her department and in the past was a member and chair of the UPC council for SFCH surgical department.  Her personal interests include spending time with her family and 3 granddaughters, being out in nature and always willing to take on new challenges and expand her skills.   In this episode Ms. Wagner: - Shares the MSK issues she has faced over her almost 30-year career as a scrub technologist, including needing surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome and a shoulder injury - Emphasized that there is a lack of education around ergonomics in the training of scrub technologists -Discusses data that shows OR nurses have high rates of MSK injuries when compared to nurses working in other hospital environments and that back injuries are the most common MSK issue -  Describes some of the barriers to implementing ergonomic best practices among OR scrub staff - Provides tips on  handling the power differential in the OR when it comes to utilizing ergonomic aids - Emphasizes how communication between surgeons and techs can ease access to the field and improve ergonomics for everyone Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook and please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the show

    35 min
  5. How exoskeletons can improve ergonomics in the OR with Dr. Jackie Cha

    Apr 6

    How exoskeletons can improve ergonomics in the OR with Dr. Jackie Cha

    Dr. Jackie Cha is the Patricia Flatley Brennan Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her research focuses on measuring physical human-robot interactions, particularly in healthcare environments, to improve worker performance, safety, and system efficiency. Her team investigates applications of robotics – both surgical robotic systems and wearables – in clinical environments and the changes of physical and cognitive interactions between human teams and robots. Prior to joining UW-Madison, she served as an assistant professor at Clemson University. Her research has been funded by several sponsors such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) (including the NSF CAREER award), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). In this episode Dr. Cha: - Explains what exoskeletons are and the difference between active and passive exoskeletions - Shares how exoskeletons have been used to reduce strain in industrial sectors (as PPE)  - Describes why adapting exoskeletons to the OR is especially challenging i.e. due to the large physical and cognitive load intrinsic to OR work - Shares the work she and others have done evaluating exoskeletons for the OR both in the simulation environment and in actual OR rooms - Discusses the pros and cons of currently available exoskeletons in terms of adapting them to surgical work  The Society of Surgical Ergonomics webinar on exoskeletons can be found here:https://www.societyofsurgicalergonomics.org/copy-of-video-library The recent study with qualitative and objective data with use of a neck/back exoskeleton can be found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40201977/ Dr. Jackie Cha can be reached via Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiecha/ Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook and please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the show

    35 min
  6. Ergonomics for otolaryngologists and incorporating ergonomics into daily work with Rhinologist, Skull base surgeon and Physical therapist Dr. Raewyn Campbell

    Mar 23

    Ergonomics for otolaryngologists and incorporating ergonomics into daily work with Rhinologist, Skull base surgeon and Physical therapist Dr. Raewyn Campbell

    This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Q-optics. You can learn about them, the special rates they are offering for podcast listerners and schedule a demo via : https://q-optics.com/pages/surgicalergonomics-drlal Disclosure:  Q-optics is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you. It also provides you with a discount and a giveaway to listeners of the podcast, so we hope that it is a win-win! Dr. Raewyn Campbell is an Associate Progessor and a rhinologist and skull base surgeon in Sydney, Australia. She is also a former physical therapist with a post-graduate diploma in exercise and sport science. She completed 3 international fellowships in Rhinology and Skull Base surgery in Auckland, NewZealand and Philadelphia and Columbus, USA. She holds leadership positions in multiple societies and is the the ENT research lead for the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Institute of Academic Surgery and the ENT Associate Member Representative for the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). She is currently pursuing a PhD in ergonomics at The University of Sydney. In this episode, Dr. Campbell: - Discusses her journey from working as a physical therapist to then pursuing a career as an surgical subspecialist and now pursuing her PhD in Ergonomics - Describes the research she has done looking at MSK injuries among  otolaryngologists, with high rates of injuries among rhinologists and skull base surgeons, which impact not only their work but also their lives outside the OR - Shares the common risk factors for MSK injury for her subspecialty including glove size, standing, case load, amount of exercise, time spent in clinic, female sex and BMI of the surgeon. Many of these are modifiable and are common to other specialties as well - Emphasizes strategies to incorporate ergonomics into OR practice such as keeping the patient as close to oneself as possible and tilting the bed as necessary, alternating foot use for the foot pedal, using anti-fatigue mats, wearing sport shoes, paying attention to the direction of the tubing, having the scrub assistant opposite to the surgeon and including microbreaks (for both physical and cognitive ergonomics) - Shares her strategies for incorporating ergonomics principles into clinic work - Discusses the importance of incorporating physical activity (stretching ans strengthening) inside and outside the OR - Describes new technologies on the horizon for surgeons working on the microscope, such as exoscopes and robotic surgery Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook and please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the show

    44 min
  7. Developing a new ergonomic retractor with Trauma and Critical Care Surgeon Dr. Ramon Cestero

    Mar 9

    Developing a new ergonomic retractor with Trauma and Critical Care Surgeon Dr. Ramon Cestero

    This episode of the podcast is sponsored by PearsonRavitz Insurance. You can learn about them and schedule a consultation on my website at: https://pearsonravitz.com/surgicalergonomics/ Disclosure:  PearsonRavitz is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you.  Episode details: Dr. Ramon Cestero is a Professor of Surgery at UT Health San Antonio and a nationally recognized trauma and critical care surgeon. A former Navy surgeon with extensive experience in combat and austere environments, he has dedicated his career to advancing surgical care through innovation and education. Dr. Cestero is the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Advanced Surgical Retractor Systems, Inc. and the inventor of the TITAN CSR® retractor, a next-generation surgical exposure system designed to address the longstanding limitations of traditional retractors. The TITAN CSR® retractor has been the subject of a Department of Defense–funded military study and a published case review series, and it has earned national recognition, including the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma’s Best New Instrument award two years in a row. His work reflects a commitment to improving surgical ergonomics, optimizing operating room performance, and advancing technologies that enhance both surgeon effectiveness and patient outcomes. In this episode, Dr. Cestero: - Shares information about the commonly used surgical retractor systems and discusses their limitations - Describes how his work in combat environments inspired him to develop a new retractor system - Discusses the details about the TITAN CSR retractor, including how it can be integrated into existing workflows and equipment surgeons and OR personnel are already familiar with - Details his innovation journey, where he initially partnered with the Office of Technology at his institution to manufacture a prototype and test it, and eventually formed his own company - Explains how the new retractor improves team ergonomics and efficiency - Emphasizes that the retractor also has the option of built in lighting You can reach Dr. Cestero here Details for the TITAN CSR retractor here Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook and please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the show

    38 min
  8. Surgeons as elite athletes with musician and exercise physiologist Mr. Gil Spitz

    Feb 23

    Surgeons as elite athletes with musician and exercise physiologist Mr. Gil Spitz

    This episode of the podcast is sponsored by PearsonRavitz Insurance. You can learn about them and schedule a consultation on my website at: https://pearsonravitz.com/surgicalergonomics/ Disclosure:  PearsonRavitz is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you.  Episode details: Mr. Gil Spitz was originally a classical musician and shifted his focus to ergonomics and preventative exercise to help musicians with repetitive motion injuries. He furthered his expertise with an MS in Exercise Physiology, researching optimized training for first responders.  In 2019, he joined the Medical ICU team at Baylor/St. Luke's Medical Center, developing and enacting exercise plans for medically compromised patients. Since 2021, he has been with the Liver Transplant Program, implementing a hospital-wide method for assessing transplant patients' physical suitability, providing post-transplant follow-up, and developing a virtual pre-habilitation program to improve outcomes. During this time he has also worked with the surgical staff helping them prevent musculoskeletal and repetitive motion injuries. Gil has worked with providers both on a 1-on-1 basis, addressing specific needs and issues, as well as presenting the topic of OR ergonomics, inter- & intra-op preventative exercises to incoming resident cohorts during an annual bootcamp at Baylor College of Medicine.  In this episode Mr. Spitz: - Describes his journey from being a musician playing classical guitar to then building a career as an exercise physiologist - Explains why he likens surgeons to elite athletes, except that little attention is paid to surgeons' recovery period - Emphasizes that surgeons need to pay attention to their sleep hygiene, address inflammation, evaluation by a functional movement specialist (or a PT/OT) to assess muscle imbalances and passive to active stretching - Advises surgeons to prioritize their physical health and protect their investment (time, money and effort spent on training and working on their craft) - Discusses the differences between male and female athletes with respect to strength, mobility and prolonged static tasks and how athlete training programs are actually designed around their menstrual cycles - Shares emerging research in the area of exercise physiology with respect to exercising with blood flow restriction - Emphasizes certain types of maneuvres that pregnant surgeons need to focus on (chin tucks, scapular retraction etc. ) to maintain a more balanced posture -  Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook and please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the show

    43 min
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5
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

This podcast will discuss everything relating to surgical and procedural  ergonomics i.e. the people, ideas and technology that will help enhance your physical wellness and career longevity. 

Information

  • Creator
    Geeta Lal MD
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Surgical Ergonomics
  • Show Website
    Surgical Ergonomics

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