211: Blue Collar, Cold Steel

Episode 211 featuring Dr. Michael Collins: Available on iTunes

The free podcast of this episode is available on our iTunes page!

In this episode, the Radio Rounds team speaks with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Collins, author of and Hot Lights, Cold Steel and Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs.

This episode was also Part II of our three-week “Experience of Residency” series that we aired in October, 2009. In Part I (Episode 210), we spoke with Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, author of Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation. The series concludes with Episode 212, featuring renowned author Samuel Shem (The House of God).

In this interview with Dr. Collins in Part II, we discuss his intriguing path to medicine — which included working as a construction worker and cab driver before deciding to go to medical school. Upon graduating and entering residency, Dr. Collins found himself thrown under the hot lights… on the cold steel of the operating room. And of course his intern year is the subject of Hot Lights, Cold Steel.

The humor and emotion of the book certainly come through in this conversation with Dr. Collins, and we encourage you to listen if you get the chance. This episode also features one of the more light-hearted moments in Radio Rounds history, as Dr. Collins discusses his favorite beers.