Knife Down
"Knife Down" is what a surgeon says in the OR when she puts her scalpel down so no one gets hurt — and it’s the mission here: put the knife down, long before anyone needs to use it.
Knife Down is a podcast about how to actually invest in your health so you can live longer, stronger, and with less time in doctors’ offices. The core focus is the world’s leading cause of death—cardiovascular disease—and what to do about it before it shows up as a catastrophe.
Hosted by a vascular surgeon on a mission to put herself out of business, the show translates cutting-edge science on prevention, metabolic health, and longevity into real-world strategies you can use in clinic or at your kitchen table. Expect evidence, nuance, and zero wellness hype—plus the occasional dark joke about the state of modern medicine.
Knife Down
5 Things I've Learned On Call as a Surgeon
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What Is It Really Like Being On Call as a Surgeon? | Life, Death, Burnout & Decisions at 2AM
What does being on call as a surgeon actually mean—beyond the pager, the scrubs, and the stereotypes?
In this video, a board-certified vascular surgeon pulls back the curtain on life on call: the anxiety, the ethical decisions made at 2 a.m., the mistakes you never forget, and the rules that keep patients safe when you’re exhausted and human.
This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s an honest look at surgical call, decision-making under pressure, work-life balance in medicine, and how to build a career that doesn’t hollow you out.
Whether you’re a medical student, resident, attending, nurse, or someone curious about how hospitals really work—this one’s for you.
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⏱️ Chapters / Timestamps
0:00 Life or death: what surgery actually demands
1:47 Call anxiety & living with uncertainty
2:09 The mindset shift that makes call survivable
2:40 Why slowing down saves lives (and mistakes)
3:32 A case I rushed—and what it cost
5:37 “Load the boat”: why asking for help matters
7:38 Multidisciplinary care & better outcomes
8:38 The hospital survival guide (scrubs, socks, sanity)
10:13 Work-life balance in surgery (and why I went part-time)
11:51 Residency hours vs real life as an attending
13:47 The real cost of mastering surgery
15:46 Different career models in medicine (locums, part-time, full-time)
17:06 Being tired, being human, and making the right call
19:21 Two rules every surgeon should live by
20:14 Why your team determines your quality of life
22:42 Choosing jobs based on people, not prestige
23:53 When it’s time to change your career—or how you do it
25:00 Final reflections & advice for future surgeons
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🔍 Topics Covered
• What being on call as a surgeon is really like
• Surgical decision-making under fatigue
• Mistakes, humility, and ethics in medicine
• Burnout, part-time practice, and alternative career models
• Team dynamics in hospitals
• Advice for medical students and residents
• How surgeons think when everything is urgent
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If you want more honest conversations about medicine, surgery, prevention, and building a career that actually works—subscribe and let me know what you want to see next.
Knife down. Take good care.
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Sign up for more information on my own practice here: https://corsighthealth.com/
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🧬 About Dr. Lily Johnston
Dr. Johnston is a triple board-certified vascular and general surgeon and obesity medicine physician in San Diego, specializing in metabolic and cardiovascular prevention. She’s the founder of CorSight Health and a passionate advocate for reimagining how medicine approaches chronic disease.
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