Heart surgeon from working class background who played poker to pay his med school bills launches app to help top doctors share their knowledge

A surgeon who had to take on extra part time jobs while studying to be a heart surgeon has launched a new social media to transform the medical profession. Dr Jeremy Heffner grew up in a working class home in the US and worked hard in school to qualify as a doctor but the road to success wasn't easy for the top surgeon. The son of a Fire Chief, Dr Heffner had envisioned following in his family's footsteps but realised he had a different calling in life.

The 44-year-old instead became one of the most successful acute care surgeons in the US. But savings lives is not the doctor's only ambition and the Dr Heffner decided to launch SurgeOn – a social networking platform for surgeons and medical professionals. The app first launched in 2021, and was rolled out for surgeons in the UK and Europe earlier this week. The programme aims to improve patient care across the globe and was inspired by the work of Dr Heffner who worked across bioengineering and heart surgery.

The father-of-three explained his drive to make a change came from watching his only family struggle. Dr Jeremy Heffner, 44, had to take on extra part time jobs while studying to be a heart surgeon but has now launched a new social media to transform the medical profession. He said: 'I grew up in a small town and was determined to make enough money to have a good life while helping others. 'I went to a district school, where cops were patrolling the hallways and scouting out drugs in people's lockers.

'And despite my family being generationally poor, we were a typical working-class family. 'Luckily for me, I was quite good at school, and that's how my journey to success began.'. Dr Heffner began by studying bioengineering at the University of Toledo where he excelled and even became president of his fraternity and eventually the student body. In 2017, he became one of the youngest alumni in his college to earn the Alumni of the Year award.

But while he flourished at university, it wasn't always easy for the ambitious doctor who confessed that he had to work as a nightclub doorman, win a championship in club rugby, and even play poker for money until 10am to earn extra cash. But the star surgeon explained it was a sacrifice he was happy to make to achieve his dreams and he was always conscious of helping out those in need when he could including upgrading ultrasound machines at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, one of the top pediatric hospitals in the world. where he also and spent time contributing to viral research in oncology.

The son of a Fire Chief, Dr Heffner had envisioned following in his family's footsteps but instead decided becoming a doctor was the path for him. But to put himself through medical school, Dr Heffner had to work as a bouncer, a poker player and even win rugby tournaments to pay the bills. Dr Heffner continued to work hard - sometimes 130 hours a week and trained as a heart surgeon but decided he wanted something more engaging and didn't focus on patient experiences while at the hospital.

'Instead of focusing on clinical surgery alone, I did the craziest thing and started my own research lab,' he said. 'My research work eventually led to research awards from The American Hernia Society, as well as The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma and a device patent. 'Through my research, I was given numerous opportunities to meet experts across the field of surgery and medical device manufacturing, which was greatly assisted by my bioengineering background.

'It was very daunting and not an easy ride, but I did it.'. After another gruelling few years, the father-of-three passed his surgical boards and continued on with his studies to earn a speciality degree in Acute Care Surgery, which is emergency surgery, trauma and critical care, at the University of Michigan. The doctor, who loved the field as it trained him to stay calm while handling any emergency, wasn't done yet.

While at an event, he met Dr Mario Lebya, who was working on a social networking platform in its infancy, described as a 'social media company for surgeons' and he decided to go all in. After qualifying Dr Heffner continued to work hard - sometimes 130 hours a week and trained as a heart surgeon but decided he wanted something more engaging and didn't focus on patient experiences while at the hospital.

He has now launched SurgeOn,a mixture of Facebook, LinkedIn and X which focuses entirely on industry advancements and the best practices in the surgical profession. He said: 'I was hooked - it was an idea that could change the world and was so worth our time, but still required a lot of development as it was just an idea. 'The project gave me an outlet for limitless creativity to take a basic idea and turn it into a full-fledged company.'.