Recent programmes on radio are talking about surgeons on the frontline. They are saying things about COVID-19 changing the way we conduct surgery for a long time to avoid transmission of the virus to patients and surgical staff. Procedures are being restricted in many disciplines to emergencies only and some procedures are being avoided. What will …
My parents taught me as a child that every door has a handle and to open that door you must use the handle. This was their metaphor for insisting that we always use the proper names of all the neighbours and friends that came around to our house for drinks or dinner parties. It is this ‘handle’ or name that acknowledges and respects a person’s iden…
The relationship between the trainer and trainee is founded on trust in that we are in it together and share the same purpose. Traditionally and colloquially people often cite that trust needs to be earned i.e. you do the right things and I will trust you and ‘do right by you’? The training system is designed to assess COMPETENCY and CONSISTE…
The Surgical Director and I have both provided blog entries recently regarding surgical training during the current COVID-19 crisis. We all know that there is little, if anything, about daily life that hasn’t been impacted during these turbulent and tragic times. As surgeons much of daily life is being focused on ‘service provision’ work that mig…
A surgical trainee saw a new patient and told me about a woman who was fit for surgery and had good targets. We returned to the consultation room together and I asked ‘What is troubling you at present?’ It was sad to hear this seventy-six-year-old lady presenting for coronary artery bypass surgery telling us that her husband has dementia and regula…
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