Life Before Knife (Pt. 1)

09/17/23 • 43 min

This is probably the biggest dilemma facing surgeons of all grades, stages and demographics; how do we juggle the knife and our life? Let's call it what it is...we need to have a life-work balance. The job is all-consuming and will devour your very essence if you let it, so how do we straddle both domains successfully? In the first of this three-parter (because, let's be honest, this is a huge topic worthy of time), we discuss:

Good habits that can set you up to maximise your day and stop admin encroaching on your free time.
Balancing the different roles we occupy.
Making time for your hobbies and pursuits, whether those are smashing out ultra-triathlons, going outside to touch some grass or even just binging Netflix.
Pearls of wisdom given to us by the wise old trainers of yore, warning us to capitalise on youth and freedom so that we're left with more than regret when we finally put the scalpel down.

Remember....get busy living or you'll be too busy shivving!

Walking Britain - finding walks close to you: https://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/

Ramblers - even more meandering: https://www.ramblers.org.uk/

D.A. Parry, R.S. Oeppen, M.S.A. Amin, P.A. Brennan (2018). Could exercise improve mental health and cognitive skills for surgeons and other healthcare professionals? BJOMS 56(5)367-370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjoms.2018.03.005.

Balancing a personal life with a surgical career | The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (rcseng.ac.uk)

Email us: [email protected]

Twitter: @NW_surgical (www.twitter.com/NW_surgical)

Reddit: u/surgicalcareersNW (www.reddit.com/u/surgicalcareersNW)

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Good habits that can set you up to maximise your day and stop admin encroaching on your free time.
Balancing the different roles we occupy.
Making time for your hobbies and pursuits, whether those are smashing out ultra-triathlons, going outside to touch some grass or even just binging Netflix.
Pearls of wisdom given to us by the wise old trainers of yore, warning us to capitalise on youth and freedom so that we're left with more than regret when we finally put the scalpel down.

Remember....get busy living or you'll be too busy shivving!

Walking Britain - finding walks close to you: https://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/

Ramblers - even more meandering: https://www.ramblers.org.uk/

Balancing a personal life with a surgical career | The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (rcseng.ac.uk)

Email us: [email protected]

Twitter: @NW_surgical (www.twitter.com/NW_surgical)

Reddit: u/surgicalcareersNW (www.reddit.com/u/surgicalcareersNW)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Where's Your Head At?

As we discussed in the previous episode, sometimes life and the job sticks the boot in, and kicks you when you’re already down. Picking ourselves up is easier said than done.

Psychology is a vital aspect of any high-performance industry because we need to believe we can do it; not just for us, but also for the people who rely on us. Sometimes we need extra help to find the right headspace.

Today we’re joined by Nicola Forshaw, counsellor, therapist and professional coach and we talk about how coaching and/or mentoring can get you back in the zone.

What’s the difference between the two? How does a good mentor mentor? What benefits does it bring? How do we combat performance anxiety? How much time do we really need in the stretch zone? Is it bad if we like wallowing in the comfort zone? Are we on the highway to the danger zone?!

Look, stop asking questions and just listen; all will be revealed. Now drop and gimme 20!

You can't say 'danger zone' without listening to Kenny Loggins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siwpn14IE7E

Nicola's endeavours - Nine Coaching, Teaching and Wellbeing: https://www.nineteaching.com/

Gagnon, L & Abbasi, N. (2018). Systematic review of randomized controlled trials on the role of coaching in surgery to improve learner outcomes. The American Journal of Surgery, 216(1), 140–146. https://do.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2017.05.003

Lin, J & Reddy, R (2019). Teaching, mentorship, and coaching in surgical education. Thoracic surgery clinics, 29(3), 311-320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.thorsurg.2019.03.008

Email us: [email protected]

Twitter: @NW_surgical (www.twitter.com/NW_surgical)

Reddit: u/surgicalcareersNW (www.reddit.com/u/surgicalcareersNW)

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Next Episode

Life Before Knife (Pt. 2) - Full Time Human

If the previous episode wasn't impetus enough for you to go out and start living your life, today will be different! We are joined by two legends right here in the North West - Mobeen Qureshi and Tom Naylor: both committed higher surgical trainees 🪚🛠️🔪; both orthopods who love dem bones 🦴🦴🦴; but both have parked their training to one side to take their passions and hobbies to the next level and ended up on the small screen for it.

Mobeen took time Out Of Programme (alongside his wife Zainib, also a psychiatry trainee) to participate in season 3 of BBC's Race Across the World and spent 2 months legging it around Canada 🇨🇦 , soaking up the unparalleled natural beauty 🏕️ and receiving the warmth and kindness of strangers.

Tom is a professional ice-skater ⛸️ and has been featured on ITV's Dancing on Ice 📺 . He delayed applying for ST3 to perform as a professional on the show for a season, and is married to his wife Yebin, a word-class figure skater.

Both of these guys talk to us about their exploits, seeing the world through a very different lens and getting some much needed perspective. They talk about how time away from training has helped them develop as people and also as more rounded surgeons. They talk about their trepidation in asking for time away, but the reality that they have been encouraged, well-supported, and welcomed back with open arms by their supervisors and TPD. Crucially, its helped them rekindle their love of surgery again.

Y'know what they say? Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

So maybe it's time to pump the brakes on training, get your out of office notifications on, and have yourselves an adventure! Go on, off you trot!

Zainab & Mobeen hitchhiking, relying on the kindness of strangers and making the most of Canada - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExkaOH96n-Q&t=9s

BBC's Race Across the World: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0002tvs/race-across-the-world?seriesId=p0f5x536

Tom setting impossible standards for regular trainees - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlWj-1gjrFs&t=76s

Tom again showing he's hench enough for orthopaedics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaWzbowbvwU&t=153s

Email us: [email protected]

Twitter: @NW_surgical (www.twitter.com/NW_surgical)

Reddit: u/surgicalcareersNW (www.reddit.com/u/surgicalcareersNW)

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