February is LGBTQ+ History Month, and for us that means returning to a topic that we’ve touched on a few times over the life of this podcast, and that is issues facing queer surgeons in the workplace. Up to this point, we’ve focused exclusively on the experiences of LGBTQ+ surgeons in the UK, but for this episode, we are featuring members of our own Pride in Surgery Forum (aka Prism) in conversation with members of Pride in Medicine, a multispecialty group of doctors in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Through this podcast, we wanted to highlight common issues facing LGBTQ+ clinicians in an ..read more

This episode centres around the perspectives of Muslim women in surgery, and in particular the challenges faced by hijab-wearing Muslim women in both theatre environments and in their trusts. Featuring a panel led by core surgical trainee Azra Khatun, along with colorectal consultant and RCS Council Member Nuha Yassin, vascular registrar Nina Al-Saadi and paediatric registrar Farah Roslan, this podcast aims to show a range of experiences that hijab-wearing women face in the surgical world, while offering guidance and encouragement to those coming through medical school and aspiring to a career ..read more

Hello listener, if you’ve looked at the time stamp for this episode you’ll see it’s only a minute or two long. That’s because it’s not a real episode, it’s just a quick little message to let you know that the podcast is taking a break for the rest of the summer, and we will return in mid-September. In the meantime, feel free to have a dive into the back catalogue to catch up on anything you might have missed. As always, our inbox is still open, so if you want to get in touch for any reason, whether to send us feedback or propose a topic for an episode, you can reach us at podcasts@rcseng.ac.uk ..read more

Though numerous studies have been undertaken showing the efficacy of drug therapies for breast cancer prevention, many primary and secondary care professionals remain unaware that these preventative treatments exist. In fact, drugs such as Tamoxifen are both extremely safe and provide protection long after the suggested five-year course of treatment.  Produced in collaboration with Health Innovation Manchester and featuring a panel consisting of breast surgeon Ms Rosie Stanton; Macmillan GP Clinical Cancer Lead Dr Nicola Weaver; Dr Sacha Howel, medical oncologist and Senior Lecturer at th ..read more

In part one of our ongoing investigation of Ethical Leadership with Aya Musbahi and Salman Ahmed, listeners were invited to consider the concept of “ethical leadership,” as well as how this can be applied to surgeons in the modern health service. This second episode discusses the issue of efficiency in the context of healthcare, and how questions of efficiency and service delivery often become issues of ethics and leadership. The episode is structured in two segments, with the first featuring Aya and Salman discussing the realtionship between equity and efficiency in the context of issues such ..read more

Despite advances in the field of sexual health medicine in recent years, there remain persistent myths and misconceptions, both amongst the general public, as well as between medical professionals who do not specialise in this area. Indeed, the stigmas surrounding conditions such as HIV and syphilis may have repercussions for patient care if health practitioners are unable to properly administer these patients as a result of poor information. This series of discussions, featuring colorectal surgeon and Women in Surgery Chair, Tamzin Cuming, and sexual health physician Diarmuid Nugent, aims to ..read more

The authority gap between men and other genders in surgery will perhaps take years to equilibrate, but is this gap getting wider with more women of colour entering surgical specialities? Is it natural for men to automatically assign women in surgery to the roles of a scrub nurse, a translator, a scribe, or a receptionist? The podcast features the hurdles that women of colour experience in the workplace and how they reclaim their roles as surgeons ..read more

Over the last three years Chris Lewis and James Tomlinson have developed a new surgical boot camp for ST3 trauma and orthopaedic trainees at their trust in Yorkshire, focusing on leadership, professionalism, and the complexities of the registrar role, with an aim towards getting the most from the surgical team around them in the pursuit of outstanding patient care. The sessions have been delivered by trainees who have undertaken formal leadership fellowships, developing the skills of both those attending the bootcamp as well as those delivering it.  Today, Chris and James are joined by Vi ..read more

This is a re-release of the first episode of our four-part series on LGBTQ+ people in surgery. We're bringing this episode to the top of the list again, because we are hosting a conference event for LGBTQ+ surgeons on the 25th of March, both in person at the RCS England building in London, as well as online. It is an all-day event, with plenty of speakers and opportunities for networking. For more information on the event, including how to buy tickets, can be found here.  ..read more

In this episode, Upper GI trainees Aya Musbahi and Salman Ahmed consider the concept of ethical leadership and what this means for surgeons striving to embed ethical practices within the structures of the modern health service. This conversation is the first instalment of an ongoing discussion between Aya and Salman on these themes, which we will return to at various points throughout the year. Here, the concept of ethical leadership and its associated challenges will be introduced with a view to encouraging listeners to consider how these concepts may embedded into their own practice. Future ..read more