What a privilege to have four inspiring speakers (all from ND alumni!), talk about their own journey into surgery. All in different stages of their career, with different personal insights, here is the recap of the evening:
Dr. Jobe Shatrov started off the night, giving us the perspective that surgery can be for ANYONE (from intrinsic coordination to those with a quivering tremor!). Having firstly expressed his interest in neurosurgery, he found that his true happiness was in orthopaedics. He privy us with the reason why Orthopaedics are known to be “jocks” (in the past, being an international or national sportsman meant you got 3 points in your CV.) Also recommending the book “Making the Cut” by Mohamed Khadra he introduced us all to the concept of “Ability, Availability and Affability”.
The second speaker of the evening was Dr. Rory Marples. An aspiring vascular surgeon, he started off his talk with the important advice that any specialty needs its diligence. The specialty you choose needs to be something that you would enjoy for the next 40 years of your life, therefore take time (like a year!) to choose the specialty you are interested in. Also, don’t be afraid to say yes to any opportunity as you never know when it’ll come handy in your resume (yep, he was a back- up singer to Adele)! Dr. Marples left us with a message that everyone knows how to “cut”, but it is the intrinsic that will pull you through “Doctor first, Surgeon second”.
Dr. Alex Stathis’ surgical journey included being involved in 500 vascular cases in one year (that’s more than PoW btw), during her earlier medical career. Having hoped to be in a bigger hospital after graduation, she was placed in a smaller hospital that gave her valuable networking to “higher- ups” and exposure to patients. In her talk, her experience in this smaller hospital gave her a platform that set her pathway to vascular surgery. Dr. Stathis’ cohort was when SANDUS first started up and she revealed that there were no female committee members. She exposed that many people will tell you that surgery is too hard, especially for females, and that this is simply not true. Diffusing the myth that female surgeons had to choose between surgery and family, she was an inspiring, surgical role model to all!
Dr. Jeremy Bellemore confirmed the idea that family and surgery can mix! Having had this first daughter the night before his 3rd year exam (and passing), he affirmed that surgery is a profession that can give people tangible results. His advice to ” be flexible but focus on the end goal” was invaluable, as we all know that this journey can be a long one. Dr. Bellemore also expressed the importance of knowing your anatomy and continue to grill yourself with this beyond medical school. He left his talk reminding us, that whether you are the most competent surgeon in your field or not, remember to “be nice” and humble, to everyone.
Overall the evening was incredibly informative, honest and inspiring. Get yourself into research, have a look at the RACS website and find a mentor that you can relate to! Surgery can be for ANYONE that will put in the work, time and effort.
Thank you again to all the speakers, Dr. Jobe Shatrov (Ortho/trauma surgeon), Dr. Rory Marples (aspiring Recon & plastic surgeon), Dr. Alex Stathis (Gen surg turned vascular trainee) and Dr. Jeremy Bellemore (Ortho trainee), the alumni team and to all who attended!
Until next time, keep safe and well!
SANDUS, 2020
