A new podcast, Beyond the Theatre, launched today by RCSI, will address the topics that impact surgeons in practice and training.

Developed by the team in RCSI’s Department of Surgical Affairs, the podcast will reflect the complexity that surgeons and healthcare professionals experience as they navigate today’s surgical environment.

This year's series focuses on topics that impact those involved in surgical training, with a combination of interviews with medical and non-medical professionals.

The first episode, which was released today, covers the topic of less than full-time training with Mr Keith Synnott, a former Trauma and Orthopaedics Training Programme Director, speaking to Dr Grainne Colgan, Trauma and Orthopaedics Consultant at the Mater Hospital in Dublin. Dr Colgan trained flexibly for much of her higher specialist training and holds a record for the person who spent the longest time in higher surgical training.

The podcast is a discussion on how you can train successfully and have a work-life balance by embracing the benefits of flexible training.

A different lens

The second episode hears from Jessica Ryan, President of the ISTG and Higher Surgical Trainee in General Surgery and Jack Kavanagh, who suffered a severe spinal injury from an accident. They speak about Jack’s story and how it has made him see life through a different lens.

Later in the series, Professor Eva Doherty, Director of Human Factors in Patient Safety, meets with Peter Duffy, to discuss his journey of whistleblowing and how this had a huge impact on his professional and personal life.

Forum for conversation

Mr Kieran Ryan, Managing Director, RCSI Surgical Affairs, said: “We are committed to providing leadership in supporting the journey of trainees, surgeons in practice and wider healthcare teams in delivering the standards of surgical care that our patients expect and deserve. The new Beyond the Theatre podcast will provide a forum for conversations and insights about the issues we know are of greatest concern to the profession.”

Episodes will be released on a monthly basis on Spotify, or you can listen via the RCSI website here.