SUSS and Level Medicine are very excited to present a special Grand Rounds on ‘Women in Surgery’.
Five surgeons have generously donated their time for the evening to discuss issues that face all genders. All are welcome to come to hear this diverse panel share their thoughts on work/life balance, surgical training and careers, future directions for the surgical profession, and of course their passion for surgery!
Dr Pecky de Silva is a Vascular Surgeon working at Hornsby Hospital and the Sydney Adventist Hospital. She finished her training in January 2013. During training she went to Singapore for a year and Edinburgh for a year. She started in private practice in November 2013 and in public practice September 2105. She works part time: 3-4 days a week usually, but she is on call 1 in 2, so she can end up working on a day off! She works part-time because she has a gorgeous 3-year-old girl who was born in June 2013. Pecky loves being a surgeon and has a great work-life balance!
Dr Carolyn Jameson (MBBS BSc(Hons) PhD(Med) FRACS) is a qualified bariatric and advanced laparoscopic surgeon with experience across a number of subspecialty areas. She is a Staff Specialist General Surgeon at Auburn Hospital, surgeon with Sydney Bariatric Clinic, Clinical Lead in Surgery for the eMeds/eMR project at RPA and VMO at Westmead Private Hospital, Norwest Private Hospital and HSS. She completed her surgical training through St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Royal Darwin Hospital and RPA. She undertook post-fellowship training in head and neck surgery, surgical oncology, renal and pancreas transplantation and bariatric surgery at the Westmead Hospitals. Dr Jameson is an examiner for RACS, faculty member for the HETI GDESS, tutor for the University of Notre Dame medical school, member of the Racesafe medical motor racing retrieval team and a member of the Kolling Institute of Medical Research. She has worked in regional NSW and overseas in the Solomon Islands and Nepal. Outside her surgical life, Dr Jameson is busy with her family and 3 children.
Dr Henry Woo is a urological surgeon with a sub-specialised practice in prostate disease. He has particular research interests in novel treatments for BPH and prostate cancer. He is a board director of the Australian and New Zealand Uro-genital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP) and the Australian Urological Foundation (AUF). He has published extensively and is on the editorial boards of several international journals. He is the Professor of Surgery at the Sydney Adventist Hospital Clinical School of the University of Sydney. Outside of medicine, his interests lie with ‘retro stuff’, vinyl records, live music, travel industry, social media activism and fitness.
Dr Mifanwy Reece is a SET 4 General Surgical Registrar currently doing Colorectal Surgery at Concord Hospital. Her subspecialty interests include Colorectal and Upper GI Surgery. She lives in Sydney during the week but her home is on the Central Coast, where she hopes to work in the future. Her partner is a Colorectal Surgeon and they have a beautiful 2 year old son who they say is their greatest achievement. Dr Reece loves her job and surgery was an easy career choice to make – but her life is far from easy! She gets a lot of help (a nanny, an au pair, cleaners, parents who visit often and fill the freezer with food, and most importantly, a very supportive partner and devoted father to her son). Dr Reece believes she is a better mother because she has a fulfilling career and she is a better doctor because she is a Mum. She looks forward to a time when surgical training is more flexible so trainees can achieve greater work-life balance – for family, research or whatever they choose.
Dr Amanda Cuss (B Med Sci Hons, MBBS Hons, B Health Sci) is a SET 3 trainee currently doing Breast Oncoplastic Surgery at Chris O’Brien Life House. Breast Surgery is her area of interest as she enjoys open surgery, the patient dynamics and the ongoing interaction with patients and the multidisciplinary care. It’s also probably slightly more malleable in terms of career and life balance. Dr Cuss has trained at multiple places: Blacktown Hospital, Canterbury Hospital, Concord Hospital, and RPA Hospital, as well as Lismore Base Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital and Royal Hospital for Women. She has a research background in Immunology from the Centenary Institute and the Garvan Institute. She has just come back from maternity leave and returned to work with a 7.5 month old baby boy. She looks forward to chatting with the medical students and providing an honest view of life as a surgical trainee.
Date: Thursday, June 23, 2016
Time: 6.00 – 7.30 pm
Venue: Kerry Packer Education Centre Auditorium, RPA Hospital
Please RSVP on the Facebook event.
On Sunday, August 14, Sydney University Surgical Society (SUSS) will once again run the City2Surf and raise funds to support Interplast.
Each year SUSS medical students run City2Surf in scrubs to raise money for Interplast Australia and New Zealand. In the last few years SUSS has raised over $20,000. All medical students are encouraged to run with us in 2016.
Interplast provide free surgical treatment for patients with congenital or acquired medical conditions such as cleft lip and palate or burn scar contractures in the Asia Pacific region who would otherwise not be able to afford access to such services.
There will be extremely casual Saturday morning runs most weekends between now and the race – to meet the team and get in shape for the big day.
See here for media coverage of the SUSS City2Surf campaign 2014: http://goo.gl/fFUS19v
How to get involved
***NOTE: If you register before June 15th, there is a $10 discount on rego price. If you register before May 31st, your bib can be delivered to your home, so you don’t have to physically pick it up***
Register to run on the the SUSS team:
1. Go to the C2S registration page at goo.gl/OblIOT and select ‘Adult Early Bird’ or ‘Adult’
2. On the screen that appears, click ‘Join a Team’
3. Search for ‘Sydney University Surgical Society’ and click ‘Join’
4. Fill in your personal details.
You can choose whichever start group you prefer. Most of us will be running in either Singapore Airline Blue or Westpac Yellow.
5. On the next screen, do NOT check any of the charity boxes. In order to fundraise for Interplast you must join the SUSS C2S fundraising team (below)
6. Follow the prompts to pay for your entry ticket and complete the race registration.
Register to fundraise for the SUSS fundraising team:
1. Go to our team’s page at goo.gl/hq1j4P and click “Join Team”
2. Enter your details to register to fundraise. Make sure you have “Interplast Australia and New Zealand” down as your charity.
3. Start fundraising!
Please also RSVP on the Facebook event.
Contact the SUSS team coordinator with any questions:
Alon Taylor: atay5510@uni.sydney.edu.au
Sydney University Surgical Society is pleased to host Orthopaedic Surgical Grand Rounds.
Dr Sanjeev Gupta will present his perspectives as an orthopaedic surgeon, discussing several cases.
Dr Gupta is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He specialises in lower limb surgery, focusing on hip and knee arthroplasty, as well as reconstructive foot and ankle surgery. He also is responsible for the management of major complex trauma at RPAH. Dr Gupta graduated from Sydney University in 1999 and completed his orthopaedic training in Sydney. He has undertaken fellowships at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, Harvard University in Boston, and Johns Hopkins and Mercy Hospitals in Baltimore, all of which are leading international orthopaedic centres.
Apart from clinical practice Dr Gupta is actively involved in education, and is the Director of Training at RPAH.
This event will be particularly relevant to Stage 1 students in MSK block; however, students from all stages and clinical schools are welcome.
Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Time: 6:30 – 7:30pm
Location: Kerry Packer Education Centre Auditorium, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Please RSVP on the Facebook event.
Sydney University Surgical Society is pleased to host Endocrine Surgery Grand Rounds.
Professor Leigh Delbridge will discuss endocrine surgery with accompanying cases.
Prof Delbridge is a thyroid and parathyroid surgeon at Royal North Shore Hospital. He has served many years as Head of Surgery at the University of Sydney and is an internationally recognised expert in thyroid and parathyroid surgery.
This event will be particularly relevant to Stage 2 students in endocrine block; however, students from all stages and clinical schools are welcome.
Date: Monday, May 16, 2016
Time: 6:00 – 7:00pm
Location: KPEC Auditorium, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Please RSVP on the Facebook event.
Sydney University Surgical Society is excited to host the annual seminar “Introduction to Surgery: SET and Beyond“. All students are invited to come along and learn about surgery as a treatment option and as a career.
Topics:
1. A Career in Surgery
Dr Brindha Shivalingam will discuss career pathways, the life of a surgeon, and the future of surgery. Dr Shivalingam is an accomplished neurosurgeon at RPAH and the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Dr Shivalingham has an inspiring story, having moved from war-torn Sri Lanka to Australia as a child, and has managed to strike a great balance in adulthood between her surgical career, research and family life.
2. Training to Become a Surgeon
Dr. James Edelman will describe his experiences as a surgical trainee and explain the logistics of training in Australia through the Surgical Education and Training (SET) program. Dr Edelman is a cardiothoracic surgeon now based at RNSH after spending a number of years training at RPAH.
Whether you’re interested in a career in surgery or simply want to learn more, this lecture is a fantastic opportunity, particularly for Stage 1 and 2 medical students, to gain insight into the surgical training process and surgery as a career.
Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Time: 6:00 – 7:30pm
Location: Bosch Lecture Theatre 2
Please RSVP on the Facebook event page.
This November SUSS is dedicated to raising funds and awareness for men’s health. The Movember campaign focuses on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, poor mental health, and physical activity.
You can get involved in November in three ways:
1. Grow a Mo
2. Move in Movember: we are particularly excited about this new option – it’s a pledge to do some form of exercise every day in November. Try it out in instead of growing a Mo, or do both!
3. Support your Mo-Mates – see below for how to donate to the team.
It’s an easy way to support a good cause while you study for your exams. You can grow a Mo while you summarise lectures, and then take a Move in Movember study break and walk outside for 15 minutes!
To get started, visit the Team Anasto-Mo-SUSS page. Click on ‘Join This Team’ to participate, or click on ‘Donate to Team’ to support your friends and colleagues.
It’s a Mo-brainer!
Dr Pecky de Silva is a Vascular Surgeon working at Hornsby Hospital and the Sydney Adventist Hospital. She finished her training in January 2013. During training she went to Singapore for a year and Edinburgh for a year. She started in private practice in November 2013 and in public practice September 2105. She works part time: 3-4 days a week usually, but she is on call 1 in 2, so she can end up working on a day off! She works part-time because she has a gorgeous 3-year-old girl who was born in June 2013. Pecky loves being a surgeon and has a great work-life balance!
Dr Carolyn Jameson (MBBS BSc(Hons) PhD(Med) FRACS) is a qualified bariatric and advanced laparoscopic surgeon with experience across a number of subspecialty areas. She is a Staff Specialist General Surgeon at Auburn Hospital, surgeon with Sydney Bariatric Clinic, Clinical Lead in Surgery for the eMeds/eMR project at RPA and VMO at Westmead Private Hospital, Norwest Private Hospital and HSS. She completed her surgical training through St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Royal Darwin Hospital and RPA. She undertook post-fellowship training in head and neck surgery, surgical oncology, renal and pancreas transplantation and bariatric surgery at the Westmead Hospitals. Dr Jameson is an examiner for RACS, faculty member for the HETI GDESS, tutor for the University of Notre Dame medical school, member of the Racesafe medical motor racing retrieval team and a member of the Kolling Institute of Medical Research. She has worked in regional NSW and overseas in the Solomon Islands and Nepal. Outside her surgical life, Dr Jameson is busy with her family and 3 children.
Dr Henry Woo is a urological surgeon with a sub-specialised practice in prostate disease. He has particular research interests in novel treatments for BPH and prostate cancer. He is a board director of the Australian and New Zealand Uro-genital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP) and the Australian Urological Foundation (AUF). He has published extensively and is on the editorial boards of several international journals. He is the Professor of Surgery at the Sydney Adventist Hospital Clinical School of the University of Sydney. Outside of medicine, his interests lie with ‘retro stuff’, vinyl records, live music, travel industry, social media activism and fitness.
Dr Mifanwy Reece is a SET 4 General Surgical Registrar currently doing Colorectal Surgery at Concord Hospital. Her subspecialty interests include Colorectal and Upper GI Surgery. She lives in Sydney during the week but her home is on the Central Coast, where she hopes to work in the future. Her partner is a Colorectal Surgeon and they have a beautiful 2 year old son who they say is their greatest achievement. Dr Reece loves her job and surgery was an easy career choice to make – but her life is far from easy! She gets a lot of help (a nanny, an au pair, cleaners, parents who visit often and fill the freezer with food, and most importantly, a very supportive partner and devoted father to her son). Dr Reece believes she is a better mother because she has a fulfilling career and she is a better doctor because she is a Mum. She looks forward to a time when surgical training is more flexible so trainees can achieve greater work-life balance – for family, research or whatever they choose.