Nobody plans a life in medicine.
Surgeons, doctors, physiotherapists, nurses, researchers, engineers and the people on reception. Honest conversations about the doubt, the setbacks and the moments that nearly ended it, told by people who kept going anyway.
Every conversation so far.
- Ep23 Prof Des BokorTold to do something nobody else wanted, he picked the shoulder. Then came the HAGL lesion, 3500 stabilisations, and the world'... Surgeon 50:30
- Ep22 Prof David SonnabendTold the operation never works, he did it anyway. Then came a phone call to Charles Neer, a society built from the Knee Society... Surgeon 36:02
- Ep21 Prof Christian GerberAt sixteen, in traction with a broken neck, he started collecting quotations. One of them still governs how the most decorated ... Surgeon 1:20:35
- Ep20 Ahmed SewifyHe taught himself English from Taylor Swift songs. Now he images bone through skin with ultrasound, replacing radiation and dri... Engineer 38:23
- Ep19 Chris HasemanHe stopped drinking at twenty-one and did not start again until thirty-six. Australia's original MMA fighter on obsession, Japa... Sport 57:07
- Ep18 Brandon ZiegenfussTen peer-reviewed papers before the end of his intern year, most written as a student. And a GPA that was not competitive enoug... Doctor 28:15
- Ep17 Violet SattariShe arrived in Malaysia at eight with no English. The first word she learned was hello. The second was sorry. Physician 42:26
- Ep16 Terri-Lyn BaileyA man at the desk called her just a receptionist. A doctor walked over and stood beside her. Twenty years of being the voice pa... Admin 33:49
New episodes land on YouTube first.
Subscribe to get every conversation the moment it goes up, along with the shorter clips that never make it here. If you would rather listen while you drive or scrub in, the show is on Spotify and Apple Podcasts too.
Follow alongThe parts nobody puts on a CV.
A career in healthcare is usually told as a list of achievements. This show is interested in everything that list leaves out.
Changing your mind
Ken began training in neurosurgery and left it. Guests have walked away from specialties, cities and plans they had spent years building. Nobody talks about how frightening that is at the time.
Starting with nothing
Terri-Lyn was sixteen behind a pharmacy counter in regional Australia. Twenty years later she is the voice that steadies people before surgery. Careers in health rarely begin where you think.
Leaving home
Violet moved from Iran to Malaysia at eight without a word of English, then to Australia. Fellows move continents mid career for a single year of training. What that costs rarely makes the conference talk.
When your body is the case study
Saulo spent two weeks in a coma after a motorbike crash at twenty three, and more than ten years in surgery. He now researches the joints that were rebuilt in him.
Being the one who says yes
Nearly every guest names a person who opened a door for them. Mentorship comes up more often than talent does.
Whether it was worth it
Asked plainly, and answered plainly. The answer is usually yes, but almost never a simple one.
Professor Kenneth Cutbush
A Brisbane orthopaedic surgeon working exclusively on the shoulder and upper limb, with his private practice at St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital. Adjunct Professor at the Queensland University of Technology and Associate Professor at the University of Queensland.
He is chief supervisor of three Australian Orthopaedic Association accredited fellowships in shoulder arthroscopy and arthroplasty, training three Australian or internationally trained surgeons each year, and serves on the national board of the AOA.
His own route was not straight. He began surgical training in neurosurgery, became disenchanted with it, and started again in orthopaedics. That detour is part of why he keeps asking the question. The fellowships are the other part. Surgeons arrive in Brisbane from Japan, Lebanon, the Netherlands and Mexico, and somewhere between theatre lists it turns out none of them got here in a straight line either.
No one thinks about their shoulder very much. That is, until it goes bad.Professor Kenneth Cutbush
Someone is always at the start of this road.
Messages that arrived after an episode went out.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you and Dr Violet Sattari for the recent podcast. I found it to be both engaging and inspiring.
My daughter, who is very academically focused, is currently studying a Bachelor of Radiation Therapy with the goal of eventually moving into Medicine. She watched the podcast as well, and much of Dr Sattari's story really resonated with her. Hearing about the challenges, opportunities and experiences along the journey was both motivating and encouraging for a young woman at the beginning of a similar healthcare path.
The podcast clearly had an impact in our household and was greatly valued.
You have a story about how you got here.
Including the difficult parts. Pick a recording date that suits you. We record every second Friday at 9:00am Brisbane time, in person if you are close or by video call from anywhere in the world.