Fellow profile: Dr Matthew Seeley

A third generation ENT surgeon based in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand

A career in medicine was not initially on the cards for Aotearoa New Zealand otolaryngologist Matthew Seeley. In his final years of school, Dr Seeley originally considered pursuing journalism before changing his mind and selecting sciencebased subjects.

The move ultimately led him to follow in his parents’ and grandfather’s footsteps into medicine. Later, he became the third generation of his family to become an ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon, after his father and grandfather.

Dr Seeley has often been reminded of the family connection to the specialty in his work, particularly when he was based in Hamilton, where he grew up. His new patients remembered seeing his grandfather decades ago.

“It was amazing how many patients told me they’d had grommets done by my grandfather, and the nursing staff also remembered him well,” Dr Seeley said.

Dr Seeley chose the specialty due to the variety involved with ENT surgery – he liked the mix of surgical and non-surgical work and the range of ages and severity of conditions he encountered in the specialty.

His family both inspired him to pursue his career pathway and provided him with a realistic understanding of the challenges involved. “My parents are both doctors and so I think I had a fairly pragmatic insight into what life as a doctor would be like,” he said.

Dr Seeley has worked across Aotearoa New Zealand, although he completed most of his training in Wellington and Waikato. He currently works as at the Wellington Regional Hospital and has a small private practice in Wellington.

One of the great challenges of the specialty is in communicating adequately with patients and colleagues and managing the time and resource constrained environment of healthcare provision with the best interests of each patient in mind.

Communication and relationship building are central to Dr Seeley’s role, and he enjoys the opportunity to work closely with patients, sometimes over many years. One of the most satisfying parts of his job is problem-solving to deal with unusual conditions and achieve positive outcomes for patients.

Dr Seeley continues to draw on advice he received from a mentor that surgeons could be unintentionally intimidating, and he tries to be as approachable as possible by inviting patients and staff to ask questions or raise any concerns they might have.

Throughout his training and career, Dr Seeley has valued the support of colleagues, whether during his training or through his professional relationships with specialists, including anaesthetists, neurosurgeons and immunologists.

Dr Seeley sees one great challenge of his role as giving his patients the time they need, despite the constraints of the health sector.

His advice to Trainee surgeons or medical students interested in pursuing surgery is to try to get as much surgical exposure (with instruments in hand) as possible, as it is a speciality in which opportunities to operate can be limited during training.

While the career remains a challenging one, life becomes easier at a consultant level. “ENT surgery isn’t always easy but it’s never boring!” he said.

Outside his job, Dr Seeley is a Francophile and loves to cycle – two interests that sit together comfortably, along with his enjoyment of craft beer and eating out . Once international borders reopen, he is looking forward to travelling to Europe.

What are you:

• Reading? The Economist, Super Pumped - The Battle for Uber by Mike Isaac, and Mastery by Robert Greene

• Watching? Occupied

• Listening to? The National, Ben Howard and various down tempo electronic playlists while operating