DCAS Course Award recipients share experiences of training

Annual Academic Surgery Conference participants and winners of the DCAS Course Award, Dr Gillian Lim and Dr Georgina Riddiough, share their experiences of attending the course.

DCAS Award Winner 2019

Dr Gillian Lim

Earlier this year I attended the Developing a Career and skills in Academic Surgery (DCAS) Course in Melbourne as a first-time delegate, an invitation I received after being presented the DCAS Award at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) November Annual Academic Surgery Conference in 2019. The DCAS Course is an invaluable opportunity for aspiring academic surgeons to familiarise themselves with the surgical research landscape both in Australia and internationally.

The event was preceded by an intimate dinner with the core of the robust Australian research community; experienced, established surgeons who are passionate about the future of surgical academia. This dinner was a unique opportunity to foster and develop relationships with these academics I hope to one day work with as colleagues and mentors.

The course itself covered a variety of thought-provoking and highly topical subjects presented by eminent and engaging speakers, all of which I found particularly relevant as a prevocational doctor. Presenters emphasised the fundamental role research plays in surgery and the benefits research provides for all stakeholders – clinicians, patients, and the wider population. The day focussed on the practical tools required for research: constructing a team with a varied skill set; writing abstracts and manuscripts; and strategies to avoid burnout in a high pressure, rigorous environment.

A particularly resonant concept I took from the day was the importance of disruption. Disruption is what fosters innovation and compels others to view the world through a new lens. This progressive thinking is what shapes the future of academic surgery into one that is diverse, unique, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. The intermissions between sessions proved equally valuable, as these allowed me to meet and exchange experiences with other delegates at every stage of career progression.

The DCAS Course was an enriching and inspiring event, and I look forward to attending future events and using the lessons learned to further my journey in academic surgery.

Dr Gillian Lim

DCAS Award Winner 2020

Dr Georgina Riddiough

It was an honour to attend this year’s DCAS Course in Melbourne at the 2021 RACS Annual Scientific Congress. For many, the opportunity to simply attend a major scientific meeting in-person brought real joy.

The satisfaction of catching up with old friends and making new contacts was wonderful. In the past, surgeons may have cowered from the spotlight or avoided unnecessary small talk, but this year’s conference enjoyed a renewed energy for interaction and communication. And that is probably the essence of the DCAS course, to inspire, through meaningful interactions and thoughtful communication, the next generation of surgeon scientists.

One of the main take-home messages from the course, which was rich in speakers from diverse backgrounds, is that the modern-day surgeon scientist can take many forms. For some it can mean working in a laboratory, for others it can mean interpreting big data sets; working in multi-disciplinary teams with engineers, immunologists, statisticians, oncologists; designing novel devices to solve a clinical problem; educational and wellbeing research and working with international collaborators.

The theme of one of this year’s concurrent sessions, ‘Finding my niche’, emphasised the importance of using the literature to establish knowledge gaps, while drawing on clinical experience to harness research questions that will provide the most impactful findings.

Another session discussed the impressive strides made by Trainee-led collaboratives recently. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has wreaked havoc on surgical services worldwide and through this experience, the COVIDSurg Collaboratives were born. These collaboratives combine data from centres worldwide in order to carry out high-powered surgical research. Large, multicentre observational studies orchestrated by the COVIDSurg Collaborative have influenced surgical practice by informing when and how to operate on patients, and what complications to expect.

Recently, surgical collaboratives in Australia have made excellent progress and tackled important questions such as the timing of chemoprophylaxis administration for elective general surgery.

The DCAS Course was inclusive, and while it attracts senior surgeon scientists, it is an excellent introduction into surgical research for medical students, junior doctors and registrars all considering an academic pathway.

Dr Georgina Riddiough SET Trainee

REFERENCES

1.COVIDSurg Collaborative. Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study. Lancet. 2020, 396(10243):27– 38. 2.COVIDSurg Collaborative, GlobalSurg Collaborative. Timing of surgery following SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international prospective cohort study. Anaesthesia. 2021, 76(6):748–58. 3.COVIDSurg Collaborative. Elective surgery cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic: global predictive modelling to inform surgical recovery plans. Br J Surg. 2020, 395(Suppl 2):1022. 4.Liu DS, Stevens S, Wong E, Fong J, Mori K, Ward S, et al. Pre-operative and intra-operative chemical thromboprophylaxis increases bleeding risk following elective cholecystectomy: a multicentre (PROTECTinG) study. ANZ J Surg. 2020, 90(12):2449-2455. 5.Liu DS, Stevens S, Wong E, Fong J, Mori K, Fleming N, et al. Variations in practice of thromboprophylaxis across general surgical subspecialties: a multicentre (PROTECTinG) study of elective major surgeries. ANZ J Surg. 2020, 90(12):2441–8. 6.Liu DS, Wong E, Fong J, Stevens S, Mori K, PROTECTinG Investigators, VERITAS Collaborative. Perioperative thromboprophylaxis is highly variable in general surgery: results from a multicentre survey. ANZ J Surg. 2020, 90(12):2401–3.