Surgeons Meet the New Decade with 20/20 Vision

27 January 2020

The new decade has brought with it a number of shifts in consciousness among the British public, and in doing so, it has led many in the Surgical community to speak out more passionately and frequently on the issues that matter to them – whether environmental, technological, or societal, Surgeons are speaking out.

While it’s no surprise that Surgeons - who, by virtue of their professions, engage with many people from different walks of life - should demonstrate a diversity of interests in the world around them; and while many of these topics have been discussed within the Surgical sector for some time, the sense of community encouraged by Surgeons’ uptake of social media over the last few years is greatly changing the way we interact with our peers and colleagues, as well as how we are seen by the public.

One hot topic in the Surgical community gaining more traction - and public support - than ever before, is how society can find solutions to many of the environmental challenges associated with healthcare, with one of the prime issues being single-use plastics.

Opinions on Single-Use Plastics on Twitter

While changing the status quo may seem worrisome to some members of the public (who may or may not remember or be informed on sterilisation in the times before plastics), Surgeons discussing the issue have raised their voices to provide illuminating insights. Rather than scoff at “unnecessary concerns,“ Surgeons have been using their personal platforms to educate and to reassure the public about alternative materials and their methods of effective sterilisation, which is in turn helping to bridge the historic gaps in knowledge that previously and unfairly characterised Surgeons as existing in “ivory towers.”

With the mass uptake of new technologies across Britons of all ages, we have also seen Surgeons keen to explore concerns about the commercial acquisition of personal data. Whilst privacy is fundamental to healthcare, Surgeons are using their scientific knowledge - and their innovative approaches - to anticipate areas in which new, potentially harmful trends, could be better handled.

Last month, the Confederation of British Surgery discussed the recent news story of Amazon being granted free access to healthcare information collected by the NHS, and the reactions from Surgeons (as well as technology experts), which can be viewed here. We also saw many engagements with the supplementary content shared to our social media networks – specifically about the so-called Surveillance Economy, featuring Harvard Business Professor Shoshana Zuboff on the Mozilla podcast IRL, which we posted on our Instagram feed. The programme also contained multiple viewpoints, and included interesting discussion from Philosopher S. Matthew Liao, who asked if the Global Society has a moral duty to quit Facebook, generating ethical questions about how our digital lives – and the access they grant to commercial entities who oversee them – may be setting harmful precedents.

Last, but by no means least, the powerful voice of the Surgical community has been tremendously effective in supporting the need to affect change for outdated systems.

One look at the inspirational response to the #ILookLikeASurgeon campaign co-founded by Heather Logghe, MD and Dr Kathryn Hughes - which has been used tens of thousands of times and received millions of social media impressions - demonstrates that Surgeons are adept at carving out an evolving landscape in the digital age to promote the issues that matter to them, and to their Surgical colleagues across the globe. Moreover, these peer-to-peer initiatives have changed the way we relate, to better understand and support one another.

Although there is still much work and learning to be done, the dialogues we have seen over the last several years have better enabled Surgeons, theatre staff, and hospital administrators to respond more effectively, and to step up as allies for equality and justice, and we know this is not merely a ‘trend;’ – it is a necessary action to support our Surgical colleagues with the understanding only fellow Surgeons can have.

Whatever changes this new decade holds, CBS is delighted to be evolving in this incredible time alongside fellow Surgeons; to foster networking between Surgical disciplines within the UK; and to hear from, and listen to, the specific concerns of Surgeons and #FutureSurgeons at every level of the Surgical training pathway.

CBS welcomes Surgeons’ opinions on this issue - join the discussion and make your voice heard on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSurgeons, or by joining us on the LinkedIn page.

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