How to be social –
the right way

It’s been a pleasure to hear your feedback since the last issue of Surgeons’ News and encouraging to learn that so many people read it. We love to hear your thoughts on content. It is your magazine, so please let us know what matters to you.

The September issue has travelled widely, visiting Mauritius for a relaxing holiday with David Tolley, and on a teaching trip to West Nepal, with Jeremy Ward. We look forward to seeing where you read our December issue!

It’s been a busy couple of months at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, with the appointment of six new Council members. In this issue we hear from Chelliah Selvasekar and Michael Okocha about their plans and vision in their new roles. We look forward to showcasing more from our new Council members in future issues.

We have another packed issue for you, with updates from our President Rowan Parks on page 12, our Dental Dean Professor Grant McIntyre on page 48. The College’s international engagement continues in full strength, with Jan Cutting reporting on a visit to the College’s office in Malaysia (page 38) as well as Michael Jenkins’ visit to South Africa as Frank Penman Professor (page 40) the fantastic work of Mhairi Collie in women’s health in Africa (page 22).

Social media is a challenging but ever-present theme, and in this issue, we meet Karan Rangarajan, who shares valuable advice and wisdom on the responsible use of social media, and his interest in combatting health disinformation.

On the theme of wellbeing, Michael Lambert’s brilliant report on achieving mindful self-care through undertaking a near-impossible endurance challenge can be found on page 28.

Our SAS and LED colleagues make up 30% of the surgical workforce, and in this issue we hear about the recent RCSEd SAS conference on page 24 and learn how our SAS colleagues are working with the College’s Surgical Specialty Boards (SSBs) to develop careers and contribute their valuable experience.

Wishing you all a happy and relaxed festive season, and looking forward to seeing you in 2025, perhaps at the Triennial and ICOSET Conference which promises to be a fantastic event for your diary.

Emma Stapleton

surgeonsnews@rcsed.ac.uk