Following the trend of every previous fellow’s experience, my fellowship year was life-changing from both a professional and personal standpoint. Traveling 15,550 km from Toronto to Sydney, my wife and I didn’t know what to expect beyond packing away our winter clothes and looking forward to warmer temperatures. It didn’t take us long to realize we were living in one of the most beautiful and dynamic places in the world. At the end of the year, we left feeling immense gratitude and appreciation for the warmth and hospitality of all the people we met, friends we made and unforgettable memories we will carry for the rest of our lives.
Views from near our home, Kurraba Point
For an August 2023 start date, applications were due in December 2021, and interviews were held in April 2022. The year and a half lead-up time to the start of fellowship proved useful, as the administrative tasks and paperwork to obtain medical licensing and hospital positions were laborious and time-consuming. As the fellowship is funded by surgical assistant fees, obtaining a Medicare number is crucial. This process, however, can only be completed once in the country and takes about 4 weeks after submitting the application in Australia. To facilitate a smoother transition for incoming fellows, an onboarding document has been created and should be available to all future fellows.
The 2023 Sydney Endoscopic Ear Surgery Course with invited guests, Drs. Justin Golub, Dennies Poe and Mohamed Badr-El-Dine.
Overall, I was extremely satisfied with the surgical volume and hands-on experience of the fellowship. By the end of the year, I had logged 361 total procedures, including 101 cholesteatoma, 68 tympanic membrane perforations, 41 cochlear implantations, and 38 otosclerosis cases. I started with minimal experience in the endoscopic approach and finished with over 240 cases using endoscopic alone or a combined microscopic technique. The private-public split was also a very helpful and beneficial experience. In the private theatres, I was given guided but ample independence while able to keenly observe techniques and hand movements of the experienced supervisors. In the public system, I was able to develop my own approach and style whilst teaching trainees. I found this particularly useful as my current position entails teaching surgical trainees and staying on time while providing adequate surgical exposure is a hard but learned skill! The hardest part of the surgical experience was that I was left-handed, and some of the supervisors made sure I knew how much of an inconvenience that was for them 😉 JK!
RNSH with Nicholas Jufas and the Registrars
What made the year truly special were the experiences, memories, and friendships my wife and I were able to make. Nirmal, Alex, Jonathan, and Nicholas are all truly grounded and high-value individuals who made us feel so welcome and cherished. I gained so much inspiration from the balanced approach and mindset they had towards their professional and personal lives, and they certainly encouraged me to view my fellowship in the same way. With many weeks of time off during holidays and weekends free from on-call responsibilities, Ju Young and I tried to make the most of living in such a beautiful country.The highlights of our year travelling included Melbourne/The Great Ocean Road, Byron Bay, Tasmania, Cairns/Port Douglas, Daintree Forest, and New Zealand’s South Island.
Lunch and cake with the best ENT team at North Shore Private Hospital.
Dinner after the RPA temporal bone course with Jon Kong, Alex Saxby and the RPA team
With Clinical Professor Nirmal Patel
I have so much appreciation and gratitude for my fellowship year in Sydney with the SEES group. The growth and development I experienced on both a professional and personal level was truly invaluable. These experiences have shaped my approach to balancing career and personal life moving forward. I miss my time in Sydney already and look forward to visiting again soon!”
