What does it take to be a good supervisor of trainee eye surgeons?

I was asked this in the latest RANZCO eye2eye magazine as I work part time in the Queen Elizabeth public hospital.

I’m not exactly sure what makes a good supervisor to be honest and I know I’m not perfect at it.

But the most important issue that always strikes me is that sometimes it is easy to imagine that trainees are children and treat them accordingly.

In actual fact, most trainees are in their early 30s, have higher degrees, and are very intelligent, mature doctors.

I am blessed to have worked with trainees who are far better surgeons than I’ll ever be. The respect has to go both ways. How can a trainee respect a supervisor if they don’t give them opportunities and work to fulfill their potential. The delivery of service can sometimes seem to get in the way of training, but I think every operating list should have the vast majority of time dedicated to trainee surgery.

These trainees will soon be colleagues and so I encourage all supervisors to treat them as such.

This just my two cents worth.

Find the edition and read the article here.