General surgery resident Robert Hollis, M.D., took the reins on the @UABSurgery Twitter account for 24 hours last week to live-tweet a day in the life of a surgery resident training in Australia, as part of our #UABDownUnder Twitter takeover.
Dr. Robert Hollis
“So how’s surgery different in Australia?” Hollis tweeted. “Well, there are many more similarities than differences. However, it is in the differences that I have learned the most.”
Hollis is the fourth UAB general surgery resident to get the chance to travel to Australia for surgical training. As part of this international training experience, Hollis spent the better part of a month working in hospitals in Sydney, Australia, primarily under the leadership of UAB Department of Surgery affiliate faculty member and general surgeon at Westmead and Mount Druitt hospitals Richard Hanney, M.D.
Hanney explained that each resident experience is different depending on the dates of their stay and what they prefer to focus on.
“The resident activities vary considerably depending on the resident, their wishes, whether the OR is closed, whether it is Easter and individual opportunities that present themselves such as organ retrievals,” Hanney said.