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Hi, everyone. Just checking. You can hear me. Yeah, we're just waiting to go live. So we're live there now, Connor. Um, so just everybody can hear us, okay? Getting confused. Everyone can hear us. All right. There. Yeah. No problems. So we, um our next speaker is Doctor Conner McCann a whose specialty doctor and an e n t in Craigavon area Hospital. So take it away there. Connor, I think, uh, commerce is on his way back. I'm back in now. I just introduced you there. Connor, are you happy enough to go on ahead? Yeah. Yeah, I'm happy to go on ahead, so Hello, everyone. My name's Connor McKenna. I'm one of the ent doctors working in Craigavon Hospital. Um, so I am currently especially doctor in Craigavon. Um, and just like to thank the team who set up today's event for giving me the opportunity to chat about ent and what makes it so great? Um, so what is ent? So we're a mixture of specialties. Really? Um, within the ent, we've got, uh, otology dealing with pathology. The ears. Pediatric ent. Uh, Lorig ology, thyroid and parathyroid surgery, facial, plastics, head neck surgery, dealing with head and neck cancers and then rhinology dealing with disorders of the nose and Sinuses. So there's actually quite a lot under the umbrella term of E N T. Um, so there's quite a lot of variety, um, in terms of my journey into ent, Uh, much of many of you on the call will be medical students. And it was during medical school in Manchester that I first got exposed to to ent as a specialty, Um, firstly, through head neck Cancer Patient's in the Christie Cancer Hospital, so that from the oncology side and then was interested in the surgical side and, um, first day in theater saying radical prostatectomy neck dissection they had an ek. Anatomy is complex but very interesting surgically, um, and from then on I was sort of hooked. But it was over time that I realized that it's not just big, gory head neck operations. There's a massive variety to ent. So we see, um, Children from birth, with breathing difficulties and congenital abnormalities to going up through the ages. Kids with hearing difficulties Blue year that we can intervene and and and help um up to Adam with various sort of quality of life affecting conditions. Head neck, cancer patient's dealing with tracheostomy is laryngectomy There's there's massive variety, an anti which I think is what a lot of people at my stage, um, and the medical student stage enjoy The other thing, um, that people remark upon about e n t is high. Hands on it is as a specialty. Um, so even from day one is an S h O. You're doing very practical things that are immediately making a difference for patient's. Um, so we've got, uh, sort of practical procedures. Um, from nasal cautery nasal endoscopy. Tracheostomy tube changes draining. Quincy is packing. Nose is, um and all of these make a material difference to patient's, and you can see in front of you making a condition better. Um, and that's something that I always find very satisfying any ent and continue to do. So, um, hopefully some of you will have been on Laura's talk about court surgery, Um, as part of the general surgery breakout room. Um, in order to get into a N. T. Generally you go through court surgical recruitment. So if you're a foundation doctor or medical student, your focus initially should be on achieving that court surgical place. And it's only following that that you would generally be able to apply into e n t specialty training. The thing to say about E N T training is it is competitive. Um, so the competition any issues? Roughly four applicants to everyone place which is actually quite similar to how court surgery is now. Um, so you're you're as it funnels down from court surgery and TNT, you're getting increasingly competitive. So it's about making yourself as competitive as possible from early stages, including medical school. Um so seeking out opportunities in your local ent department, um, looking at e n t specific groups such as E N T u k. You have an excellent student and foundation doctor, uh, chapter um, which includes things like undergraduate essay prize is all of those things that show commitment to specialty. Um, becoming a member as a student isn't an expensive thing to do, but it chose from an early stage your commitment to the specialty. Um, so yeah, commitment to specially is an important thing, and you can show that three quality improvement projects, audit projects, and it's just about maximizing those, as was mentioned the previous break out. So if you're doing an audit, try and get it as a completed loop, try and get it presented, um, locally or regionally and and, um, if you can get a publication, that's more the better. Um, there is, however, alternative career pathways. So at my stage, I'm a specialty doctor, so I'm in a non training post at the moment. So quite a lot of the people speaking to you on this careers talk today will be from especially doctor angle. Um, partly because that's who are the friends of the organizer, but also because, um, we're very diverse group of clinicians who provide a lot of the continuity. Um, in departments where especially trainees tend to rotate every six months to a year as especially, doctor, you're permanently employed, Um, professional in the in the trust in which you work. Um, and that has numerous advantages. Um, you get to establish a base with in the hospital. Um, you work alongside colleagues for years at a time, rather than just months, and that helps you establish more of a foothold in terms of things like teaching, um, service development. Um, and that's something that maybe medical students and foundation doctors aren't as aware of as an increasing alternative career pathway. So it's not just one, UM, sort of treadmill from Medical Student Foundation doctor court surgery, especially training consultant. Lots of people now are branching off at various levels, both after foundation program. Um, currently in our department, we have a doctor who's just finished. F two has an interest in ENT is now working with us as a locum shor core training. Uh, for six months she's developing our skills and developing a portfolio towards applying into court surgical training and then after court surgical training. Um, with those competition issues, not everyone who wants to do NT we'll get into specialty training. And therefore there are other rules, like, um, locum posts at both corps trainee and specialty trainee level. Where again you can develop your skills, develop your experience and either reapply into specially training or look for especially doctor type role. And at the end of those rules, you can continue to progress. As a specialty doctor. There are pathways, and to become a consultant from that post or just maintaining as a specially doctor and there's a new year post that's just been released as a specialist, doctor. Um, which is probably going to become more relevant over the course of your careers. Yeah, nicely onto time for any Any questions about anything I've mentioned. Um, we're known as the friendly surgical, especially. I don't know if I'll offend any of the other surgeons on the call. Yeah, we're all friendly. Well, breast surgery counts as well, I guess. Um, but yes, E N t A big thing about ent is we don't have the same inpatient numbers. Is a lot of the other acute surgical specialties, which is an attraction for some, um, our patient's tend to be majority managed as day case procedures. Um, people come in with a problem. You fix it, you send them home and follow them up in the outpatient clinic. Um, and that is, uh, an attraction to some people. Um, I'm the out of our zone calls. Responsibility will vary from from location to location, but it, um, it tends to compare favorably. I'll say, compared to some of the other surgical specialties. Yeah, there's no There's no questions in the chat there at the minute. Uh, but, uh, hesitant to move on to ask another question with time. And, uh, I think you give a really comprehensive overview of positives and negatives. Um, you know of your career choice, Um, in a really comprehensive way. Which is probably why there aren't many questions. Um, no problem. Thanks very much. Thank you. Thank you, Doctor McKenna. Thank you. Cheers. Night. And if everybody wants to just move on to your next breakout room.