Beyond the Theatre

The Beyond the Theatre podcast focuses on topics that impact surgeons in practice and training. This surgical podcast covers a range of topics designed to reflect the complexity that surgeons experience as they navigate today’s surgical environment.

Surgeons performing an operation

Episode 4: The future of robotics in surgical training

Professor Barry McGuire is joined by Professor Kevin Barry, Ms Eabhann O'Connor, Ms Christina Fleming and Mr Rory Kennelly to discuss the use of robotics in surgery, their experiences of robotic-assisted surgery and current fellowships surrounding robotic surgery.


Episode 3: Whistle in the wind

In this podcast with Professor Eva Doherty, Mr Peter Duffy details his experience as a whistle-blower in the NHS and the impact this had on his career and on his family with


Episode 2: Resilience doesn’t live within us, it often lives between us

In 2012, aged 20, Jack Kavanagh suffered a life-changing spinal cord injuring leaving him with 15% muscle function. This podcast examines the importance of self-care resilience and also examines how doctors can provide support for those with life changing injuries. This episode is a collaborative episode between RCSI and the Irish Surgical Training Group (ISTG) and features Jack Kavanagh and Jessica Ryan.


Episode 1: Make surgical training work for you

Mr Keith Synnott, a former Trauma and Orthopaedics Training Programme Director, speaks to Ms Grainne Colgan, Trauma and Orthopaedics Consultant at the Mater Hospital in Dublin. Ms Colgan trained flexibly for much of her higher specialist training and holds a record for the person who spent the longest time in higher surgical training. The podcast is a discussion on how you can train successfully and have a work-life balance by embracing the benefits of flexible training.