When do you know that your work truly matters? Well, for us there have been a few key moments that keep us going and here are a select few.
For me, one of the most powerful moments is when a patient expresses their gratitude for the supportive care they’ve received. We are limited to what we can control or influence in the surgical space but we can make sure that the tools we create to support a surgery are of the best possible quality and increase the chances of a positive outcome for a patient. On one particular occasion, our team has been involved in the creation of rare bilingual testing material to ensure that the languages that were important to the patient remained intact following their surgery. The patient’s appreciation of our efforts spoke volumes. Not much can beat that.
Instilling practice-based reflection and inspiring other practitioners or researchers can be another signal that your work matters. We are very lucky in both respects. On the back of our recent symposium (explored in more detail in this post), we received some wonderful feedback that speaks to the impact of our event on clinical practitioners involved in awake brain surgeries, which you can see summarised in the word cloud as part of our symposium infographic. Similarly, our work tends to attract undergraduate and postgraduate students from different disciplines and countries who are keen to get involved in the work we do.
And finally, every now and then a more ‘official’ recognition is also good for the soul and team spirit. Following the wonderful award Hajira received last month at the Society of British Neurological Surgeons’ Meeting (see this post), this time our entire team was honoured and absolutely thrilled by having received an award from the North Bristol NHS Trust for our Outstanding Collaboration. While a surprising and uplifting moment for the team, the awards ceremony itself was equally an incredibly humbling experience, as we joined many special people working in the NHS, witnessing their incredible contributions to serving our communities. This memory will certainly last forever.
