Collaborating with multidisciplinary colleagues from across the world has benefited my practice, both clinically and professionally, allowing me to bring our local experience to discussions on the national stage.

One of my fellowship mentors, Amir Mehbod, used to always tell us that in the operating room, “the forces of nature are always against you”. Entropy is the natural state. For us to get things perfectly right, which is always the expectation, we must be overly diligent in our planning and execution as leaders in that theatre.

As legendary coach John Wooden once said: “Be quick, but don’t hurry”. I think there is tremendous long-term value for young professionals to get involved in national societies at an early point in their career. Although this phase of life is busy, careful and thoughtful involvement can lead to leadership and advancement opportunities later in career that might not otherwise be available.