With Christmas 2021 only just around the corner, we round off the year by chatting about our ‘Deep Breath In’ highlights, and by sharing some of the great feedback we’ve received from our listeners. We talk to Inga Usher and Aswin Chari, whose study comparing neurosurgeons with aerospace engineers (“It’s not brain surgery” vs. “It’s not rocket science”) was featured in The BMJ’s 2021 Christmas issue. Finally, we end the episode with a quiz on ICU slang (what on earth does ‘closest crocodile to the canoe’ mean?), 2021 NICE guideline updates, and, finally, the Bristol stool chart. Merry Christmas!

Our guests:

Inga Usher is a final year clinical PhD student at UCL Cancer Institute, studying a rare bone cancer, chordoma, and an aspiring neurosurgeon.

Aswin Chari is a neurosurgical trainee at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

Further reading:

SEED Eating Disorder Support Services: https://seed.charity/

Mitchell and Webb brain surgeon & rocket scientist sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THNPmhBl-8I

“It’s not rocket science” and “It’s not brain surgery”—“It’s a walk in the park”: prospective comparative study: https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-067883