On Saturday 15th April 2023, RCSEd’s West Midlands Foundation Trainees Surgical Society hosted its second annual all-day surgical skills event at the College’s Birmingham branch on Colmore Road.
A total of 35 delegates, from medical students up to foundation year 2 doctors, participated and acquired a whole host of skills, from basic surgical suturing and hand knots to tendon repairs and basic laparoscopy. Starting with a lecture on various sutures, needles and their sizes and uses, the participants were fortuitously taught and assisted by a range of excellent senior surgeons from various specialities, whose guidance helped delegates improve their skills and confidence over a short time. The experience was further enhanced with animal tissue used for all sutures and tendon repair with a 1:1 or 1:2 faculty to trainee ratio.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, providing trainees across the West Midlands region an opportunity to meet and network with surgically motivated colleagues and seniors, furthering the growing surgical network across the large region. With an overwhelmingly positive feedback from faculty and delegates alike, we look forward to hosting the event next year again, welcoming new and returning surgical colleagues to the society.
Written by Aishwarya Ghosh, Mrithula Shivakumar and Abdhullah Chaudhry on behalf of WM-FTSS.