Consultant Laparoscopic and Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon Mr. Peter J. Driscoll discusses the RCSEd & College of Surgeons of Hong Kong Critical Care Course.
2023 saw a flurry of activity as the combined colleges RCSEd/CSHK Critical Care Course started again after Covid 19.
The course was created in response to an identified need for dedicated critical care teaching for senior surgical trainees as they approached their Fellowship examinations. This bespoke course was designed to address the unique requirements of surgery in Hong Kong, trainees being required to oversee ventilated patients outside of the intensive care environment, managing airways, tracheostomies, ventilators and inotropes ie high-level critical care.
The entirely formative course involves minimal didactic recaps and centres on small group teaching of 16 participants in 4 streams. The first course in November 2017 was created and delivered by 4 UK faculty - surgical and anaesthetics/ICU. It was received positively and modified in real time over the two-day course, as all involved learnt what was required for the participants, to now include a whole afternoon of high-fidelity simulation in the Academy of Medicine of Hong Kong’s purpose-built simulation suite. Two back-to-back courses were then delivered in each of February and September 2019, and we were honoured to have the latter course observed by a senior Board member of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority who was so impressed that it was made mandatory for all Hong Kong surgical trainees, prompting the subsequent signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the two colleges. Then came COVID-19, resulting in cohorts of trainees lacking the now mandatory course to enable them to progress to Fellowship.
With COVID restrictions lifted, March 2023 saw 4 back-to-back courses delivered to address the backlog. This required expansion of the UK faculty and the courses were visited by Past President Professor Griffin. Another 2 courses followed in November and a further 2 in March 2024 to finally catch up with demand. Meanwhile, other countries have expressed an interest in having similarly bespoke courses in collaboration with RCSEd.
Mr. Peter J. Driscoll
We are delighted with the support from local faculty in Hong Kong. The cooperation between our two colleges remains as strong as ever.
If you are interested in being involved in RCSEd critical care courses, both in the UK and potentially overseas, please contact Peter Driscoll via the College.
