The NHS recently celebrated SAS week in style. SAS and LED doctors have been the backbone of clinical service provision and day-to-day running of many surgical and dental sub-specialities in the NHS, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has always been the backbone of the UK’s surgical fraternity. RCSEd has done so much for the SAS/LED community, and this year is no exception. The RCSEd SAS/LED Surgeons and Dentists’ Conference, held in Birmingham on October 18th 2024, was a resounding success. This annual event is organised through RCSEd’s SASLC Committee each year.
The conference started off with the introduction of an SAS and LED career development resource document that was developed by the College. Professor Tim Graham, RCSEd Vice-President, graced the occasion and introduced this valuable document to the audience and to the wider SAS/LED community. Packed with career guidance resources for the SAS and LED doctors that is available through the College, this is a very useful document to guide the young SAS/LED surgeons and dentists starting off their careers. We would highly recommend you take a look at this document and use the resources wisely to advance your career, which can be accessed here.
This was followed by an enlightening session on the revised portfolio pathway by Ms Megan Wilson and Ms Sarah Downey. We then moved on to an engaging talk by Professor Mike Griffin, RCSEd Immediate Past President, about the JCIE Examinations and Intercollegiate Surgical Education Committee for SAS, LED and Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors (ISECSN). This was very well received by the audience as FRCS exams are integral for careers advancement for any SAS/LED doctor. This was followed by an excellent talk from Professor Grant McIntyre, RCSEd Dental Dean, about support for SAS and LED dentists offered by the College. This was further illustrated by an enlightening talk by Mr Sherif Elshazly about the SAS/LED contribution to oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Professor Geetha Menon and Professor Partha Kar took to the stage next for enlightening presentations about the vital role played by SAS and LED doctors within the NHS Workforce. Dr Umesh Salanke gave a fascinating and insightful talk about empowering locally employed doctors, and our own colleague SASLC Committee member Mr Daniel Ochieng shared his valuable experience on setting up a service as an SAS/LED doctor.
Post-lunch, the participants had a choice of joining two of three workshops: guidance on portfolio pathway, how to conduct an audit and QIP project and SAS by choice – navigating a fulfilling and lifelong career. All three workshops were very well received.
After an excellent and productive day, Professor Kartik Iyengar thanked the speakers, delegates and sponsors, without whom such a successful event would not have been possible.
The 2024 SAS/LED Surgeons and Dentists’ Conference was a great success, and we wish to thank Professor Rowan Parks, Professor Tim Graham, Professor Mike Griffin and the entire RCSEd Council for their unwavering support of the SAS/LED community. As the Conference organisers, Mr Majid Mukadam and Mr Lasitha B Samarakoon would like to thank all the speakers who gave up their valuable time for the betterment of SAS/LED surgeons and dentists, and all the SASLC Committee members who worked hard to make this event a success.
Finally, we would like to thank all the delegates for joining us in Birmingham to celebrate SAS and LED contributions to the NHS. We have already started planning for the conference in 2025, and we sincerely hope you can join us next year. We would also encourage all SAS and LED surgeons and dentists to join the Royal college of Surgeons of Edinburgh, make use of the vast number of resources and networking opportunities available to you via the College and to advance your carer to new heights. As the quote very eloquently says, “The sky is the limit only for those who aren't afraid to fly”!
Mr Lasitha B Samarakoon BS BM (Col) MRCS (Edin. & Eng.) MMed (NUH) ChM(UoE) FEBS(EBSQ) FRCSGlasg(Gen) FRCSEd(Gen) FFSTEd
Consultant General Surgeon and SASLC Committee member
Professor Karthikeyan Iyengar MS (Orth), DNB (Orth), MRCS (Edn), MCh (Orth) (Liv), FRCS (Tr&Orth), FFSTEd, FAcadMEd (AoME)
Specialty Doctor, Trauma and Orthopaedics. RCSEd Research Committee and SASLC Committee member
Mr Majid Mukadam MBE FRCS(C-Th), MRCS(Edin), MCh(CVTS), PGCert(UoB)
Lead Transplant and Retrieval Surgeon and Chair of RCSEd’s SASLC Committee
