Last weekend saw RCSEd President, Professor S Michael Griffin OBE host his final President’s Forum of 2019 in Oxford with the support of Mike Silva, Regional Surgical Adviser (RSA) for Oxford.
On the topic of ‘Making the workplace a better place to be’, the President and local surgeons spoke about workplace issues and challenges that occur at all stages of a surgeon’s career. Topics included less than full-time training, women in surgery, burnout, and avoiding litigation in the workplace. We recommend anyone interested in these topics should save the date of the RCSEd Triennial Meeting as 4-5 June 2020 in Edinburgh – the theme of the conference is ‘Making it better for everyone’.
The Forum was followed by the 6th Surgical Skills Symposium; a day comprising of taster sessions of basic surgical skills for medical students, not specifically covered in medical school or foundation training. Generously supported by Medtronic, the programme of workshops was devised and delivered by Mike Silva and Katie Hurst (RCSEd Trainees’ Committee member), with faculty on the day made up of Council Members Roger Currie and Judy Evans, RSAs Arjun Takhar, Stephen Boyce, Giles Bond-Smith, Barney Green, and many other local faculty. Students from the Hugh-Cairns Society were involved in the organisation and promotion of the day and its delivery was a real team effort.
Student participant feedback:
“The level of teaching was brilliant and the degree of 1:1 teaching was far better than I’ve experienced so far on my medical degree!”
“Best surgical skills course attended! Learned so many important skills crucial for any FY1/FY2.”
“As a bitesize introduction to a broad range of surgical specialties, it was fantastic for a medical student.”
If you are interested in student surgical skills courses, see our website for further details and also learn about the RCSEd Affiliate Network.