President’s Update Noel Sharkey, President

It is a great honour and pleasure to bring to you yet another edition of the Edinburgh Students’ Surgical Society newsletter, which we’ve renamed to EdSurg to mark a new decade for the society and build on the successes of the previous 10 years. I hope you like the revamp and the newsletter’s new title!

Having had such a successful year in 2013/2014 under the leadership of Jen Reid, I am delighted to say that the society has continued to build on its successes and is having another great year, in what is the 10th anniversary for the society. The ESSS committee has worked hard to ensure that ESSS continues to grow, with an increased presence online and a larger number of society members than ever before. It has been an exciting journey so far and there have been many highlights.

In July, ESSS had the honour of hosting the world renowned Plastic Surgeon, Professor Fu Chan Wei, from Taiwan for a Pan Scotland Dissection Masterclass. This marked the beginning of the ESSS specialty specific projects. Sessions dedicated to Plastics and Vascular Surgery took place in 2014, whilst work on Orthopaedics, Cardiothoracics and ENT is in progress for the new year.

ESSS has also worked with local surgeons to develop a surgically relevant Clinical Anatomy Scheme of Edinburgh (CASE) and in November, we held our first ever Careers’ Evening, attended by over 200 students and surgical trainees. I hope you agree with me when I say that we’ve been very busy this year!

2015 will bring new challenges for ESSS as we continue to strive to keep pace with the ever evolving interests of our dynamic membership base. We are working on hosting evenings dedicated to Academic Surgery and Global Surgery, as well as working with local leads of StarSurg and GlobalSurg in order to increase the opportunities available to our members to engage with research.We are also delighted to bring the first ever ESSS' Critical Care of the Surgical Patient Course with the help of our colleagues in Anaesthetics this year, and information will be sent out to students in clinical years in due course.ESSS are proud to support local charitable initiatives and are delighted to profile MedAid as our chosen charity for 2015. We will also host our 6th annual conference in March 2015 and look forward to introducing our members to the new ESSS app in 2015, work on which has already commenced.

To all of you who have supported the society over the course of the past year, we are extremely grateful for your help and hope you had an enjoyable holiday. We wish you a successful and fulfilling new year to come and look forward to continuing our work with you in 2015. Thank you.

6th National Surgery and Trauma Conference

Carl Mulholland, Conference Convenor

The 6th National Surgery and Trauma Conference at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh will be held on Saturday 14th March 2015.This year’s conference will include a wide range of surgical and trauma oriented talks from some of the most eminent surgeons in the UK.Four confirmed speakers include…Professor Nicola Maffulli, Professor of Trauma and Orthopaedics & Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Lead Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgery Service at London 2012 Olympics;Mr Mark Wilson, Neurosurgery Consultant and Pre-Hospital Care-Specialist Imperial College NHS Trust and Bart's and the London NHS trust;Ms Tania Cubison, Consultant Plastics and Military Surgeon, specialising in Burns, Queen Victoria East Grinstead; andDr Aileen Keel, acting Chief Medical Officer of Scotland.

The conference has gone from strength to strength over the past 5 years, attracting students from across the UK and further afield. This year we hope to increase our outreach and offer a programme to cater for undergraduate medical students and aspiring surgeons. We are planning a whole new skills workshop programme which promises to include new and exciting ways of improving skills and access. In addition, the conference will host a debate on altruistic kidney transplantation, allowing delegates to interact with a professional panel with their views and thoughts. Conference details will s o o n b e u p d a t e d t o o u r w e b s i t e , www.edsurgicalsoc.com, so please stay tuned for further information. You can also follow us on our Facebook event page: http://tinyurl.com/ooj4n44]We look forward to seeing you all in March!

ESSS Surgical Careers Evening to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the society.ESSS Committee 2014/15 from left to right: Luke Walls (Secretary), Gerlin Naidoo (Senior Vice President), David Barcroft (Conference Convenor), David McMorran (Academic Tutorials Convenor), Cameron Kennedy (Sponsorship and Grants Officer), Lucy Li (Junior Vice President), Carl Mulholland (Conference Convenor), Owain Prŷs-Jones (Treasurer), Greg McKean (Media and Public Relations Officer), Noel Sharkey (President), Oliver Brown (Surgical Skills Tutorials Convenor)

EdSurgThe ESSS Newsletter

January 2015

ESSS Surgical Careers Evening Lucy Li, Junior Vice President

On 14 November, ESSS marked its 10th anniversary with a celebratory Surgical Careers Evening in association with the RCSEd. Attracting over 250 undergraduates, the impressive event anticipated to give medical students a unique insight into the diversity, exhilaration and challenges which constitute a career in surgery. In his opening address, Noel Sharkey, ESSS President, highlighted the society’s success and formidable growth over recent years. This was complemented by inspiring words from RCSEd President Mr Ian Ritchie, present by virtue of a video message. There followed a series of short talks by surgical trainees and consultants, representing 12 specialty pathways. They each briefed the audience on the remit of their work, personal career paths, and perceived challenges and rewards in their respective fields. Departing invaluable careers advice, speakers also revelled the opportunity to audaciously endorse their own speciality as the ‘optimal career choice’.

ESSS was delighted to welcome Miss Farhat Din, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and RCSEd Regional Surgical Advisor, who spoke engagingly about the benefits of the RCSEd Affiliates Programme, on the background of ongoing support ESSS has from the College at all levels. With over 50 doctors from FY1 to consultant level in attendance, the second half of the evening was a drinks reception, giving students the opportunity to freely engage and socialise with senior colleagues. The relaxed and informal setting facilitated generous discussion, with students gaining guidance and advice on portfolio development, career progression and training. Representatives from RCSEd, Wesleyan and MPS were also in attendance.

In the spirit of collaboration, ESSS invited colleagues from the Edinburgh University Orthopaedics Society, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society, Neurological Society and Ophthalmology Society to set up stalls, thereby enabling them to capitalise on this prime opportunity to engage with the larger student body.

Reflecting on the event, Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Dan Ablett said “"ESSS are to be congratulated on organising another great event and the huge turnout demonstrated just how relevant and useful it was to undergraduates. Graduating doctors are required to declare their career intentions earlier than ever before and need to have a CV which matches their ambitions. Early informed career decisions, therefore, are the key to future success and this kind of event can only serve to aid students in making these difficult decisions."

ESSS would like to sincerely thank all our attendees for coming as well as Miss Sylvia Jackson (RCSEd Outreach Projects and Activities Co-ordinator), Miss Farhat Din (RCSEd Regional Surgical Advisor) and Miss Alice Hartley (RCSEd Trainee Committee member) for their support in organising the event.

ESSS were delighted with the success of the Surgical Careers Evening, and having received extremely positive feedback, we intend to incorporate the evening as an annual feature on our calendar. Underpinned by our desire to provide students with greater insight into the surgical careers, ESSS hopes to continue to flourish over the next 10 years through the multitude of innovative projects and long-term agenda in the works.

Suturing Success

Oliver Brown, Suturing Tutorials Convenor

The year got off to a good start with the first surgical suturing tutorial taken by Dr Jen Reid in early October. This focussed on developing good surgical technique in beginners and younger students. Following the success of this, ESSS helped to run a further two tutorials in collaboration with the Royal Medical Society (RMS). These were a great success, enabling a mixture of both societies’ members to get stuck in together. Since then a further three tutorials have been run, and have proved very popular.

Suturing tutorials this semester have been well attended, especially in years 1 and 2. This is very promising, showing that there are a lot of students interested in learning techniques before their clinical attachments begin. Having an idea of what the surgeon is doing when closing up can be a great help, and seeing the sutures practiced in tutorials being used in theatre is a great way to learn. Other than suturing, ESSS took part in a joint venture with the RMS to allow members to practice plastering. This was a highly popular event, enabling students to practice on each other, and will be something ESSS hopes to be a part of next year.For the coming semester, the plan is to run surgical suturing tutorials every two weeks. Since these tutorials can be oversubscribed, efforts will be made to expand places available. Plans are in the pipeline for a gowning and scrubbing tutorial, which will ensure that more aspects of the surgeon’s role in theatre are met.The pilot scheme for suturing tutorials on peripheral placements has been a success and we hope to bring more of these to the Borders and Kirkcaldy in the new year.We also hope to re-run the skin lesion excision tutorial, with the help of our colleagues in Plastics, which was extremely popular last year.

With all that is going on, it is hoped many ESSS members can take part in a tutorial that fits their experience and interest. However, if there is something that members would like to see more of or an idea that hasn’t been tried yet please don’t hesitate to get in touch. These tutorials are meant to expose our members to the practicalities of surgery, and ideally better prepare them for careers as surgeons.

The ESSS Surgical Careers Evening drew large crowds from medical students, FY doctors, registrars and consultants

Some of our members showing off their plastering skills!

ESSS Outreach Cameron Kennedy, Publicity

In October ESSS team members joined the Edinburgh University Neurological Society (EUNS) to help deliver the ever-popular annual ‘Live Neuro Theatre’ event.This year’s Live Neuro Theatre took place as part of the Midlothian Science Festival, an outreach programme designed to bring hands-on science experience into the communities across Midlothian. The Festival has grown from an initial 30 events in 2012 to over 100 events in 2014, and is now located across various locations throughout Midlothian.ESSS was proud to be a part of this success story, and we were extremely pleased to be able to share our interest in medical and surgical techniques with the attendees.

Live Neuro Theatre began with a (simulated!) video of a skiing accident that resulted in a serious head injury on the slopes. EUNS and ESSS team members played the roles of casualty and members of the ambulance team, as they demonstrated the emergency response used in a hospital transfer. Dr Dean Kerslake, Consultant in Emergency Medicine within NHS Lothian, narrated this part of the event to ensure that the audience could follow the medical jargon!Once the ‘casualty’ had been stabilised and the need for immediate treatment established, the surgical component of the event began. Dr Aimun Jamjoom, Specialty Registrar in Neurosurgery, was on hand to lead this aspect. With the help of the help of the EUNS simulated skull, Dr Jamjoom led the audience through the process of preparing and drilling into the skull, and in due course enlisted some members of the audience in removing the clot.

The event was followed by a Q&A session on Neurosurgery and Emergency Medicine and a review of the event. Audience members of all ages stayed behind with EUNS and ESSS to try out CPR and ventilation on a simulated patients, to ask questions about the equipment used and its effects, and some even asked how they could get a place in medical school!ESSS is grateful to EUNS and Midlothian Science Festival for asking us to participate in the event and we are now seeking out further opportunities to bring our interests to the wider community.

CASE: Clinical Anatomy Scheme of Edinburgh Gerlin Naidoo, Vice President

A major accomplishment this year has been ESSS’s role in the launch of the Clinical Anatomy Scheme of Edinburgh (CASE). Within the current Edinburgh undergraduate MBChB curriculum, the vast majority of cadaveric teaching occurs within the first three years of medical education.However, students only gain meaningful exposure to surgical specialties and theatre beyond this point. Initiated by local surgical trainees this project therefore, aims to bridge the gap by teaching clinically orientated anatomy to students

in their senior years, at which time it is most relevant to them. CASE and ESSS will host approximately eight 2-hour sessions from December to July, focussing on clinically orientated anatomy for general surgery, cardiothoracics and vascular surgery, orthopaedics and plastic surgery, heard & neck and otolaryngology. Tutors are recruited from various levels of specialty training and backgrounds including surgeons, anatomists, radiologists and A&E. Enthusiasm for CASE has been expressed at all levels, gaining official endorsement form Prof. OJ Garden (Regius Professor of Surgery and Honorary Consultant Surgeon ), Miss Lorna Marson (Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Transplant Surgeon) and Mr Ewen Harrison (Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Hepatobiliary Surgeon). Following the successful official launch of CASE this December, feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive. Into the new year, ESSS will continue to help in the refinement and further development of this invaluable scheme.

Academic Tutorials

David McMorran, Academic Tutorials Convenor

Traditionally, academic revision tutorials have been the mainstay of contact between ESSS and the medical student body. As the work of the society continues to expand, with many more students attending a much wider selection of ESSS events, the revision tutorials remain a key feature of ESSS’ work.

The current academic year has seen substantial change to the ESSS academic revision tutorials. Building on existing material, students from more senior years participated in focus groups aiming to update and improve the tutorials for current students. The result has already received tremendous feedback from 3rd and 4th year students reaping the benefits of these revamped revision sessions. Some tutorials have virtually progressed to formative exams, with teaching based on MCQs designed to provide insight into the depth of knowledge expected for the real exams. With senior students creating MCQs and revision tips based on their experience, the tutorials serve as a priceless revision aid to any medic.

ESSS have also begun collaborating with junior doctors in Edinburgh, providing them with CV-boosting teaching opportunities whilst delivering high quality education to tutorial attendees. We also continue to provide students with such an invaluable teaching opportunity, and even the occasional consultant. Recruiting more tutors has already allowed us to cater to greater numbers of students, al though tutorial places remain ruthlessly competitive.

Throughout the coming year, we hope to continue expanding the remit of these tutorials by running a 3rd year synoptic exam.For the first time, ESSS are planning to run a day long revision course for student’s sitting Finals who will soon graduate to become doctors in 2015.The feedback we continually receive is to provide more tutorials, thus I hope you will be happy to hear that is the plan exactly.Tutorials for 4th year students are next on the schedule, taking place first week back in January, just in time for the first experience of post-Christmas exams.

From one neurosurgeon to a possible future neurosurgeon, Dr. Aimun Jamjoom assists one of the junior members of the audience to drill through the skull.

CASE Logo designed by Cilein Kearns

Editor’s Note

Luke Walls, Secretary

In our 10th anniversary year, it has been a busy and successful first semester for ESSS, but we don’t want to stop there. With the conference in March, and further practical skills and academic tutorials running throughout the semester, we are sure there will be something for you to get involved in.

We would like to show our appreciation and thanks to our sponsors, for whom without their support a lot of what ESSS aim to do would not be possible.

To all our members, we hope that with your support and involvement, we can continue to provide opportunities for students interested in surgery.

For anyone keen to get involved with ESSS, do not hesitate to contact me on joinus.esss@gmail.com

Best wishes for 2015, and we hope to see you all at an upcoming ESSS event soon!

ESSS would not be able to provide the opportunities it does without the support from Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.More information can be found on their website at http://www.rcsed.ac.uk/ Here are a few events run by RCSEd you may be interested in…

21st February, BristolNational Conference for Aspiring Surgeons

7th March, SheffieldNational Surgical Conference for Foundation & Student Doctors14th March, EdinburghNational Surgery and Trauma Conference

27th March, EdinburghFuture Surgeons: Key Skills

28th March, EdinburghNational Undergraduate Orthopaedic Conference

ESSS have been kindly supported over the past year by the following…

Contact us

‘Like’ us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter@EdSurgSoc

Drop us an emailjoinus.esss@gmail.com

Visit our websitewww.edsurgicalsoc.com