Britain's Oldest Surgical College awards place in National Surgical Final to local student
Scalpels were drawn in an interactive, one-of-a-kind, national surgical skills competition run by Britain's oldest Royal Surgical college with the announcement of the winner of the seventh round.
Conor Jones from the Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry was a cut above the rest in the South West Peninsula regional round, run by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (www.rcsed.ac.uk) in association with Medtronic (http://www.medtronic.com/), a global leader in medical technology, services and solutions.
The ground-breaking competition sees final year medical students from across the UK demonstrate their talents and skills in a series of challenges. The competition begins with 19 rounds, one at each UK medical school, during which the students are asked to undertake a series of demanding surgical skills tests, with the winner of each heat announced on the night.
With only 8% of medical undergraduates qualifying as surgeons in one of the ten specialities, surgery is an incredibly competitive area, so being able to demonstrate the commitment and the skills to become a surgeon at this early stage puts students at a great advantage later in their career.
23 year old Conor said:
“It is a real honour to have made it through to the final of this competition. I am excited to meet the other finalists and look forward to whatever challenges await us in the final. The heat was well organised and tested an appropriate range of technical and non-technical skills."
Along with a certificate and a trophy, Conor was awarded a travel and accommodation package to compete in the Grand Final in Edinburgh on 18th February at which the top 19 finalists from across the UK will undertake a broad range of clinical procedures before determining who has the scalpel skills to become the overall UK winner, presented at the Grand Final with prizes including a fully inclusive Medtronic Minimal Invasive Robotic Experience
Convened by College council member Mr Roger Currie, a Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon in Ayrshire, the competition is now in its third year and aims to discover the most talented aspiring surgeons in the UK.
"The surgical skills competition is a unique opportunity for medical students with an interest in surgery to practice their skills and demonstrate their expertise" said Roger, "We hope that it will inspire the next generation of surgeons and place them in a unique position for their future career."
As well as prizes being awarded to the winner and runner-up, all participants of the competition will receive a certificate of participation, plus two year’s affiliation to the RCSEd’s Affiliate Network.
Second place was awarded to 23-year-old Peninsula student Harry Heath: "Above all the experience of the surgical skills competition was fun! The atmosphere amongst all competing was light hearted and the sessions were demonstrated and taught very well.”
"One of the major aims of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is to set and quality assure the highest surgical standards and recognise that with the award of Membership and Fellowship," said Mr Michael Lavelle-Jones, colorectal surgeon and President of the RCSEd.
"This competition is a shining example of ensuring that those standards are constantly being challenged and updated, with students benefitting from the networking opportunities it brings. RCSEd is very keen to engage with the undergraduate medical schools in the UK and this competition provides an excellent platform. We are most grateful to Medtronic for their collaboration to make this competition possible."
