'Are You Cut Out For It?'This week saw the @HE_KSS heat of the Royal College of Surgeons @RCSnews competition for second year Core Trainees. Each LETB (formerly known as 'Deanery') holds heats with the winners going to the College in February for the Finals and the chance to win the first prize of £1,000.
This is a surgical skills-based competition, with competitors demonstrating suturing, knot-tying, excision of lesions & closure of defects and laparoscopic dexterity skills: here our own Aphiwat Luangsomboon stacks sugar cubes to the amusement of Sachin Agrawal
Thanks to everyone who came out on a windy Thursday night to Fracture Clinic at the Rowley Bristow. It was a tough call to judge, with the range of scores being very tight, but winners we had and congratulations to first prize winner Ana Borges...
... and runner-up Jennifer Caswell...
...who received their certificates from Bill Dunsmuir and will go forward to represent our LETB at the Finals.
Huge thanks to the judges who gave up their free time to support this event: Bill Dunsmuir, Sachin Agrawal, Holly Ni Raghallaigh (@UncleHester) and Ben Carrick. Thanks too to Sophie Wrigley @sophiehfwrigley and Christian Asher @marshaisic who were magnificent in helping set up and pack away afterwards.
Tuesday's Day of Action
Preparations for potential industrial action were incredible and very organised. On the day itself of course, junior doctors were working as negotiations brokered by ACAS were underway. Theatre lists had already been stood down, which left some surgeons with an incredible opportunity to get together, brainstorm, and take the time to talk through plans and strategies not only for CCG-related projects but also interdisciplinary issues such as rotas and training.
It is so rare to have the time to sit down with colleagues both clinical and managerial (here above with ADO Cathy Parsons @cparsons007 and Associate Divisional Director Paul Trikha @surreyknee): three ad hoc meetings later I felt I achieved more in that one day than in months of emails.
Changeover Wednesday
Wednesday morning was given over to Departmental Induction. Four months goes by so quickly, doesn't it: we welcomed some new faces to T&O
They will benefit from the hard work put in by previous trainees Emily Decker @emilydecker1, Seok Cho @YSeokC & Sophie Wrigley @sophiehfwrigley who have sat down with us to construct a weekly service plan that should provide that elusive balance of continuity and education. I'm a firm believer that the doctors happiest with their rotas are those who have gotten a grip of it themselves.
We covered a huge range of topics including Consent training, Unit structure, pre-assessment - not to worry, it can be found on Trustnet including the surgical handbook, for reference.
Surgeon of the Week
This week it is my pleasure to introduce Magdy Moawad, see here on the left, with fellow Consultant Vascular Surgeon AJ Jibawi
Magdy is a fantastic support to me in educational projects and at Surgical LFG. Until his arrival we had very little input from Vascular Surgery at all. Now he, AJ @abdjibawi and Barun Majumder @barunmajumder have elevated the educational profile of their speciality in the hospital: wonderful
Forthcoming Attractions
On Friday, @ASPHFT host the Regional Speciality Study Day in T&O. We have some interactive talks lined up as well as a practical saw bones session. This event is for @HE_KSS Core trainees but if you are an ASPHFT junior doctor faintly interested in a T&O taster, you are more than welcome. At lunchtime I will be holding a "Portfolio Clinic" - if you would like me to cast an eye over yours, do bring it along
And finally...
Can't help myself: LOVE seeing St Peter's in print!!!
