The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) welcomed 87 registrars from across the UK last week (30 May), who arrived to sit the day-long Royal College of Surgeons’ inter-collegiate General Surgery exam, the final step in becoming a Consultant.
“It was the first time we’d hosted the exam and was an honour to be selected,” said Maged Hussien, Consultant Surgeon (breast and general surgery), who co-organised the day with Bhaskar Kumar, Consultant Surgeon (upper gastro-intestinal) and Christopher Hadjittofi, Chief Resident in Surgery.
“It’s very positive for our reputation as a great hospital with great facilities and gave us the opportunity to showcase our expertise to the 60 Consultants from all over the country who came here to conduct the exams.”
The practical exams were across seven surgical disciplines – colorectal,
upper gastro-intestinal, breast, transplant, endocrine, vascular and general
surgery – with more than 100 patients volunteering to be examined by the
candidates.
“Some of our patient volunteers came from as far away as Cambridge, and
we are very grateful to them for giving up their time,” said Maged. “For many,
it was a way to give back for the care they are receiving, which we greatly
appreciate.”
Medical and nursing students from the University of East Anglia also played
an important role at the event, supporting the patient volunteers throughout
the day.
Lindsay Hurcombe was one of the 35 UEA student nurses helping out.
“The day was a fantastic experience and supported our professional
development,” she said. “We helped ensure that the patients were in the right
place at the right time and that they understood what was happening.” The exam
is set by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh on behalf of all UK
colleges (England, Ireland, Glasgow and Edinburgh) and the additional couches
needed to examine the volunteer patients were provided by the Norfolk &
Norwich Hospitals Charity.
“We’ve received great feedback from the Royal College of Surgeons on the
organisation of the exam, which took over Surgical out-patients and the ground
floor of the Bob Champion Research and Education building,” said Maged. “It’s a
huge undertaking, requiring a great deal of teamwork, so thank you to everyone
who contributed to making it such a success.”
The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) welcomed 87 registrars from across the UK last week (30 May), who arrived to sit the day-long Royal College of Surgeons’ inter-collegiate General Surgery exam, the final step in becoming a Consultant.
Surgeons from four countries gathered in Norwich last week to set new standards for colorectal cancer in order to boost survival rates for patients.
NorSTRA runs a weekly FRCS syllabus based teaching programme which is delivered by Speciality Trainees under consultant supervision. The programme covers the range of the FRCS syllabus as outlined by ISCP and is held on a weekly basis.