NNUH welcomes doctors from across the country for RCS exam

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.”