Surgical training has a variety of work to get involved in as well as having many sub-specialties within it. The field is constantly advancing with the use of robotic surgery etc. and is certainly a specialty that those who like visual elements to their work, will enjoy. In this article, we discuss surgical training including how you can apply and how to put in a competitive application.
Contents
Why surgery?
There are so many reasons! Some of these include:
- Short ward rounds. You get to wear scrubs! Lots of practical procedures and seeing real life anatomy.
- Lifelong learning
- Always a new skill to learn
- Simulated learning as well as real life
- Variety of work (ward/theatre/clinic). Huge scope of practice (lots of specialties to work in, including a variety of ages).
- Can have a good work life balance (if you pick a sub-specialty with less on call commitments). There is increasing flexibility in training (less than full time i.e. LTFT).
- Team working – multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach used: Can work in leadership roles and there can be huge diversity when working in teams.
- Huge impact on patients’ lives:
- Patient can wake up and problem be ‘fixed’. You have immediate results and it can be very rewarding!
- Innovative – good use of evolving techniques
- Robotic surgery, 3D printing etc…
Training Pathway
Two routes
- Core surgical training
- Two-year programme, where you work in a range of specialties
- Can be ‘themed’ or ‘un-themed’ (matched to a specialty or not)
- Following CT1 and CT2, you will then apply for specialty training
- Improved surgical training
- Run through programmes ST1-ST8 as long as meets competencies(HEE has currently paused run through trianing in England and Wales)
How to build your portfolio
- Download portfolio requirements early and start completing points (it’s never too early)
- Show people you are keen and they will be willing to teach you
- It does take time to build your portfolio, so everything you do, make sure you collect evidence for it at the time
| Surgical experience | Log cases: Sign up to E-log book (free) and log everything you see. Near your interview, download the summary page (with no patient information) and get your supervisor to sign it. |
| Surgical elective or surgical Job | To score max points a 4 week surgical elective or a 4 month rotation during foundation training is required |
| Surgical taster | Must be at least 4-5 days, with reflection. Will not score as many points as above but a good back up |
Other portfolio categories
Application process
- Shortlisting for interview for 2023 will be based off MRSA scores with the top 1200 being selected – MRSA scores will count for 10% of overall ranking
- Portfolio will make up 30%
- Interview will count for 60%
We hope you found this article useful and wish you every success with your application!
Useful resources
- The Royal College of Surgeons of England
- The Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT)
- National Catheter Education Programme
- E-log book
- Medibuddy
Written by Roisin Johnson (CST1)
