Surgical Skills Student winner
Liverpool Student announced as Mersey Region heat winner of nationwide Surgical Skills Competition.
Following a close contest in Liverpool last weekend, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) have announced a Year 5 Student Doctor from the University of Liverpool, Benjamin Hall, as the Mersey Region winner of the nationwide Surgical Skills Competition.
Now set to join the additional 18 heat winners at the Grand Final in Edinburgh next spring, Benjamin said of his win:
“I had a great time on Saturday and am delighted to have won. It can be difficult for medical students to demonstrate their aptitude for surgical specialties, particularly when medical school curricula typically focus on academic and theoretical work.”
With only 8% of medical undergraduates qualifying as surgeons in one of the ten specialties, 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.
The Medtronic sponsored competition, now in its fourth year, sees final year medical students demonstrate their surgical talents and skills in a series of challenges. The competition begins with 19 heats, at medical schools across the UK, during which the students are asked to undertake a series of surgical tasks, ranging from suturing and knot-tying to laparoscopic skills tests with the winner of each heat announced on the night. The Mersey region heat invited final year medical students from the University of Liverpool to compete; whilst Benjamin scored highest overall following the five tests, the runner-up on the day was Lau Yan Hei.
Benjamin and the winners from each region along with one lucky randomly selected runner-up across the UK will receive a travel and accommodation package to Edinburgh to participate in the Grand Final.
The competition will culminate in Edinburgh on 16 March 2019 when the top 20 finalists will undertake a broad range of surgical procedures determining who will make the cut to become the overall winner.
As well as prizes awarded to the winner and runner-up, all participants of the competition will receive a certificate of participation, and gain two years’ affiliation to the RCSEd’s Affiliate Network.
Further information
To find out more about the Surgical Skills Competition, visit www.rcsed.ac.uk/surgicalskillscomp or follow on social media via #SurgicalSkillsComp.