Preston Manor’s Surgeons Of The Future
How do surgeons learn to do keyhole surgery? How do they learn the fundamentals of suturing, such as proper needle handling and knot-tying? These are skills that very few VI Form students are exposed to, so we were delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to Preston Manor Sixth Form’s aspiring medics!
Facilitated by a group of 10 Resident Doctors, Senior Surgical Residents and a Consultant Surgeon, our students were treated to a bespoke three-hour workshop in school during which they were able to practice laparoscopic skills using laparoscopic box training kits and skin suture training kits.
The workshop was run as part of RCS England Women in Surgery Outreach initiative, WinSpire, which aims to challenge outdated perceptions of who can become a surgeon - currently only 13% of Consultant Surgeons are female.
The workshop was led by Ms Sreelakshmi Mallappa MFSTEd FRCS PhD Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon, who brought along doctors who she had trained herself, to deliver the training to our students. We were especially pleased to welcome back our ex- Preston Manor student and F1 doctor, Rajvi Patel.
Our students were given 1-1 tuition for developing their practical skills and had the chance to ask lots of questions.
Dhruvi was motivated by the opportunity to learn "about many things, from personal experiences and challenges to success," while Aya commented that it was "inspiring to meet many surgeons in person."
"I realised through talking to all the women who were helping us that day", remarked Fatima, "that you can do it all. You can have a family and also have an ambitious career. In terms of commitment, it also highlighted how if you are doing something you love it does not necessarily feel like hard work and it is not difficult to commit to."
We would like to thank all the doctors for giving up their time to inspire and motivate our students. A special thanks goes to Ms. Shree Mallappa for the huge amount of time she put into making this event happen!