Types Of Surgical Skills Courses For Junior Doctors

In a time where foundation and core training jobs are full to the brim with ward work and service provision, it can be difficult to hone your surgical skills and gain the experience you need for your higher speciality or CST applications.

The remedy for this? Book some study leave, take some bleep-free time for yourself, and get on a surgical skills course.

So what types of surgical skills courses are available for doctors in the UK?

Basic Surgical Skills Course

Are you a GP who has to see patients coming with cuts and bruises frequently? Or are you a physician, but still need to know your way around with a needle? Then a basic surgical skills course would be just for you.

These courses are for junior doctors new to the field of surgery and non-surgical personnel who are involved in invasive procedures, such as interventional radiologists, cardiologists, and gastroenterologists. Over the course of 1-2 days, you can brush up on your surgical skills and familiarise yourself with some of the latest techniques.

Laparoscopic Skills Courses

This course is designed for surgeons and gynaecologists who are new to laparoscopy. This course will benefit you even if you have done laparoscopic surgery previously but feel like you’ve lost touch and want to hone your laparoscopic skills. It is also recommended for physician associates and nurse practitioners involved in laparoscopic surgery.

Suturing Courses

Suturing is part and parcel of a surgeon’s job. But even our colleagues from the medicine and emergency departments need to know the basics.

This is a basic surgical skills workshop for you to improve your suturing skills. New suturing techniques are developed day by day that allow surgeons to ensure tissue strength while minimising complications and improving cosmetic outcomes.

Minor Surgery Courses

You don’t have to be a surgeon to practise surgery! Minor surgery needs minimum facilities and anaesthesia, and by taking a minor surgery course, you should be able to tackle minor ops successfully at your practice.

This is a chance for general practitioners, GP trainees, physician associates, nurse practitioners, and anyone in medicine to brush up on their surgical skills and build confidence.

Casting Course

Of course, new orthopaedic surgeons and emergency medicine specialists who’ll be doing casting on a daily basis can attend a casting course to brush up on their skills.

You could also consider a casting course if you’re a general practitioner, physician associate, and nurse practitioner as well since you will are likely to take care of patients recovering from fractures.

Joint Injection Courses

You might wonder what’s the need for a joint injection course. But if you think for a minute, you will realise that all specialities like rheumatology, orthopaedics, anaesthesia, and even general practice will have to perform joint injections at one point or another.

This is an opportunity for you to learn the correct techniques to do it with minimal pain to the patients and good disease outcomes.

Cadaveric Courses

We recommend a cadaveric course for senior trainees like registrars. It will provide you with a chance to practise complex surgical procedures on cadavers, such as specially embalmed thiel cadavers, so you can appreciate the real anatomy of the human body.

This cadaveric course presents an exclusive opportunity for a limited number of participants to hone their surgical skills.

Robotic Surgery Courses

Robotic surgery is the next big thing in surgery, known for its minimally invasive approach, precision, and low complication rate. Senior registrars and consultants interested in learning to operate using the da Vinci robot and similar techniques can participate in this course.

Through simulations and cadaveric operations, the course will allow you to start from scratch and build a good foundation in this new approach to surgery.