Course accreditation
Providing a quality mark for surgical education
As well as running a large number of surgical education courses, the RCS also accredits and monitors short courses run by other providers.
This is to ensure that a course has been developed in line with the College's criteria and standards for surgical education, and that the educational content, teaching methods, aims and learning outcomes are appropriate.
Course accreditation is usually awarded for three years following a successful panel visit to view the course in delivery. Any accreditation is subject to satisfactory annual monitoring and review.
Benefits of course accreditation
Having a course accredited will demonstrate that the course meets the standards as defined by the RCS and that it offers a high-quality learning experience. Recognition of these factors may assist in attracting course delegates. Accredited courses will also receive the following benefits:
- peer review from a panel of leading surgeons;
- use of the RCS logo on course materials and website;
- use of the strap line ‘Accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of England’;
- listing on RCS website;
- listing in RCS Bulletin;
- use of RCS participant evaluation questionnaire;
- applicable courses will be awarded with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points as part of course accreditation.
Who can apply
Course accreditation is designed for short courses of up to and including five days in length. Any organiser or provider of educational or scientific courses which aid the development of competent surgeons or those from allied health professions can apply for course accreditation. However, only courses which can provide detailed and positive feedback from at least the previous two sittings of the course, or which have previously received course approval from the RCS, are eligible for course accreditation.
How to apply
RCS Accreditation process
Accreditation can be applied for on our Accreditation Portal, by registering for a free account and starting a new activity. Once an application has been submitted, the stages broadly follow the cycle shown below.
Step 1 - Desktop assessment
Initial desk-based review of application for accreditation, including assesment of course participant feedback.
At each step of the process, the applicant may be asked for further information, or to amend the educational activity the provide, to meet RCS education standards.
Step 2 - Panel visit
If the application is viable, a visit to the course by an RCS review panel (including one or more senior surgeons) takes place.
Step 3 - Report writing stage
A report is written by a QA team member, including input from the RCS review panel, to be presented to the Quality Assurance Operational Group (QAOG). This may include conditions and recommendations for the provider.
Step 4 - RCS Quality Assurance Operational Group meeting
The report is presented at the next QAOG meeting, which are held four times a year. Members of the QAOG discuss the application and the group makes a collective recommendation to approve or reject the application. This may include conditions and recommendations for the provider.
Step 5 - RCS Learning & Assesment Committee
The recommendation of the QAOG is presented to the L&A Committee, who make the final decision on awarding accreditation. If awarded, accreditation lasts for three years. Accreditation may be accompanied by conditions to be met or recommendations to be considered by the applicant. The accreditation is accompanied by ongoing monitoring of educational provision.
List of accredited courses
Accredited course provider / Venue |
Course name |
Period of accreditation |
Contact |
|
|
Transanal Haemorrhoidal Dearterialisation Course |
Initially accredited Feb 2012. |
Mr Pasquale Giordano, Consultant Surgeon and Senior Lecturer |
|
Warrington & Halton NHS Foundation Trust
|
Anaesthesia, Trauma and Critical Care (ATACC) Course | Initially accredited Jul 2013. Reaccredited Dec 2019 - Nov 2022 | Dr Mark Forrest, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Critical Care |
|
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
|
Trauma and Burns Course | Initially accredited Jul 2014. Reaccredited Jan 2018 - Dec 2020 | Mrs Veronica Bowes, Specialist Training Coordinator |
|
Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation
|
St Thomas' Cadaveric Hand Trauma | Initially accredited Dec 2014. Reaccredited Jan 2018 - Dec 2020 | Mr Jamil Ahmed, Associate Specialist Plastic and Hand Surgery |
|
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust |
Masterclass of Intramedullary Nailing: Tips and Tricks | Initially accredited Dec 2014. Reaccredited Apr 2018 - Mar 2021 | Professor Subhash Halder, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon |
|
National Organ Retrieval Service |
National Organ Retrieval Course |
Initially accredited Feb 2016. Reaccredited Jan 2019 - Dec 2021 | Professor Rutger Ploeg, NHSBT National Lead for Organ Retrieval |
|
|
Postgraduate Orthopaedics | Initially accredited Apr 2016 - Mar 2019 | Mr Paul Banaszkiewicz, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon |
|
Leighton Hospital, Crewe |
Laparoscopic Inguinal Repair Course | Initially accredited Dec 2016. Reaccredited Oct 2019 - Sep 2022 |
Mr Magdi Hanafy, Consultant General Surgeon |
|
University College London Hospital |
Headstart - The Technical and Regulatory Aspects of Setting Up a Sentinel Node Biopsy Service in Early Oral Cancer | Initially accredited Feb 2017. reaccredited Dec 2019 - Nov 2022 |
Professor Mark McGurk, Consultant Oral and Maxillifacial Head and Neck Surgeon |
|
NDORMS, University of Oxford |
Bristol and Oxford Surgical Trials intervention Course (BOSTiC) | Jul 2017 - Jun 2020 | Professor David Beard, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS |
|
Barts Cancer Institute, London |
FRCS (Tr & Orth) Viva Course for Orthopaedic Surgeons | Jan 2019 - Dec 2021 | Mr Jeh Mahaluxmivala, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon |
|
Advanced Trauma Nursing Course (ATNC) |
ATNC | Jul 2018 - Jun 2021 | Mr Robert Pinate |
| Online module | Jan 2019 - Jan 2020 | Professor Jeremy Grummett, Urological Surgeon and Director of Clinical Reseach in Urology at Alfred Health | |
|
Quenn's Hospital, Romford
|
Trauma and Essential Surgical Skills (TESS) |
Jan 2019 - Dec 2021 |
Mr Saswata Banerjee, Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon
|
|
Global Clubfoot Initiative |
UK Clubfoot - Training Levels 1 & 2 |
Jan 2019 - Dec 2021 | Mrs Rosalind Owen, Executive Director at Global Clubfoot Initiative |
|
Canterbury Christchurch University |
Foundations in Surgical Skills and Anatomy for the Physician Associate |
Jan 2019 - Dec 2021 |
Mrs Roz Tucker, Physician Assistant |
|
Vesalius Clinical Training Unit |
Operative Skills in Neurosurgery |
Mar 2019 - Feb 2022 |
Mr George Malcolm, Consultant Neurosurgeon
|
|
British Orthopaedic Sports Trauma and Arthroscopy Association (BOSTAA) |
Advanced Arthroscopic Knee | Mar 2019 - Feb 2022 |
Mr Panos Thomas, Consultant Knee and Sports Surgeon, and Professor Fares Haddad, Hip and Knee Reconstructive Surgeon |
| David Nott Foundation |
Hostile Environments Surgical Training (HEST) Course | Jun 2019 - May 2022 | Mr Ivar Milligan, Cheif Executive |
| Professional Behaviours Masterclass for Cosmetic Surgery | Jun 2019 - May 2022 | Dr John Jolly, Head of Member Risk Education | |
|
Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, Cambridge University |
Communicating Potential Harms and Benefits: Perioperative version | Jun 2019 - May 2022 | Dr Alexandra Freeman, Executive Director |
| Medical Aid for Palestinians |
Basic Surgical Skills course & Core Skills in Laparoscopic Surgery course |
Jul 2019 - Jun 2022 | Dr Andrew Ferguson, Director of Programmes |
|
University Hospital of North Tees |
Single Incision Laparoscopic Colorectal course (SILCS) & Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy course |
Jul 2019 - Jun 2022
Dec 2019 - Nov 2022 |
Mr Talvinder Gil, Colorectal Surgeon (SILCS) & Mr Milind Rao, Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon (Lap Chole) course organiser (both): Mr Prem Thambi, Colorectal Surgeon |
| The Hamlyn Symposium of Medical Robotics |
Sep 2019 - Aug 2022 |
Professor Guang-Zhong Yang |
|
|
South Devon Uppper GI Unit |
Laparoscopic Bile Duct Exploration course & Advanced Laparoscopic Hiatal Surgery |
Sep 2019 - Aug 2022
Dec 2019 - Nov 2022 |
Mr Stuart Andrews, Consultant General Surgeon |
| SCReaM Human Factors and Crew Resource Management |
SCReaM Human Factors Course |
Oct 2019 - Sep 2022 |
Dr Ben Morrison, Consultant Anaesthatist |
| Orth North |
The Northern FRCS Orth Revision Course |
Oct 2019 - Sep 2022 |
Mr Balaji Puroshothaman, Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon |
| Royal Papworth Hospital |
Challenges in Organ Donation, Retreival and Transplantation |
Dec 2019 - Nov 2022 | Mr Marius Berman, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon |
Contact
If you have any queries about Course Accreditation that are not covered in our standards and frequently asked questions, please contact the Quality Assurance Department at qa@rcseng.ac.uk or on 020 7869 6236/6208.