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Surgeons show they can cut it at Surgical Skills final

Two surgeons representing London have been crowned winners of the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons of England competition for core trainees. Mr Michael Kelly and Mr Gerard McKnight competed with 18 finalists for the College’s ‘Are You Cut Out For It?’  annual surgical skills competition. The competition assessed competitors’ application of core surgical skills and their knowledge of surgical principles. 

The final was about teamwork as well as individual excellence as the 18 finalists worked in pairs to perform skin tasks, laparoscopic tasks, non-technical skills and a bonus round.  The two pairs with the highest scores then contested in a grand final. Michael and Gerard (representing the London region) won it, and were awarded the Louis Solomon Knights Award for Surgical Skills along with a prize of £1,500 to share. They performed a practical task – a bowel anastomosis followed by a viva. Miss Clare Munro and Mr Chad Harris (Northeast region) were runners-up, winning a share of £500.

Gerard, who is an ST4 in General Surgery at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, said:  “The event was well organised with excellent technical support.  ‘The College’s new building is a really great facility.  We have to say a very big thank you to the esteemed faculty for judging the competition.”

Michael, an ST4 in General Surgery at King’s College University Hospital Foundation Trust, who is from Northern Ireland, said: ‘We are both delighted to win such a prestigious prize.  It was a really great day.”

Ms Fiona Myint, who as Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, sat on the judges panel, said: “The College is delighted that the UK’s finest emerging surgeons have taken part in this competition. We are committed to helping to develop world-leading surgeons. Taking part in this competition is a fantastic way to learn how to develop surgical skills under time pressure.”

The other judges were Tim Mitchell (RCS England Senior Vice President), Tim Goodacre (RCS England Vice President), Joe Curry (Competition Chair), Mitty Das Mohapatra, Gloria Petralia, Ryan Baron, Effie Katsarma, Rahul Kotwal, Saswata Banerjee, Evelyn Ong, Amer Khan, Anthony Lander, Jose Blanco, and Ammar Al Midani.

The competition took place at the Royal College of Surgeons of England on October 30th and it’s the first event held in the brand new Professional Surgical Centre at the College

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