The Hands-on Guide to Surgical Training

Preface vi
 
Introduction vii
 
Contributors ix
 
So you want to be a surgeon? xi
 
Abbreviations xvii
 
Clinical
 
1 Theatres 1
 
Surgical instruments 1
 
Sutures 10
 
Theatre etiquette 12
 
Patient safety and the WHO surgical checklist 17
 
How to write the operation note 22
 
Introduction to operative sections 26
 
Appendicectomy 26
 
Inguinal hernia repair 31
 
Dynamic hip screw 37
 
2 Wards 45
 
3 Clinics 71
 
4 On Call 78
 
Non-clinical Generic stage
 
5 The Foundation Years 89
 
6 The Core Training Years 100
 
7 The Specialty Training Years 122
 
Surgical specialties
 
8 General Surgery 140
 
9 Urology 148
 
10 Cardiothoracic Surgery 156
 
11 Oral and maxillofacial surgery 160
 
12 Ear, nose and throat surgery (Otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery) 166
 
13 Paediatric surgery 171
 
14 Neurosurgery 179
 
15 Orthopaedics 186
 
16 Plastic Surgery 193
 
Other issues
 
17 Applying for Jobs 201
 
18 Flexible Training and Women in Surgery 219
 
19 Academic Surgery 225
 
20 Other Issues in Surgical Training 233
 
21 Fellowships 250
 
22 Approaching Consultancy 256
 
Appendix 1: Preoperative assessment 264
 
Appendix 2: Consent 286
 
Appendix 3: Local Anaesthetics 292
 
Index 295

Matthew Stephenson is Senior Surgical Registrar within the South East Thames Rotation, and the author of How To Operate: for MRCS candidates and other surgical trainees (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, ISBN 9780470657447).

For those considering surgical training, or for those already progressing through this, "The Hands-on Guide to Surgical Training" is a very readable 304-page guide to the nitty-gritty key points no-one ever tells you about. Comprehensive in its coverage, the text starts with an introduction to the clinical side of surgery. Career structure, surgical equipment and sutures (with colour pictures) together with useful advice on theatre etiquette all offer an excellent introduction to those new to the operating theatre environment. The three most frequently encountered operations are reviewed, including operative photographs, and a guide to ward rounds and clinics provides a wealth of practical experience about what to do and when. The non-clinical chapters explain the different stages of training prior to entering core surgery, and each surgical specialty is then addressed in-depth including recruitment, exams and a trainee eye-view of what it is like to work in the specialty. What really makes this book stand out is the useful training information that all trainees want to know, but which is usually hard to come by and impossible to find in one place. Competition ratios for different surgical specialties, specific career advice for women in surgery, an overview of the training bodies overseeing surgery, the European Working Time Directive and pay-banding all stand out as very pertinent areas trainees should know about, but which are rarely often covered in similar textbooks. The pocket-size format of this book is perfect for carrying around at work and the text contains bold highlights to pick out the useful sections, although in some chapters this is perhaps a little over-done. Overall, this book comes highly recommended as a unique resource that manages to combine key practical clinical information with the really useful sort of training information that many will be keen to read. (Ed Fitzgerald MRCS, Specialist Registrar, General Surgery, The Royal Marsden Hospital,

For those considering surgical training, or for those already progressing through this, "The Hands-on Guide to Surgical Training" is a very readable 304-page guide to the nitty-gritty key points no-one ever tells you about.
 
Comprehensive in its coverage, the text starts with an introduction to the clinical side of surgery. Career structure, surgical equipment and sutures (with colour pictures) together with useful advice on theatre etiquette all offer an excellent introduction to those new to the operating theatre environment. The three most frequently encountered operations are reviewed, including operative photographs, and a guide to ward rounds and clinics provides a wealth of practical experience about what to do and when.
 
The non-clinical chapters explain the different stages of training prior to entering core surgery, and each surgical specialty is then addressed in-depth including recruitment, exams and a trainee eye-view of what it is like to work in the specialty.
 
What really makes this book stand out is the useful training information that all trainees want to know, but which is usually hard to come by and impossible to find in one place. Competition ratios for different surgical specialties, specific career advice for women in surgery, an overview of the training bodies overseeing surgery, the European Working Time Directive and pay-banding all stand out as very pertinent areas trainees should know about, but which are rarely often covered in similar textbooks.
 
The pocket-size format of this book is perfect for carrying around at work and the text contains bold highlights to pick out the useful sections, although in some chapters this is perhaps a little over-done.
 
Overall, this book comes highly recommended as a unique resource that manages to combine key practical clinical information with the really useful sort of training information that many will be keen to read. (Ed Fitzgerald MRCS, Specialist Registrar,