skills course first for RCSEd
In June, the College hosted a free basic surgical skills course for junior doctors affected by the brain drain in Iraq
"Following the collapse of the previous regime, Iraq’s health service suffered a major breakdown... leaving junior doctors with little or no opportunities for proper training"
The idea to hold a basic surgical skills (BSS) course for Iraqi junior doctors came soon after the 2003 war. Following the collapse of the previous regime, Iraq’s health service suffered a major breakdown and there was a brain drain of senior doctors, leaving junior doctors with little or no opportunities for proper training.
It was nearly three years ago when I approached David Smith, RCSEd’s Convener of BSS courses, to explore the possibility of holding a course in Baghdad. David was very supportive and gave his approval, but the security situation was so dire that it was not considered safe to do so. We decided to look for alternative options and, following a few telephone calls and emails, Istanbul was chosen as a suitable city.
This was to be the first RCSEd BSS course in Istanbul, and planning it took a while because of logistical problems. However, these were resolved by the diligent and thorough work of Gordon Hogg, from the Cuschieri Skills Centre in Dundee. Without doubt, Gordon was the backbone of the course and without him the course would have not been possible.
What distinguished this course from regular courses held by the RCSEd was the use of synthetic materials instead of animal parts. This was more expensive, but was considered necessary for practical reasons. This required a lot of work from Gordon who, after a few months and more than 300 emails, managed to secure the necessary course materials and recruit the help of Johnson and Johnson and Ethicon in the Middle East, as well as Storz in Istanbul, whose help and support are very much appreciated.
Then there was the issue of funding – many of the participants could not afford the course fees and transport costs. We are grateful for the Human Relief Foundation (HRF), a UK-based charity, who raised the funds to cover all course costs. The charity staff also organised hotel, transport and meals for both the faculty and the participants. At the end of the course, they also organised a sightseeing trip of Istanbul and I, on behalf of the College, would like to thank them for their hard work and generous hospitality.
I would also like to thank the faculty, whose expert help was paramount in running the course smoothly. Roop Tandon (Orthopaedic Surgeon), Asal Izzidien (General and Paediatric Surgeon) and Afshin Alijani (Laparoscopic Surgeon), were excellent in their approach and teaching style.
The course ran over two and a half days and covered standard topics normally done at all BSS courses. The 25 participants found the course extremely useful and enjoyable, albeit they thought it was rather short.
Overall, the course was a great success and the feedback from participants reflected their satisfaction with the contents, teaching, venue and organisation. They look forward to similar courses in the future.
Many thanks to everyone who made this course a huge success and we look forward to repeating it.
Haytham Al-Khaffaf
Consultant General and Vascular Surgeon, East Lancashire NHS Hospitals Trust
alkhaffaf@hotmail.com