Hands-on Guide to Surgical Training (eBook)

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).

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

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, London)