Photo of the week: Monash University Surgery Interest Group

Monash University Surgery Interest Group participants, at a 2012 workshop

Professor Frank Rosenfeldt has coordinated surgery workshops for interested MBBS students for a number of years. In 2012, the faculty photographer attended for the first time, and took some wonderful photos, now shared via CCS Monash's Google+ photo gallery. See the associated report below. For more information about Surgery education, see www.med.monash.edu/surgery/alfred.

The Monash University Surgical Interest Group hosted a Alfred Surgical Skills Masterclass at the Australian Centre for Health Innovation, Alfred Hospital in August 2012. The annual event hosted fifty students, and was aimed at promoting a career in surgery by providing them with the opportunity to practice various surgical skills under the guidance of experienced surgeons and surgical registrars.

The event commenced with a brief welcome by Prof Franklin Rosenfeldt, followed by an overview of suturing techniques, presented by Prof Michael Leung. Groups of ten to twenty students then rotated through each skill station. Students developed and refined their skills in suturing and hand-tying, revised methods of surgical scrubbing, and tried their hand at manoeuvring laparoscopic simulators. The latter was quite popular among students, setting them the challenging task of using laparoscopic instruments to stack bolts and manipulate elastic bands.

MUSIG greatly appreciates the assistance of Prof Franklin Rosenfeldt along with Prof Jeffrey Rosenfeld, Prof Michael Leung, Prof Peter Hwang and Mr Peter Evans, and the surgical registrars and hospital staff who volunteered their time to supervise and teach students at the workshop, and without whom the event would not have been a success. MUSIG also acknowledges the contribution of Melinda Phang, a representative from Johnson & Johnson, for generously providing the laparoscopic simulators used at the event. MUSIG is particularly grateful to the Alfred Hospital for its continual support since 2009, and hopes to continue this relationship for many years to come.

The Monash University Surgical Interest Group (MUSIG) is a student-run organisation, founded in 2009 to promote surgery as a future vocation among medical students. MUSIG holds numerous annual events, including practical, hands-on workshops and information nights about how to best pursue a career in surgery.