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Operative Surgical Skills Programme

The Operative Surgical Skills Programme is based on the Syllabus for Operative Surgery, which has been drawn up by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. 

The programme is designed to help trainees to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to become competent technical surgeons.  This is not intended to replace training in the operating theatre but rather is complementary to practical workplace experience.  The programme aims to allow Surgical Trainees to become proficient in key surgical techniques and procedures in a skills laboratory setting so that their time in the operating theatre can be put to better, more productive and safer use.

The Operative Surgical Skills Programme has been spread across six years.  Each year contains six modules and each module is intended to be of one day’s duration.  Trainees will take the modules in sequence, doing one module at a time, at intervals of approximately 7 – 8 weeks. 

The Operative Surgical Skills Programme aims to re-establish traditional core values in surgical practice. Great emphasis will be placed on correct theatre etiquette and on familiarity with surgical instruments, suture materials and stapling devices. Likewise, great emphasis will be placed on good surgical technique, including correct knot tying, sound suturing and proficient dissections. Trainees will also be taught the importance of good haemostasis and good principles of asepsis.  A strong emphasis will be placed on an appreciation of the medico legal aspects of surgical practice, with particular emphasis on informed consent and proper operation notes and records.

Each module (i.e. each training day) will have the following features:

 
An important component of each module will be small group discussion between surgical skills tutors and trainees.  For this reason, there will be a high tutor to trainee ratio and each trainee should receive individual attention.  Each module will have practical components in which the trainees learn a particular skill or technique and there will be an element of assessment of the trainees during each term.

There will be a strong emphasis on surgical anatomy and there will be practical anatomy demonstrations as an integral part of each module.

Trainees will be given training in the management of crises during operative procedures and in the early recognition of complications.  The programme will also expose trainees to new technology in surgery and give them an understanding of the limits and dangers of new technology.

When trainees have reached a satisfactory level of proficiency in techniques and procedures in the skills laboratory, they will then be encouraged to perform these techniques and procedures under supervision in the operating theatre (Supervised Structured Assessment of Operative Performance). Having demonstrated basic competence in the workplace they will then be encouraged to accumulate experience by repeated performance of procedures which will be documented in their logbooks and consolidation sheets.

In conclusion,  the Operative Surgical Skills Programme aims to improve the technical skills and procedural ability of surgical trainees in a non critical environment so that they reach a level of proficiency which will allow them to make better and more efficient use of  operating theatre training and promote safer surgery with better surgical outcomes (Proficiency Based Progression).

Participation on the Operative Surgical Skills Programme is currently limited to trainees registered on the RCSI National Basic Surgical Training Programme, Irish Surgical Residency Programme and Higher Surgical Training Programme.

For further information please contact the Surgical Training Office at surgicaltraining@rcsi.ie

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