I've splashed out on many courses and the exams in the last two years. It makes me wonder if it really does make any real impact on my training - I think not.
£620 Basic Surgical Skills Course
£460 MRCS Part A
£894 MRCS Part B
£600 CCrISP Course
£700 ATLS
This already mounts to £3274 - Equivalent to about 6 weeks full pay. Exams I have no problem paying for, they are our badge of honor and rite of passage entitling us to discard our privelaged "Dr" title and henceforth pedastooled as "Mr". Additionally because every industry has exams one must complete to progress their career.
The courses, however, I've attended and see as a conflict of interest. Every core trainee will I hope, have learnt how to tie knots and hold instruments - if not, they need to consider the GP route or be summoned to the scrub room with 2/0 Ethilon until they can tie a 30cm layered surgeons square-reef knot off the door handle (let's face it, that's how we all learnt at home!) What advantage does BSS offer when I've learnt to anastomose porcine bowel and carried out porcine lap choles in medical school??
CCrISP course should be targeted for FY1s if anything.
Bottom line, these courses shouldn't be mandatory when they are of little use to us except to tick the box at ARCP. Perhaps others will disagree - feel free to comment.
