The Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT) is an independent professional organisation with the stated aim of promoting excellence in surgical training. It represents over 2,700 surgical trainees from all ten surgical specialities at both regional and national levels in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
ASiT was founded in 1976 as a forum for Senior Registrars to meet socially and discuss issues around training. [1] It became a registered charity. [2] ASiT is independent of the Surgical Royal Colleges, and is run by trainees, for trainees. ASiT collects input from both training organisations and the trainees, and works to improve communications between these groups whilst promoting excellence in surgical training. The organisation publishes recommendations for developing and improving surgical training, including the role of simulation. [3] [4]
The organisation is also vocal in the political sphere, publishing position statements and sitting on key panels and working groups for issues such as the European Working Time Directive, [5] the Shape of Training Review [6] and the reform of Health Education England. [7] ASiT has a voice on the Joint Committee on Surgical Training, the Royal College of Surgeons of England Council, British Medical Association Junior Doctors Committee, and Academy of Royal Medical Colleges Trainee Doctors Group, in addition to many other Department of Health, NHS groups and specialist advisory committees. Through this, ASiT aims to improve the delivery of UK surgical training, and protect the interests and wellbeing of UK surgical trainees.
ASiT organises an annual three-day international conference for doctors in surgical training with a range of pre-conference educational courses. Hosting nearly 800 delegates from the UK and abroad, it is an opportunity to discuss surgical training and present current research. Accepted abstracts are published in Elsevier's International Journal of Surgery. A conference was held in Belfast in March 2019. [8]
Research prizes awarded include the ASiT Medal, and the SARS/ASIT Academic & Research Surgery Prize, in addition to numerous surgical specialty prizes. The ASiT Lecture is presented by a keynote speaker at the annual conference, and the Charity Gala Dinner party is the social focus for the weekend, raising money for medical charities.
The ASiT Silver Scalpel Award has been recognising excellence in surgical training since 2000, and is funded by Swann Morton. It is awarded annually to inspirational trainers who have scored highly across five categories: leadership, resourcefulness, training and development, professionalism, and communication. [9]
ASiT's 'Foundation Skills in Surgery' Course has been run throughout the UK and Ireland for several years, and teaches medical students and junior doctors the fundamental techniques required in surgery such as safe surgical practice, sterile technique, knot tying and suturing. From 2014, ASiT has begun delivering the course in international resource-poor settings ultimately aiming to develop sustainable, locally delivered training packages that can run independently of ASiT. The first teaching course was delivered in September 2014 in Kigali, Rwanda. [10] The initiative has been supported by the Royal College of Surgeons in London and Glasgow.
General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland. They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft tissue, trauma, peripheral artery disease and hernias and perform endoscopic as such as gastroscopy, colonoscopy and laparoscopic procedures.
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The college is located at Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It publishes multiple medical journals including the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Faculty Dental Journal, and the Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (MRCS) is a postgraduate diploma for surgeons in the UK and Ireland. Obtaining this qualification allows a doctor to become a member of one of the four surgical colleges in the UK and Ireland, namely the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. The examination, currently organised on an intercollegiate basis, is required to enter higher surgical training in one of the Royal colleges. Thus today's MRCS has replaced the former MRCS(Eng), MRCS(Ed), MRCS(Glas), and MRCS(I).
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a surgical specialty focusing on reconstructive surgery of the face, facial trauma surgery, the oral cavity, head and neck, mouth, and jaws, as well as facial cosmetic surgery/facial plastic surgery including cleft lip and cleft palate surgery.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has six active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located on Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, within the Surgeons' Hall, designed by William Henry Playfair, and adjoining buildings. The main campus includes a skills laboratory, the Surgeons' Hall Museums, a medical and surgical library, and a hotel. A second office was opened in Birmingham (UK) in 2014 and an international office opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2018.
Medical education in the United Kingdom includes educational activities involved in the education and training of medical doctors in the United Kingdom, from entry-level training through to continuing education of qualified specialists. A typical outline of the medical education pathway is presented here. However training schemes vary in different pathways may be available.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and New Zealand.
The Association of Cardiothoracic Surgical Assistants (ACSA) is a professional body in the United Kingdom that ACSA represents a body of non-medical practitioners working in cardiothoracic surgery, performing a range of skilled interventions. It was formed in 1997.
Raymond Maurice Kirk, better known as Jerry Kirk, was a British surgeon and academic. He was Professor of Surgery at University College London and Honorary Consulting Surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead NW3.
The Association for Academic Surgery is the world's largest organization dedicated exclusively to the promotion of surgical research. It has about 3,000 active and senior members. Its annual meeting is the association's main forum to communicate scientific progress in surgery. Until 2005, the association held its own meetings. These meetings were hosted by surgical university departments in the United States. In 2006, the organization merged its annual meeting with the annual meeting of the Society of University Surgeons to form the "Academic Surgical Congress".
Charles Frederick William Illingworth was a British surgeon who specialised in gastroenterology. Along with a range of teaching and research interests, he wrote several surgical textbooks, and played a leading role in university and medical administration.
Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient (CCrISP) is a training programme for surgical doctors. The course covers the theoretical basis and practical skills required to manage critically ill surgical patients. It is managed by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The 4th edition, which reduced the duration to 2 days, was released in February 2017.
Sivapatham Vittal is an Indian surgical endocrinologist, considered by many as the Father of Surgical Endocrinology in India. The Government of India honored Vittal in 2011, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Raghu Ram Pillarisetti is an Indian surgeon, and the Founder and Director of KIMS-Ushalakshmi Center for Breast Diseases at KIMS Hospitals. Pillarisetti is the founder of Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, and Pink Connexion, a quarterly newsletter about breast healthcare.
The West African College of Surgeons is a professional organization that promotes education, training, examinations and research in surgery in Africa. The college is the first organization to organize surgical subspecialty training in the region. It awards diploma of fellowship in surgery and is one of out of two bodies that accredits institutions to train surgical residents in member countries.
Natesan Rangabashyam (1936–2013), popularly known NR, was an Indian surgical gastroenterologist and medical academic, known for his pioneering efforts in the fields of surgical gastroenterology and proctology in India. He was known to have established the department of Surgical Gastroenterology at Madras Medical College and introduced the first MCh course in Surgical Gastroenterology in India. A former honorary surgeon to the President of India, he received B. C. Roy Award, the highest Indian award in the medical category, twice. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2002, for his contributions to medical science.
Shafi Ahmed is a chief surgeon, teacher, futurist, innovator, professor and entrepreneur.
Eric S. Borgstein is a Dutch pediatric surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Malawi College of Medicine.
Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete is a Fijian politician and Member of the Parliament of Fiji who served as Minister for Health and Medical Services in the FijiFirst government from 2018 to 2022. Before entering politics Dr Waqainabete was a general surgeon in Fiji and Associate Professor of General Surgery at Fiji National University, former President of the Fiji Medical Association, President of the Pacific Island Surgeons Association, and former Chairman of Fiji Medicinal Board. He was on leave from his academic and surgical duties to partake in the 2018 elections as a candidate for the Fiji First Party.
The American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES) is a professional organization for endocrine surgeons. The organization partakes in patient care, education, and scientific investigations in the field of endocrine surgery, including training endocrine surgeons and developing practice guidelines.