DOI: 10.

1308/003588413X13643054410106

ANNUAl CONfErENCE

Association of Surgeons in Training annual conference a report

Ed fitzgerald past president of the Association of Surgeons in Training and conference organiser Ann R Coll Surg Engl (Suppl) 2013; 95: 196

On the weekend of 57 April, over 700 surgical trainees from across the Uk gathered in Manchester for the annual Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT) conference. In packed conference halls and meeting rooms, topics including simulation, improving emergency and urgent care and providing safe emergency crosscover were discussed and debated. There were also the usual opportunities to question royal college presidents and other surgical leaders, plus 13 pre-conference courses to improve surgical skills. With the upcoming publication of individual consultant outcomes from nine surgical audits and registries, there was anxiety among trainees that, as of June, training opportunities in the operating theatre could deteriorate as consultants may be discouraged from delegating more complex cases. There was also a sense of widespread uncertainty regarding the role and function of Health Education England (HEE) and Local Education and Training boards (LETbs), and how this would affect training delivery. It was taken as read that the European Working Time Regulations (EWTR) have, and continue to, impoverish surgical training.

WITH THE UpCOmING pUbLICATION OF OUTCOmES, THERE WAS ANXIETY AmONG TRAINEES THAT TRAINING OppORTUNITIES IN THEATRE COULD DETERIORATE AS CONSULTANTS mAY bE DISCOURAGED FROm DELEGATING mORE COmpLEX CASES.

Trainees resolutely accepted that coming into the operating theatre on their days off was par for the course. Yet many stressed that this sense of acceptance should not curtail efforts to reduce the impact of EWTR. Trainees and consultants must continue to push for an agreement between the social partners, and flexibility via the junior doctors and consultants contract. Trainees were encouraged to maximise all available training opportunities, and many of the speakers remarked on their pride and satisfaction at being asked to address such a large group of dedicated, patient-centred individuals who are committed to their own professional development. At the meeting Andrew beamish, Specialty Registrar in General Surgery, was elected president of ASiT for 20132014. The winner of the 2013s Silver Scalpel Award for excellence in surgical training was Clive Hepworth, Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at Queens Hospital, Essex. The next ASiT conference will be held in belfast in march 2014. For more information, please visit www.asit.org or follow @ASiTofficial on Twitter.

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