Accredited courses

THD Slide FAST for Anolift is a virtual and online course dedicated to the in-depth study of the THD Doppler surgical technique for the minimally invasive treatment of haemorrhoidal disease. During the course, the cornerstones of the THD Doppler method are reiterated: arterial overflow reduction and prolapse correction.

The prolapse correction is proposed using the THD Slide device in combination with a self-locking suture; their joint use allows the realisation of the mucopexy already described in the literature with the term "Anolift". The course is aimed at Consultant Surgeons, Senior Surgical Trainees and the wider surgical support team.

Initially accredited February 2012. Accredited until January 2025.

https://www.thdlab.co.uk/

The course is focused on the assessment and management of hand trauma and hand trauma surgical skills using fresh frozen cadavers, including soft tissue reconstruction using local flaps, tendon repair using common techniques, as well as fracture reduction and fixation using k wires, screws and plates.

The course is aimed at trainee surgeons in plastic surgery and orthopaedic surgery.

Initially accredited December 2014. Accredited until June 2024.

This is a six-day preparatory course for the FRCS (Tr&Orth) exam. It looks at examination techniques, improving core orthopaedic knowledge, clinical examination skills, and practical viva sessions with live feedback.

The target audience is primarily senior orthopaedic trainees preparing to sit the FRCS (Tr&Orth) exam. The providers recommend that candidates should ideally be within one year of sitting the exam.

Initially accredited April 2016. Accredited until March 2026.

This three-day surgical research training event is run by the Bristol, Oxford and Aberdeen Surgical Trials Units for foundation, core, and specialist trainees of all surgical specialties. The course takes place once a year, alternating between the venues. Students work collaboratively to learn how to design and conduct RCTs in surgery that answer research questions of relevance to surgeons, patients, and the NHS.

Initially accredited June 2017. Accredited until June 2027.

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/centres/surgical-research/education/courses/ 

This interactive two-day course focuses on preparing delegates for the viva (oral) component of the FRCS (Orth) examination in a friendly atmosphere. Co-directed by Jeh Mahaluxmivala the course runs annually at the Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London. Delegates work through a range of techniques to improve both oral skills and orthopaedic examination skills.

Initially accredited December 2018. Accredited until December 2024.

This is a multi-disciplinary and multi-professional course run at Queen's Hospital in Romford which is aimed at primary care, extended surgical care members and ED trainees.

The course is usually based on six stations and integrated with the Practical Skills Day for foundation trainees. The stations usually include discussions regarding types of sutures, knots, suturing techniques, excision of cysts, basic laparoscopic skills, aspiration of joints and injections of joints. In addition, orthopaedic colleagues provide a station for joint injection/aspiration and management of soft tissue and skeletal trauma in ED and the community.

Initially accredited January 2019. Accredited until December 2024.

Clubfoot Training Level 1: Principles and Practice of Ponseti Treatment 

The course offers an introduction to the core concepts and techniques of the Ponseti method in a non-complex, idiopathic case of clubfoot in a child under two.

It provides hands-on practice in clubfoot manipulation, Pirani scoring, casting, and bracing on training models and patients (where appropriate). It supports learners in identifying when treatment is or is not progressing well, and to plan treatment or another course of action accordingly.

Clubfoot Training Level 2: Advanced Clubfoot Management 

The Level 2 course builds on Level 1 by providing a review of Ponseti treatment in infants with idiopathic clubfoot, as well as advanced knowledge on kinematic coupling in clubfoot treatment, the evidence base for it, and advanced hands-on techniques. Challenging cases are also covered, including atypical clubfoot, recurrent clubfoot, and secondary clubfoot.

There is a discussion on working with families to gain adherence, common errors, and monitoring and improving clubfoot clinic quality. The course is aimed at experienced surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, paediatricians, physiotherapists or other AHPs working with children with clubfoot.

Initially accredited January 2019. Accredited until December 2024.

https://globalclubfoot.com/uk-training/

This course at Canterbury Christ Church University for physician associates provides a foundation of education in surgical anatomy, wound management and pain assessment and management, theatre etiquette and skills and an overview of minimally invasive surgical techniques. The course enables participants with varied experiences to choose from the following modules:

• Foundations in Basic Surgical Skills for Pas (4 days)
• Foundations in Trauma and Orthopaedics, Surgical Skills and Anatomy for Pas (3 days)
• Foundations in General Surgical Skills and Anatomy for Pas (3 days)

Initially accredited January 2019. Accredited until December 2024.

The two-day course, run annually by the British Orthopaedic Sports Trauma and Arthroscopy Association (BOSTAA) at the Expert Connect Centre in Watford, provides technical and hands-on cadaveric training on a number of different operative treatments applied in orthopaedic sports injury. It is aimed at ST6 level and above, including SAS grade and consultant orthopaedic surgeons who would like training in advanced knee soft tissue procedures including arthroscopy on cadavers.

Initially accredited March 2019. Accredited until March 2025.

http://www.bostaa.ac.uk/

The Hostile Environment Surgical Training (HEST) course is run by the David Nott Foundation for surgeons who are working in hostile environments. The course delivers surgical training to medical professionals operating in austere conditions and conflict zones. It covers all areas of surgery for injuries which could be expected due to conflict or natural disasters, enabling surgeons, regardless of their specialisms, to better treat casualties and improve surgical outcomes.

The target audience for the five-day course is healthcare professionals living and working in conflict zones and austere environments globally, with an emphasis on the Middle East. There are no specific entry requirements for the HEST course, other than being a healthcare professional with an intermediate understanding of surgery.

Initially accredited June 2019. Accredited until June 2025.

https://davidnottfoundation.com/

This annual symposium run by The Hamlyn Centre for Medical Robotics provides a forum for international surgeons and engineers to network and share the latest developments in medical robotics, attracting world-leading scientists, engineers and clinical practitioners from a wide range of disciplines associated with medical robotics and surgery.

Initially accredited September 2019. Accredited until September 2025.

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/hamlyn-centre/

This two-day course at the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust concentrates on laparoscopic bile duct exploration.

The first day covers evidence for the practice, patient selection, surgical techniques, the ‘pitfalls’ of starting a service, and getting the right equipment. Also discussed is the management of acute presentation and integration of surgical service and ERCP. As well as lectures, live link surgery will be used for interactive discussion.

The second day is workshop-based concentrating on laparoscopic suturing, choledocoscopes and bile duct instruments and a highly recommended hands-on LCBDE wet lab model.

Initially accredited September 2019. Accredited until December 2026.

The Advanced Laparoscopic Hiatal Surgery Course is an annual two-day course run at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust that concentrates on aspects of advanced hiatal surgery that senior trainees may have limited exposure to in training and junior consultants may feel least confident within their clinical practice.

The first day is a workshop based concentrating on skills in the wet lab, laparoscopic suturing, and energy tissue dissection. The second day covers a discussion of the evidence for surgical practice, patient selection and surgical techniques. As well as lectures live link surgery is used for discussion and demonstration.

The course is aimed at Upper GI trainees (ST6 upwards) and Consultants who would like to learn or practice the competencies that are required to perform advanced hiatal surgery. 

Initially accredited December 2019. Accredited until December 2026.

SCReaM is a patient safety initiative focused on promoting healthcare worker wellbeing, as well as individual and team performance. It aims to promote an awareness of the impact of human factors, and safety culture, embed skills to improve individual and team performance and improve the ability to perform effectively even under the added stress and pressure of unexpected emergencies and other pressures faced by NHS staff. There are now refresher and virtual courses for those who have completed the initial course.

Initially accredited October 2019. Accredited until September 2025.

https://www.medisimulation.org/scream

This one-day Aortic Isthmus Symposium is run by the Royal Papworth Professional Development team, which is part of The Royal Papworth NHS Trust and is primarily aimed at increasing knowledge around interventions involving the aorta. The symposium is primarily aimed at surgeons within cardiac and vascular surgery – both trained and still in training.

It aims for delegates to understand the natural history of an aortic aneurysm within the chest and understand the outcomes of the NIHR national observational study of interventions for arch and descending thoracic aortic disorders.  

Initially accredited November 2022. Accredited until November 2025.

This one-day course focuses on providing participants with the knowledge necessary to make safe evaluations of trauma radiographs and minimise the chances of missing fractures. The course is aimed at junior doctors, early middle grades, trauma nurse practitioners and surgical care practitioners involved in caring for patients presenting with fractures.

Initially accredited March 2020. Accredited until March 2027.

This course is designed for medical officers, general practitioners, orthopaedic nursing staff, casualty staff, POP technicians and anyone else involved in the care and treatment of orthopaedic patients. A team of orthopaedic surgeons at Port Shepstone Hospital developed the course.

It aims to enhance basic orthopaedic skills in medically trained staff, improve patient care, and educate primary care staff on when to refer patients.

Initially accredited June 2021. Accredited until June 2027. 

https://www.coastalorthopaedics.co.za/

This online course aims to support learners in improving diagnostic accuracy in prostate cancer, enabling targeted prostate biopsy and reducing unnecessary prostate biopsy through the correct diagnosis of a negative MRI.

Initially accredited January 2019. Accredited until January 2025.

https://www.mripro.io/

This course facilitates the understanding of the current evidence for robotic upper GI surgery and common pitfalls in general and selected UGI robotic procedures. It provides hands-on (cadaveric) console and table-side exposure to robotic upper GI surgery, and an introduction to the training pathway to becoming an independent robotic UGI surgeon.

The course is aimed at Peri-CCT upper GI trainees and upper GI consultants.

Initially accredited September 2022. Accredited until September 2025.

This is a one-day face-to-face practical course (with a three-hour mandatory online pre-course learning) aimed at Core Surgical Trainees, Surgical Trainees ST3- ST8, new consultants, and surgical fellows. There are a maximum of 10 participants on each course, and places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

The course runs four times a year and is open to local, national and international delegates. It does not require any previous robotics experience or an expectation that the skills learned will be used in the foreseeable future. The course costs £450. 

The purpose is to teach the basic, core surgical and technical skills at the start of a surgeon's training in robotic surgery by delivering the basic principles and techniques in robotic surgery.

Learning aims:

• To provide comprehensive exposure to the basic principles of robotic surgery and the technical skills needed to assist.
• To introduce the surgical trainees to safe surgical practice using the robotic system within a controlled workshop environment.
• To teach surgical trainees the basic principles of robotic surgery.
• To experience hands-on robotic exercises and simulation.
• To experience hands-on robotic abdominal surgery on a model.

Learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate competency of controls and functions of the Da Vinci robotic platform.
• Understand the principles behind docking and port placements.
• Perform emergency undocking.
• Communicate with the console surgeon and safely handle the instruments.
• Demonstrate the required level of skills for safe tissue handling, dissection, and suturing using endo wrist instruments.
• Demonstrate the necessary level of skills to perform basic exercises on the robotic console.

Initially accredited December 2023. Accredited until December 2026.

This is a two-day hands-on course that acts as a structured introduction to robotic surgery for registrars in General Surgery. It is aimed at General Surgery trainees, middle-grade surgical doctors and junior consultants. Entry requirements are MRCS and level 4PBA in cholecystectomy or inguinal hernia repair (depending on whether the course is cholecystectomy or inguinal hernia based). 

The first day of the course is held at Intuitive’s training centre in Oxford and focuses on familiarity with the da Vinci robot. Participation on the course is dependent on scoring 85% in the pre-course online training, which takes around 8 hours to complete on Intuitive's learning pathway. 

This part of the course provides an overview and lots of hands on learning for setting up the robots (both X and Xi) and operating the console. Day two is at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and has live operating with participant involvement in a number of cases, with delegates operating under an honorary licence and full consent from the patients.

The course costs £850 and runs three times a year with a maximum of eight candidates on each course.

Learning Aims

• To gain an understanding in the essential hardware components of robotic surgery
• To understand the current industry training pathway in place for robotic surgery
• To gain proficiency in draping, docking/undocking and instrument exchange
• To gain an understanding of the rationale behind effective port placement for specific general surgical procedures
• To gain experience on problem solving in the context of arm/instrument clashes
• To gain proficiency in emergency undocking
• To gain a greater understanding and experience in bed-side assistance
• To gain experience in console surgery both in the context of simulation and live surgery
• To get an overview of the current evidence for robotic surgery in specific general surgical procedures (course specific)
  
  

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course, candidates should be able to:

• Explain the rationale for and technical aspects of robotic surgery to their patient
• Drape, dock and undock the da Vinci robotic system safely
• Perform bed-side surgery safely
• Build on their simulation experience to gain the required full 30 hour training in line with the Intuitive training pathway

Initially accredited December 2023. Accredited until December 2026.

The surgical management of obesity and metabolic disease remains an integral part of the intercollegiate surgical curriculum. Despite this, a formalised training pathway for bariatrics does not exist and dedicated surgical skills training are limited to a number of regional centres. Cadaveric dissection is an excellent means of bridging this training gap as it offers surgical trainees the opportunity to practice, refine and develop their operative skills within a safe but high-fidelity environment. Such skills training is currently limited in the UK.

This two-day cadaveric course has been designed in line with the intercollegiate general surgical curriculum specifically for senior surgical trainees with an interest in bariatric and benign upper gastrointestinal surgery. This intensive training course aims to cover the key facets of the bariatric surgical care pathway through a series of seminars and surgical training sessions. Delegates receive hands-on laparoscopic skills training within a wet lab and are guided through each of the core bariatric operations by leaders in the field.

Target Audience: 

1. Senior Surgical Trainees (ST5+) or equivalent, fellows, or consultants with an interest in bariatric/metabolic surgery
2. Should be proficient in laparoscopic surgery, including laparoscopic suturing

Learning Aims: 

• Provide delegates with an overview of all key facets of the bariatric surgical care pathway through a series of seminars and surgical training sessions
• Enable delegates to develop their laparoscopic surgical skills relevant to commonly performed bariatric operations, including gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and adjustable gastric band
• Teach delegates about common complications following bariatric surgery and enable them to develop their surgical skills in dealing with these complications via a laparoscopic approach

Learning outcomes: 

• To know the therapeutic options available for patients with obesity

• To know the indications for surgery in patients with obesity

• To understand the referral pathway for bariatric surgery in the United Kingdom

• To understand the perioperative management of patients undergoing metabolic surgery

• To gain safe laparoscopic access in a patient with obesity

• To perform gastric band placement, removal and adjustment

• To perform a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy

• To perform a laparoscopic gastric bypass

• To learn to manage common bariatric complications via a laparoscopic approach

• To have an understanding of the indications and options for revisional bariatric surgery

The Advanced Urinary Catheterisation Academy’s Advanced Male Urethral Catheterisation (AMUC) Course looks to expand already existing skills, enabling junior doctors and surgical trainees to manage difficult catheterisation in the hospital setting.

The one-day course educates doctors regarding the risk of urethral trauma, allows surgical trainees to identify when catheterisation may be difficult and understand how to avoid causing harm, and highlights the potential problems with catheterising men with large prostates.

The course is open to junior doctors, surgical trainees, advanced nurse practitioners and healthcare professionals with prior experience in basic male urethral catheterisation.  It is delivered through trainer demonstration and delegate practice, with assessment including an observed procedure.

Initially accredited June 2023. Accredited until June 2026.

https://auca.arlo.co/w/

The Head & Neck Cancer Foundation’s Headstart – Sentinel Node Biopsy (SNB) training course is an online programme, aimed at supporting multi-disciplinary teams setting up a new SNB service for patients with oral cancer.

Content includes practical aspects of nuclear medicine, nuclear medicine imaging for sentinel nodes, and gamma probes for H&N SLNB.  It is delivered via pre-recorded lectures and demonstration videos.  A library of resources including key papers, patient information sheets, and protocols are also made available to delegates.  Assessment is online MCQs.

Initially accredited June 2023. Accredited until June 2026.

https://hncf.org.uk/oncology

This is a one-day course run by Wexham Park Hospital at their Postgraduate Medical Centre. It is designed to provide junior urologists and all colleagues working in medical and surgical departments with essential knowledge and hands-on training to deliver care for urology patients in emergency or urgent care situations.

Delegates get a 50-page booklet of pre-course reading, which will also aid delegates post-course around urine retention, haematuria, injuries to the urinal tract, injuries to the kidney, injuries to the ureter, urolithiasis, obstructive uropathy and more. 

The course runs two to four times a year and is a mixture of lectures and hands-on training with simulation models.

Learning Aims

• Teaching a standardised way of managing emergency urology patients, including sharing hands-on tips and tricks
• Explaining and correcting some concepts in treating emergency urology patients
• To encourage candidates from different specialties to interact in discussions to realise the different perspectives of different specialties dealing with the same patient

Learning Outcomes

• Improved knowledge of emergency urology topics
• Improved confidence in performing simple manoeuvres to initiate management of emergency urology cases

Initially accredited February 2024. Accredited until February 2027.