Surgical Registrar Conference at UKZN

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The 32^nd Surgical Registrar Conference hosted by the South African Society of Surgeons in Training (SASSIT) and UKZN’s Department of Surgery, was held at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine.

The Conference was followed by the Surgical Research Society (SRS) Congress.

The first part of the Registrar Conference focused on the FCS (SA) examination with the main point of discussion on the first day being the paper titled: “The Role of the MMed and Future Registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)” presented by Professor Delawir Kahn, HOD of Surgery at the University of Cape Town.

Khan explained the HPCSA’s recommendation made in 2010 for Registrars to complete a health component research paper in order to register with the statutory body.

‘To register with the HPCSA, one has to complete a research paper in order to become a specialist. The College requires a research contribution as well, as it has now been made compulsory. In order to fulfil the requirement to do research, one can do two things: conduct research that can change the world or do research for the sake of the requirement.’

Kahn provided essential recommendations for Registrars about research, discussing research topics and how to go about conducting research.

Another focal point was a talk about the Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of South Africa, FCS (SA) Examinations, which was presented by Professor Bhugsy Singh, the Deputy Head of the Department of Surgery at UKZN.

Singh spoke about the importance of the examination and provided comprehensive guidelines and exam preparation, with various current College examiners having been requested to participate. This included tips on the written examination, clinical cases and operative techniques.

There were about 35 presentations covering a wide array of surgery during the two-day Conference.

The prize for the Best Commentator went to Dr Dirk Viljoen of the University of the Free State, who was the commentator for Dr Keno Mentor’s presentation: “A Modern Approach to Breast Cancer”.

The Best Speaker prize was awarded to Dr Shelley Loots of Stellenbosch University for her presentation on: “Common Clinical Pictures – Atypical Presenting Syndromes - a Primer for the Surgeon”.

The SASSIT iPad winner for Best Presentation was awarded to Dr Linda Kumirayi of the University of Zimbabwe for her presentation on: “Surgery in the Elderly – Changes, Risks and Complications”.

Dr Miriam Mutebi of the University of Cape Town was the lucky winner in the Investec draw, scoring an iPad mini.

-          Words and photograph by Zakia Jeewa