As a surgical trainee, it can sometimes feel as though there is an endless list of things you should be doing.
There is the day job, on-calls, operating, clinics and service pressures. Then there is the training outside of work: portfolio, courses, conferences, research, teaching, exams, applications, presentations and keeping up with an ever-growing list of expectations for career progression.
I think most trainees recognise that feeling. There is a constant pressure to advance, achieve more and make the most of every opportunity. At the same time, there are more trainee organisations than ever providing educational events, webinars and resources. This is a positive thing, but it can also create duplication, competing events and another set of emails for trainees to keep up with.
As President of the Moynihan Academy, I have been thinking a lot about how we can respond to this. For me, one of the answers is simple: collaboration.
The Moynihan Academy aims to support trainees with education, research and opportunities to develop throughout their surgical careers. We have a busy programme planned for the coming months, but importantly, much of it is being delivered with other trainee organisations rather than alongside them.
Working together
On 7th September, we will be holding our Research Day in collaboration with the Dukes Club, ASiT and the Roux Group. Bringing these organisations together means that trainees from different surgical backgrounds can share ideas, hear about different approaches to research and, hopefully, develop collaborations that continue long after the meeting itself.
Our Tripartite Meeting will follow 21st - 22nd October, bringing together the Moynihan Academy, the Dukes Club and the ALRSGBI Academy for two days of education. The programme combines a day of cadaveric teaching with a day of lectures, giving trainees the opportunity to develop both practical and theoretical knowledge in one meeting. We’d also like to thank our industry partners Arthrex for hosting this event at their hub in Solihull.
We are continuing our monthly webinar programme with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The next session will cover colorectal surgery on 21st September. This collaboration allows us to bring high-quality educational content to trainees without requiring them to travel or take additional time away from work.
And collaboration does not mean that the Moynihan Academy is losing its own identity or programme. We have plenty planned specifically for our members too.
Our next Moynihan Academy Masterclass will take place on 13th November in London. We’re planning a different spin this year; discussing social media in surgery, understanding your payslip, medicolegal pitfalls and using AI in clinical practice. It promises to be a very interesting programme so book your study leave now!
We are also developing a programme of support for October focused on CT1 and ST3 applications and interviews. These are areas where trainees often tell us they would value practical, honest advice from people who have recently been through the process themselves.
More isn't always better
We all want to provide more for surgical trainees. More teaching, more courses, more research opportunities, more mentorship and more support. But more is not necessarily better if it means asking trainees to find more time in already busy lives.
There are also practical challenges. Funding for educational events is not limitless, and industry support is becoming increasingly difficult to secure. If we want to continue providing high-quality education while keeping events free or affordable for trainees, working together makes sense.
Rather than several organisations separately trying to deliver similar programmes, there is an opportunity to share expertise, resources, speakers and ideas. We can reduce duplication while creating bigger and better opportunities.
I also think there is something particularly valuable about collaboration between trainee organisations. We all represent slightly different groups, have different experiences and bring different perspectives, but ultimately our goal is the same: to improve surgical training and support the next generation of surgeons.
A busy few months ahead
The Moynihan Academy was established to support surgical trainees, and I think we can do that best when we work with others rather than trying to do it all ourselves.
Surgical training is demanding enough already. Our job as trainee organisations should be to make it easier for trainees to access good education and opportunities, not to add to the noise.
So, as we head into the autumn, I am looking forward to doing more, but doing it together.
Miss Gita Lingam
President, The Moynihan Academy
