Two years after opening its doors, our Academy of Surgery has successfully prepared its first group of junior doctors with the skills needed to enter their higher level surgical training posts.

These posts are very competitive and completion of core skills does not guarantee higher level surgical training. However, doctors who trained with The Academy of Surgery successfully gained the experience and requirements they needed to progress their careers.

The academy was established in 2018 and is led by Veeru Shatkar, our consultant and general surgery lead. He created stand-alone hospital based posts and a training scheme with rotations that are educationally equivalent to the national level training programme.

The Academy of Surgery initially advertised six training posts but due to the huge interest, this was vastly increased with 26 junior doctors from more than 12 countries, including Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Greece, forming its first group.

Veeru said: “As a national surgical trainer I know how hard it is to get to the next stage in the surgical field. It is wonderful to see our doctors get the higher training posts they wanted. They are going to make a massive contribution the NHS during a time when it needs it the most – I am so proud of them.”

Arshad Siddiqui (pictured), a graduate of the Academy of Surgery said: “The Academy of Surgery gave me the opportunity to rotate through different surgical fields. I believe this helped me improve my clinical skills, knowledge and understanding of the requirements to enter the surgical training program.

“High quality teaching and supportive team members provided me with the necessary support I needed to develop.

“Queen’s was the first hospital I worked at in the UK. It provided a base for me so that I could progress further and for that I will always be thankful to everyone there.”

Following the success of the first group of trainee surgeons, a new group will begin the course in October.

Recruitment is still taking place, so if you have any questions or would like to find out more about joining the Academy of Surgery, email Veeru or Patricia Murphy.