Enhancing Students’ Surgical Skills
In a bid to help Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) students hone their proficiency in this area, the NUMed Surgical Society organised a full-day Basic Suturing Workshop on campus in mid-April 2023.
7 May 2023
A fundamental healthcare skill is suturing. In a bid to help Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) students hone their proficiency in this area, the NUMed Surgical Society organised a full-day Basic Suturing Workshop on campus in mid-April 2023.
The workshop, which was open to all Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students, was attended by approximately 75 students, along with 11 invited facilitators, including surgeons and surgical medical officers from local hospitals, and lecturers from the university, who were on hand to assist with the workshop. Aimed at providing hands-on training on the proper techniques and skills required for suturing wounds, educating participants on the different types of sutures and when to use them, and dispensing knowledge on wound healing and proper wound care, the event featured a comprehensive programme line-up, commencing with a Welcome Address by Prof. Harinarayan Radhakrishna, Dean of Clinical Affairs.
After the presentation of a token of appreciation, participants were briefed on the course overview. Subsequently, Dr. (Mr.) Tan Jih Huei, General Surgeon ofHospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Bahru, gave a talk on wound care while Dr. (Mr.) Tharveen Nair, General Surgeon of Hospital Sultan Ismail, Johor shared on surgical instruments. Next on the itinerary was an overview of suture materials and needles by Dr. (Ms.) Kalsom Abdulah, Head of Department of Surgery, Hospital Kluang, Johor.
Thereafter, participants moved on to various hands-on sessions, where they learnt about the simple interrupted suture, continuous wound suture, vertical and horizontal mattress sutures, subcuticular sutures and various knotting techniques.
“Not only were we able to learn about the basic principles of suturing and wound care, we also gained invaluable hands-on practice. I am happy to have received great feedback from all the participants. We are thrilled that we could provide this platform to all medical students, and we look forward to hosting more events in the future,” said Lau Jin Ren, one of the leads of the workshop, before going on to express his gratitude to everybody who participated in and/or contributed to the event.
NUMed Surgical Society President and co-lead of the workshop Pwi Jia Yee chimed in to thank everybody involved. “Special thanks to Ms. Kalsom, Mr. Tan, Mr. Tharveen, Dr. Yong KC, Dr. Raymond Lim, Dr. Khoo Zi Huan, Dr. Jonathan Ngo, Dr. Lee SS and Ms. June from Hospital Kluang, Hospital Sultanah Aminah and Hospital Sultan Ismail, as well as our very own Ms. Premila Nair and the NUMed Student Association for their kind support and for making this workshop a success!” she added.