Hands-On and All-In at the NUMed Orthopaedic Workshop 2025
At the NUMed Orthopaedics Workshop 2025, students had a rare chance to get hands-on with real tools, gain valuable experience, and learn directly from practising orthopaedic surgeons who generously took time out of their busy schedules to guide them.
19 May 2025
Co-organised by our teaching fellows and the NUMed Surgical Society, the event was designed to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world practice, giving most of the attendees a unique opportunity to dive deeper and get truly hands-on with some of the core skills of orthopaedics.
There were four engaging, hands-on stations, each led by skilled orthopedic surgeons who provided expert insights and practical demonstrations. These stations allowed the attendees to learn directly from the professionals.
“We aimed to provide a unique and comprehensive experience, covering essential skills like Plaster of Paris application, closed manual reduction, traction, and hands-on experience in implant handling. While students may have encountered these topics during medical school, many had not yet had the opportunity to practise them directly,” shared the event lead, Dr Pavitraa A/P Annandan.
Our very own Dr Myat Myo Naing, Orthopaedic Surgeon, kicked things off at the first station, demonstrating the proper techniques for Plaster of Paris Backslab Application, including preparation, padding, molding, and finishing. Here, students were able to practise below-elbow backslab techniques on each other.
At the second station, Dr Myat continued the momentum with a Closed Manual Reduction and Introduction to Orthosis Brace session, during which he not only shared appropriate techniques using simulation arms and models but also introduced commonly used orthopaedic braces and orthoses.
Guided by our Associate Professor Dr Muhammad Iftikhar Hanif, Orthopaedic Surgeon, the third station comprised a hands-on Traction (Skin and Skeletal) session, involving the direct application of bandages onto the skin to exert a pulling force using weights and pulleys. Students assembled skin traction kits on each other, while the skeletal traction was demonstrated using skeletal models.
The fourth station was led by Dr Ashwini Sood, Orthopaedic Surgeon from Clinical School Johor Bahru, Monash University Malaysia, who gave students a sound understanding of the Introduction to Basic Implants and Hands-on Experience in Plate Fixation. He shared key anatomical landmarks and safe approaches for the insertion of common orthopaedic implants. Subsequently, students had the rare opportunity to practise drilling screws into synthetic bones using electric drills.
Throughout the workshop, the students were encouraged to ask questions, clarify doubts, and refine their techniques under the expert guidance of the experienced specialists.
“It was a key highlight to witness their enthusiasm, energy, and growing confidence as the day progressed, especially as the students from the two universities connected, sharing experiences and actively engaging in hands-on learning together,” enthused Dr Pavitraa.
She expressed hope that the workshop gave them a more realistic understanding of what the field of orthopaedics entails and sparked their interest in pursuing it further.
“We hope that it forms a stepping stone to many more orthopaedics workshops at NUMed. We also look forward to more inter-university collaborations to create diverse and valuable learning opportunities for students and inspire greater interest in orthopaedics,” she added.
A big thank you to everybody who made the workshop a success! These include our amazing teaching fellows, Dr Pavitraa, Dr Arvin Thurairaj, Dr Lee Wan Xuen, and Dr Daniel Chiam and NUMed Surgical Society committee members for their hard work in organising the event; and NUMed Student Association and Newcastle University Student Disbursement Fund Committee for their generous support and funding; as well as our specialist facilitators for sharing their expertise and guidance. Our gratitude also goes out to the Clinical School Johor Bahru, Monash University Malaysia; Hospital Sultan Ismail; and Hospital Sultanah Aminah for kindly loaning us implants and equipment for free.
