The Department of Surgery at CGH is accredited for training of house officers, medical officers in Basic Specialty Training (BST) and registrars in Advanced Specialty Training (AST) in General Surgery.

TRAINING PROGRAMME

The Department of Surgery has trained consultant general surgeons with special interests in several fields of surgical sub-specialties. The department is organized into 5 separate teams:

• Breast Surgery
• Hepato-billliary Surgery
• Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Surgery
• Head & Neck Surgery
• Colorectal Surgery
• Vascular Surgery

Lectures covering various topics in general surgery are held on Monday mornings. Surgical staff rounds are conducted on Tuesday and Friday mornings, during which Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) & High Dependency Area (HDA) patients are presented, their X-rays reviewed and management discussed. Morbidity and Mortality rounds, Preoperative rounds and unit meetings take place every Wednesday and journal club is held every Thursday morning.

Other Programs:

• Tumor Board on first Monday of each month.
• X-ray conference on third Monday of each month.
• Monthly Research Meeting to present the updates on research projects.
• Monthly Combined General Surgery Meetings involving all general surgical departments from all restructured hospitals in Singapore.

ACCREDITATION

The department is accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and General Surgery Specialist Training Committee, Academy of Medicine (Singapore) for BST & AST training.

BASIC SPECIALITY TRAINING (BST)

Basic trainees are involved in daily ward rounds, Specialist Outpatient Clinic (SOC), surgical operations in the Major Operating Theatre (OT) and ambulatory surgery in the day surgery OT. They are expected to do residential night duties to attend to surgical admissions. They are also assigned research projects. Basic trainees will also supervise the House Officers (HO) in their duties.

At the end of the 2-year BST training, the trainee would be eligible to sit for the final MRCS (Edinburgh) for Surgery in General or the MRCS (Glasgow). At the end of the 3-year BST training the trainee will be able to sit for the M.Med (Surgery). Trainees are interviewed at the beginning and the end of their posting to assist them to develop their own training objectives and to hear their concerns. The process will also highlight any inadequacies that need improvement to the trainee.

ADVANCED SPECIALITY TRAINING (AST)

Tutorials on Saturday mornings are held with AST trainees and are conducted by the consultants. There are ample hands-on opportunities in the operating theatres. As the trainees are rotated through the various surgical teams, the trainee can expect to be supervised through a variety of surgical procedures.

Advance trainees are involved in daily ward rounds, SOC, surgery in major and day surgery theatres. They are assigned research projects and will work towards publication in a peer-reviewed journal. They will do residential night duties, assess emergency surgical patients, and perform emergency operations. They have to supervise basic trainees and HOs.

Advance trainees must be trained in both diagnostic and therapeutic upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy, major surgical operations and laparoscopic surgery.

A minimum of 6 months out of the three-year AST period must be completed in another hospital’s surgical department. At the end of the three-year AST, the trainee is eligible to sit for the exit examination for General Surgery jointly organized by the STC and RCSE Edinburgh.

WELFARE & FACILITIES FOR JUNIOR DOCTORS
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