INTRODUCTION: Undergraduate student conferences provide networking opportunities for students interested in exploring a speciality. The ability to meet with like-minded students, engage with senior clinicians and experience the practical side of a speciality are valuable in shaping the career trajectory of undergraduates. We report our experience of developing a national undergraduate neurosurgery conference - a combined project between the medical students of King's College London School of Medicine and the neurosurgery department at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. DESIGN: Evaluation of conference design and student feedback. METHODS: The conference was organised by medical students with support from a neurosurgical unit. Senior clinicians and trainees helped design practical workshops and a focused programme. Questionnaires were distributed before and after the conference to assess the quality of content and impact of the conference on students. RESULTS: Prior to the conference, 80.7% of respondents stated they were interested in a career in neurosurgery. After the conference the figure rose to 88.9%. The percentage of students who felt they understood what a career in neurosurgery involves increased from 38.6% to 92.1% of respondents. 39.0% of participants had no neurosurgery exposure prior to the conference. 91.9% of participants agreed or strongly agreed they would be more confident engaging with a neurosurgical department following the conference. All participants agreed (29.0%) or strongly agreed (71.0%) that they would recommend this conference to a colleague. CONCLUSIONS: Student conferences are a valuable method of increasing exposure to a career in neurosurgery. They serve a great purpose in demystifying the specialty and guiding those with an interest through the steps required to enter and progress.
INTRODUCTION: Undergraduate student conferences provide networking opportunities for students interested in exploring a speciality. The ability to meet with like-minded students, engage with senior clinicians and experience the practical side of a speciality are valuable in shaping the career trajectory of undergraduates. We report our experience of developing a national undergraduate neurosurgery conference - a combined project between the medical students of King's College London School of Medicine and the neurosurgery department at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. DESIGN: Evaluation of conference design and student feedback. METHODS: The conference was organised by medical students with support from a neurosurgical unit. Senior clinicians and trainees helped design practical workshops and a focused programme. Questionnaires were distributed before and after the conference to assess the quality of content and impact of the conference on students. RESULTS: Prior to the conference, 80.7% of respondents stated they were interested in a career in neurosurgery. After the conference the figure rose to 88.9%. The percentage of students who felt they understood what a career in neurosurgery involves increased from 38.6% to 92.1% of respondents. 39.0% of participants had no neurosurgery exposure prior to the conference. 91.9% of participants agreed or strongly agreed they would be more confident engaging with a neurosurgical department following the conference. All participants agreed (29.0%) or strongly agreed (71.0%) that they would recommend this conference to a colleague. CONCLUSIONS: Student conferences are a valuable method of increasing exposure to a career in neurosurgery. They serve a great purpose in demystifying the specialty and guiding those with an interest through the steps required to enter and progress.
Authors: Hari Venkatesh Pai; Arshan Jimmy Dadrewalla; Neil Limaye; Rohan Shankarghatta; Shammak Roy-Kundu; Brendan Guest Journal: BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med Date: 2020-08-21
Authors: Phan Q Duy; Serban Negoita; Uma V Mahajan; Nicholas S Diab; Ank Agarwal; Trisha Gupte; Manish D Paranjpe; William S Anderson Journal: Transl Neurosci Date: 2019-08-09 Impact factor: 1.757
Authors: Nicola Newall; Brandon G Smith; Oliver Burton; Aswin Chari; Angelos G Kolias; Peter J Hutchinson; Alexander Alamri; Chris Uff Journal: World Neurosurg X Date: 2021-03-31