New surgical skills suite a hit with New Zealand doctors

(From left) Felix Humphries, Seamus Leahy, Hector Law and Lucy Bellerby with Suranga Dassanayake in the new Otago School of Biomedical Sciences surgical skills suite.

A new space to learn surgical skills has been welcomed by New Zealand doctors.

Earlier this year, the Department of Anatomy in the School of Biomedical Sciences rebuilt its Dunedin-based surgical skills teaching facility, doubling the space for students from 24 to 48 places.

Over the past 15 years the department has offered a Postgraduate Diploma in Surgical Anatomy for junior doctors moving into clinical practice specialisation after graduation.

The one-year course combines distance learning with two hands-on training blocks in the surgical skills training suite.

Clinical and surgical anatomy lecturers and visiting surgeons teach a range of skills at each of the intensive two-week practical courses - everything from detailed anatomy related to surgery, to surgical approaches including stitching and robotic surgery.

But improvements to the space were needed to meet the growing demand.

Clinical Anatomy Lecturer Professor George Dias says the course was consistently oversubscribed.

"We started with a lab space for eight, but very quickly became a product of our own success and the teaching space became very squeezed."

Doctors on campus recently for the practical training component were impressed with the newly developed facility.

One of the course participants was Dr Victoria Murphy from the Waitemata District Hospital, who says she is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn in a state-of-the-art dissection facility as part of the University of Otago postgraduate surgical anatomy course.

"Hands-on experience is the best way to develop our understanding of 3D anatomy beyond the textbook, and also gives us the opportunity to enhance our technical skills with surgical instruments. Most importantly, the donors and families entrust us with their care, which is a privilege that deepens our connection with, and respect for, the human body."

George says the Otago programme has become the model for training - there is no equivalent in New Zealand and it is on a par with the best in Australia.

"We meet the need of training junior doctors because of the practical component and because the teaching uses cadavers- which offers a level of training that simply can't be matched by practising on anatomy models as many global teaching programmes do.

"We are indebted to the generosity of those involved in the bequest programme; it means we are able to train our junior doctors to a very high level," George says.

As well, having practising surgeons from around New Zealand teaching some of the components integrates the programme with the health system.

Mr Alfred Deacon, a practising general surgeon with Te Whata Orain Nelson, has been part of the programme for over 12 years.

He enjoys being part of the training experience for junior doctors.

"We provide aspiring specialists with such an excellent opportunity to bring their knowledge of surgical anatomy up to the high standard required by Australasian colleges.

"The hands-on tutorials and dissection components in particular provide the ability to put theoretical anatomical knowledge into 3-D practical knowledge."

Department of Anatomy Technical Manager Carol Dunstone is proud of the space.

"It is purpose built - it works really well, and it caters to the development needs of our medical workforce," she says.

"Locating the skills suite in an historic medical school building meant a lot of practical issues to overcome but the result is world-class. We now have a much larger facility, specialised equipment, and an area where all the teaching can be done in one space.

"We needed to expand to cater for the growing demand of this particular course, but we're also excited that the expanded facility means our School can offer other professional education opportunities."

Kōrero by Claire Grant, Communications Advisor, School of Biomedical Sciences