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Hi, I'm Sienna, and I am applying for the role of Secretary for Cutting Edge. I have a keen interest in surgery, which has been nurtured by my active participation in surgical skills training sessions and conferences.

As a current member of the Cutting Edge committee, I have contributed to our collective efforts, including the successful organisation of our OSCE series which has provided me with invaluable experience in event planning and teamwork.


Over the past three years, I have actively participated in various committees, including PALS, British Sign Language (BSL) Society and MSRC. These experiences have further honed my organisational and communication skills which I am eager to bring to the role of Secretary for Cutting Edge.

With my experience and dedication, I am confident that I can fulfill the responsibilities of this role effectively, contributing to the continued success of our society. I am excited about the opportunity to continue working with the Cutting Edge committee and hope to contribute to further enhancing the society's success.

Thank you :)

Hello! My name is Maisey Baker and I am currently the Outreach Officer for Cutting Edge, but this year I am looking to apply for the role of Secretary. I am a third-year medical student, and I am intercalating in Cardiovascular Health and Disease next year, as I have a special interest in cardiothoracic surgery. As I am taking a short break from the medical course, I will have more time to focus on the society as Secretary. I have now been an active member of Cutting Edge for 3 years and I’ve enjoyed meeting people who are also interested in surgery, particularly now I am part of the committee. I am going to discuss some of the reasons I would be suited for this role.

Previous Experience:
I have previous experience with the role of Secretary and its requirements. I have been Secretary of Leeds University St John Ambulance for 2 years, which has provided me with an awareness of the administrative needs of a society and appreciate the time needed. It has given me experience in leadership, as I run and organise regular committee meetings and deal with any disagreements among members. Communication is a big part of this, ensuring everyone is available for the meetings and that deadlines are being met. I have also developed my skills in organising events for large groups of students.
I am currently on committee as Outreach Officer, which has involved leading a team to encourage medicine and surgery in nearby schools, in the form of interactive presentations and a suturing workshop. We have gained positive feedback from both the schools’ administrative team and the students. I believe I can use these organisation skills and public speaking experience in the role as Secretary. As leader of Communication and Welfare, this will allow me to continue to be involved with the outreach programme as well as the other important schemes run by this society. This is an element of the role which I am particularly excited about. I would hold additional meetings with those involved in Communication and Welfare to provide additional support.
Research Skills:
I am currently involved with 2 surgery-based research projects, one of which I am presenting at the Annual Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) conference in July. During these projects, I have developed skills in data collection, writing literature reviews as well as building connections with surgeons. I would like to bring these valuable skills into the society and use them to set up a ‘Building your CV with research’ course as the Communications and Welfare lead.
As part of Cutting Edge, I have had the opportunity to attend several specialist surgical conferences, including trauma and orthopaedics, and academic surgery. I recently attended the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery (SCTS) Annual Meeting which I found very informative regarding the progression into a career in surgery, with a particular focus on cardiothoracics. As secretary, I would have the opportunity to continue to represent the society at these conferences. I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this society so far and I can’t wait to see where it takes me in the future.

Hi everyone, my name is Zara, I'm a 2nd year medical student and one of the pre-clinical reps for Cutting Edge this year. I've loved attending the society's events over the past two years, and have gained so much insight into the inner workings of the society through my place on the committee this year.

One of my favourite accomplishments as pre-clinical rep has been organising Cutting Edge's first laparoscopic surgery event, involving surgical simulation boxes that allowed students to try our arthroscopic surgery on a knee joint, with real surgical tools and live video feed. This was a really successful event, with great feedback and I will aim to put it on again in the future. Putting on various events throughout the year has improved my organisational skills, given me experience and confidence in hosting society events, and I now have access to a host of surgeons and other societies, which will help in aiding other members of the committee next year.

I have aimed to be present and help out at as many of the society's events as possible in my time on committee, as I believe a hallmark of being a good team worker is being involved in all aspects of the role, and providing assistance and support where necessary. This is something I would love to bring forward into next years committee.

If elected, next year I will strive to be reliable, organised, and present at all times. I know how crucial it is to be responsible, as I have witnessed in my previous experience as Secretary of Leeds Kashmiri Society this year. I look forward to utilising my skills on a larger scale with Cutting Edge, and being a point of contact for the executive committee.

Additionally, if elected, I look forward to assisting and overseeing the activities of other members of society, and using my experience over the last year to help wherever possible. I will be committed to making the running of the society as smooth as possible, setting clear agendas, and remaining in constant communication with all of the society to prevent any hiccups in our events.

Thank you for reading my statement - I hope you'll vote for me as Secretary of Cutting Edge!