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Hi everyone, my name is Olivia Roocroft and I am the current Skills and Education Co-ordinator for Cutting Edge. I am 3rd year medical student and due to intercalate in Clinical Anatomy next year. I am passionate about this society and a career in surgery, so would like to nominate myself for the role of Treasurer next year!

Over the past year, I have been a dedicated member of the Cutting Edge Committee. Firstly, I organised the highly successful 6-week Suturing Series which has been nominated for a university award! This required commitment and hard work in order to recruit over 10 surgeons to attend the series providing valuable suturing teaching to society members. From organising this event, I have developed excellent organisational skills which I will use to support other committee members who plan the conference and events. I will be able to provide valuable advice if any is needed.

Furthermore, I have attended various other events organised by Cutting Edge such as conferences and school visits with the outreach programme. I have also provided assistance at the year 3 OSCE series. This highlights the further support I will give to other aspects of the society beyond my own responsibilities.

Additionally, I attended educational events with other societies such as Teddy Bear Hospital picnics and A2M. Collaborations are something I am keen to continue next year to widen participation in the society giving more students an opportunity to learn about a career in surgery.

Next year, I will ensure I work alongside other committee members to run events beneficial to students, to aid getting them points for surgical training. This includes a national conference, and in the role of treasurer I will search for sponsorship deals with nation-wide surgical societies. I will also use the surgical contacts I accumulated from the suturing series this year to find research opportunities for students.

I strive to work closely with pre-clinical and clinical years reps to provide events which are useful for each year. For example, creating a form that students across each year group can complete to suggest events they would like to see happen across the term. I want to provide more events for students in year 4 and 5, including OSCE sessions and events with surgeons regarding portfolio recommendations.

I have sound understanding of how Cutting Edge works so will be able to manage the finances of the society accordingly and seek funding opportunities to provide successful events. I will be committed to recruiting more members to cutting edge by advertising our events across social media whilst providing added benefits for members.

Thank you for taking the time to read my application and I hope you consider me for Treasurer next year!

Hi everyone, my name is Katherine Stanton and I’m the current Secretary for Cutting Edge. I am a 3rd year medical student due to start an intercalated MSc in Molecular Medicine next year, with a passion for research and pursuing a surgical career. Over the last three years, I have been an active member of Cutting Edge, I am dedicated to ensuring it continues to provide excellent events. Therefore I would like to nominate myself to be your Treasurer!

During my time on Cutting Edge’s Committee, I have gained extensive experience of how the society operates, working to give its members the best possible start to their surgical careers. While acting as a Pre-clinical rep, I organized a highly successful 4-week long, clinician-led anatomy revision session, which was awarded ‘Best Virtual Event’ at the 2023 Worsley Awards and involved collaboration with the University of Sheffield. This required committed organizational and communication skills to recruit clinical teachers and liaise with students from another university. I have used these experiences to aid other committee members in delivering their own successful events – which is particularly relevant to the new responsibilities included within the role of Treasurer.

Meanwhile, taking on the role of Secretary this year has equipped me with the unique organizational skills required for the executive running and management of Cutting Edge. Managing such a large, multi-stranded society that provides a myriad of events aimed at students from gateway to year 5, I have played a central role in ensuring smooth, consistent communication both within committee and with our members. Be this through sending out reminders, keeping meeting minutes and setting up Committee meeting links. Moreover, I have gained practical management experience, including making room bookings, creating events & tickets on Engage and liaising with LUU.

These are skills I intend to bring with me to the role of Treasurer, ensuring competent and astute management of our society funds, while also seeking sponsorship opportunities to make our society as affordable and beneficial as possible for our members!

Throughout both years I have also helped promote the society, highlighting my commitment to attracting new members, via running our stall at the Fresher’s Fair and advertising our events on year group chats. My avid involvement in Cutting Edge’s whole range of events, from volunteering at our popular year 3&4 MOSCEs to assisting at our conferences, suturing series, surgical talks and laparoscopy events demonstrates my ability to work as part of the larger society team.
I consider outreach to be a key aspect of Cutting Edge’s responsibilities, having volunteered at Teddy Bear Picnic and visited a local high school to teach about medicine and surgery. As your Treasurer I will ensure continued collaborations with societies and provision of events aimed at inspiring the next generation of surgeons and making pursuing a surgical career more accessible.

Beyond my time on Cutting Edge, I have attended several Surgical conferences including BSG Live and the ICSM International Conference. This has allowed me to network with Imperial’s surgical society, meet a variety of surgeons and develop new ideas for innovative events Cutting Edge could offer next year.

I also recognize the importance of providing our members with research and networking opportunities. I intend to utilize the contacts I have accumulated during my time in Cutting Edge and as an EXSEL scholar, alongside my own research experience - having completed a Summer Project with a team based in the LIGHT building and now being a published first author in the Journal Neuroscience- to provide you with the best possible support and advice on how to get involved in research!

As your Treasurer I will work alongside the rest of the committee to orchestrate events that help you get ahead in pursuing and exploring a surgical career. I will be guided by your feedback and intend to create a Cutting Edge members chat, with feedback forms so that we can continue to improve our events and tailor them towards what you want.

Thank you for reading my application – Vote Katherine !