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There are many prospective budding surgeons in the medical school that do not receive the early guidance and advice from general surgeons themselves which is critical to successfully achieve this competitive career path. Often, it is too late in a medical student's university experience when they discover all the extra-curricular academic criteria specific to general surgery that they should have been fulfilling alongside their degree. Ultimately this leads to a high dropout rate of these prospective surgeons and many will be turned away later on in their careers from a core surgical training number (CST) due to lack of early experience and demonstration of commitment to the career. Post medical school, there is a limited time during foundation years one and two (FY1 and FY2) to meet the entry requirements for CST; the society aims to allow some of the requirements for CST applications to be spread across several years which would allow for better career planning. It is critical that budding surgeons show dedication to their preferred specialties throughout medical school, and that they get involved with attending academic talks and workshops throughout their degree to build up their surgical portfolio. 

Benefits and opportunities of the General Surgery society:

1. The society aims to benefit the large proportion of students that do not have "insider knowledge" that very few medical students harbour during their time at university. Ultimately this will help students to understand that entry into surgery is very competitive, but that with the early preparation and knowledge, career decisions can be made strategically and early on.

2. In the past general surgery was often considered to be a "male dominated" career path; the society aims to facilitate the recent shift away from gender stereotyping in surgery and will support all budding surgeons irrespective of their gender, sexuality or ethnicity.

3. The society’s unique selling point will be providing increased exposure to general surgery with frequent, detailed talks dedicated to specific general surgery sub-specialties - multiple talks per month would be provided giving increased opportunities to an exponential number of students.

4. As someone who has declared themself to a colorectal surgery career very young; I have liaised with several general surgeons about this society idea, and have received nothing but support and encouragement. The consensus I received from them was that there is not enough exposure to general surgery throughout university, with little to no contact from the medical school asking these general surgeons to provide talks at events; that a specific society dedicated to general surgery would be highly beneficial to hundreds of new students.

5. Opportunities in general surgery are not routinely provided to medical students unless they chase these "far and few between opportunities" themselves. For example, general surgery is not something covered in the medical curriculum apart from some general anatomy in years 1 and 2; most students will not continue to learn anymore about this area of medicine from years 3-5 which puts them at a massive disadvantage should they consider a general surgery career later on. This is a gap that needs to be filled.

6. Many students will just spend their first 2-3 years adjusting to university life, and by the time they are thinking about their academic career with more focus, critical years of building their academic portfolio are often lost. As a graduate going into medicine, I approached academics differently this degree around; with a much more focused and disciplined mindset, but I understand many would not know how to do this early on in university life regarding thinking about a surgical career. This is the critical gap this academic society aims to fulfil; early guidance, structured career advice from experts in the field, hands-on workshops from beginner to intermediate level, and increasing exposure to general surgery from a young age.

The development of the General Surgery society:

1. Over the next 12 months we aim to hold a series of general surgery sub-specialty events; colorectal month, breast month etc. We aim to run 2 larger events in collaboration with Cutting Edge Society and Leeds Society of Anatomy.

2. Building a social media presence – we aim to gain 200-350 followers over the 2022/23 academic year.

3. We aim to establish a network of academic general surgeons, from junior grade to consultants who have varied sub-specialties / international experience working as a general surgeon.

4. As exposure and popularity of the society is expected to increase, memberships will be an option for students interested. A year membership or lifetime membership would be available.

5. Lifetime membership would entitle students to the alumni scheme – it is planned that an alumni network would be established meaning once medical students have completed their medical degree in Leeds, they have continued support from the surgeons they have networked with over the years to support their future general surgery careers and provide continued guidance.

How aims and objectives of General Surgery society are different from any other existing group:

1. The existing society that most closely relates to the General Surgery society is Cutting Edge Society. Cutting Edge is an established and successful umbrella society meaning it aims to cover talks across every surgical specialty. However, due to the diverse range of surgical specialties (14 main surgical specialties excluding all the sub-specialties), it means the society is understandably stretched in terms of covering specific sub-specialties in depth. Cutting Edge holds a successful mentorship scheme and national annual conference, alongside workshops and events. From researching Cutting Edge’s Facebook page and website, it is clear to see that there is a bias towards certain surgical specialties being covered repeatedly in talks year to year – including four cardiothoracic talks in the last two years and only one general surgery talk (without specific surgical specialties in depth) during the same period. From the Cutting Edge Facebook page, website and Instagram, there have been no talks/events ever presented for colorectal surgery, lower and upper GI surgery, vascular or transplant surgery. The general surgery society will focus specifically on these sub-specialties of general surgery to provide students with knowledge and a holistic view of these career paths and what needs to be done in the years prior to the application process. It is vital that specific events are tailored to general surgery sub-specialties rather than broad general surgery talks as it will provide medical students with the evidence that they require to build a successful surgical portfolio demonstrating their relentless commitment and enthusiasm for their chosen sub-specialty. Taking cardiothoracic surgery as an example, in 2019, it was demonstrated that in the UK, for every one training post in cardiothoracic surgery for surgical trainee year 1 (ST1), there were 8.42 applicants (101 applications for 12 jobs). It is clear to see that focusing on cardiothoracic surgery talks could paint an unrealistic view to medical students. This compares to 648 core surgical training (CT1) jobs available which had 1896 applications making a competition ratio of 2.93 (making the likelihood of achieving CT1 job which would lead to a general surgery career almost 3x more likely). https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Portals/1/Competition%20Ratios%202019_1.pdf

From this point of view, we do not foresee any conflicts with Cutting Edge as general surgery society is simply focusing on a specific sub-set of surgical specialties rather than trying to increase exposure to surgery in general. The unique selling point of Cutting Edge society is the mentorship scheme; the General Surgery society does not plan to provide this hence we foresee no conflict of interest regarding this selling point.

2. Diversity in surgical training and practice. This is always a desirable criterion to enhance one’s surgical portfolio, expertise and ultimately increase the chance of a successful career in the UK. The General Surgery society aims to provide students with information and support on how to apply for general surgery training internationally. This will provide a general surgeon applicant with a more robust skill set and diversified mindset from exposure to different healthcare systems. Although Cutting Edge have provided an event on how to work in the USA as a surgeon, these talks were catered for general guidance on exams (e.g. USMLE), and the application process. We have liaised with general surgeons who have had careers in the USA (Harvard, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic), as well as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand; the General Surgery Society aims to provide talks on the specific criteria that need to be fulfilled to work in these countries as a general surgeon applicant rather than a broad medical applicant. Each country has specific objectives for general surgery applications – experts in these fields will be able to support students wishing to pursue an international career.

3. Overall, we are certain there will be no conflict with existing societies at the University of Leeds as there is currently no society that exists to provide students with vital information and knowledge about general surgery sub-specialties and that is dedicated to increasing awareness on a frequently neglected surgical specialty. We have interviewed many general surgeons regarding this proposed society, many of whom have expressed frustration at not being able to speak to medical students about their careers due to having far less exposure amongst medical students and thus a decreased popularity. We aim to help and guide students to strongly consider pursuing a general surgery career by providing them with relevant knowledge and an enhanced skill set for their surgical portfolio.

A letter of support has been written and signed by several consultant general surgeons working at St James University Hospital, Leeds, and is available should it be required.