Medical School Champions

ABS has started to develop a network of breast surgeons & trainees who will work closely with medical schools to promote a career in Breast Surgery and support medical students, foundations & core surgical trainees in organising educational events.

The aim of this initiative is to create a national network of consultant breast surgeons and senior breast trainees who will become actively involved with their local medical schools to promote breast surgery as a career and relevant ABS events suitable for undergraduate and early postgraduate trainees.

 Structure

We aim to develop 2 Medical School Champions, a consultant and senior breast trainee for each of the Medical schools in the UK, or for a group of Medical schools where they are geographically close.

 An ABS Medical School Champion (MSC) would be an enthusiastic ABS member who would initiate and co-ordinate educational events for predominantly undergraduate medical students, but inclusive of foundation & core surgical trainees. The MSCs will develop links with the Royal College of Surgeons of England undergraduate surgical societies, participating in their educational programme where one is established, or become a “go to mentor” for undergraduate students wanting advice on breast surgery training or a career in breast surgery. They would become familiar with initiatives such as RCS Future Surgeons Forum (FSF) and other UK Collegiate medical student networks such as RCS Surgical Societies

The MSCs would decide how best to deliver this initiative locally using established links with local commercial companies to sponsor events they have organised.

Examples of events would include:

  • Skills workshops (scrubbing, knot tying, suturing)
  • Specialty talks
  • Anatomy lectures/cadaveric labs
  • Career Talks
  • CV/Portfolio development
  • Social Events for networking
  • Guest Speaker evenings
  • Participating in local Student Surgical Conferences
  • Participating in local Surgical Career Fairs

 

Promotion of events can take place through the ABS Calendar, ABS Educational & Training Network and social media (ABS and FSF, BFAS). Feedback from events can be shared in the Educational & Training Network and an MSC article submitted to the ABS Yearbook.

Establishing the network of MSCs would be overseen by the ABS Education & Training Committee & ABS Regional Representatives. Applications can be submitted through the ABS Office, please find the form at the end of this page. Term of role would be minimum 3 years.

 For further information about the ABS Medical School Champtions contact Margarita Bartholomew at mbartholomew@absgbi.org.uk or 020 7869 6853

 

Scotland – ABS Regional Rep: Vassilis Pitsinis

Aberdeen University

University of Dundee

University of Edinburgh

University of Glasgow
University of St Andrews Medical School ((Undergraduate pre-clinical course in medicine only)

 

Wales – Ilyas Khattak

Wales - Anglia Ruskin University

Swansea University College of Medicine (Post graduate course only)

University of Cardiff

 

Northern Ireland – Helen Mathers

Queen’s University Belfast, Medical School

 

South East Coast – Ritchie Chalmers

Brighton & Sussex Medical School

University of Southampton

 

South East Central – P G Roy

University of Buckingham Medical School

University of Cambridge

University of Oxford

 

South West – Isabella Dash

Plymouth University Peninsula School of Medicine

University of Bristol

University of Exeter

 

London – Jayant Vaidya

Imperial College London

King’s College London

Queen Mary University, Barts & the London School of Medicine

St George’s University of London

University College London

 

Eastern – Harleen Deol

University of East Anglia

 

East Midlands – Carol-Ann Courtney

University of Nottingham

University of Nottingham & Lincoln Medical School

University of Leicester

 

West Midlands – Sekhar Marla

Aston University

Keele University

University of Birmingham

University of Warwick (Post graduate course only)

 

Northern – Pud Bhaskar

University of Durham (Undergraduate pre-clinical course in medicine only)

University of Newcastle

University of Sunderland


Yorkshire & Humberside – Kathryn Rigby

Hull York Medical School

University of Leeds

University of Sheffield

 

Merseyside – Claudia Harding Mackean

Edge Hill University, Lancashire (Opening 2020)

University of Liverpool


North West – Sumohan Chatterjee

Lancaster University Medical School

University of Manchester

In 2022 the Association of Breast Surgery awarded 10 bursaries for medical students to attend the ABS Conference, which was held in Liverpool on the 16th and 17th May.  Medical Students were asked to submit abstracts, demonstrating their interest in the field of breast surgery.  The best 10 abstracts were presented as posters during the conference.  The presenter of the best poster received a prize of £50.

These bursaries will be offered again for the ABS conference in 2023, more details coming soon.