Short course: Introduction to Surgical Research

Introduction to Surgical Research

A good understanding of surgical research is an essential part of being a surgeon. Good quality research and the ability to apply it clinically is the cornerstone in evidence based practice. See below and here for detail of a RACS accredited short course designed for surgeons, by surgeons!


In training the surgeons of the future, compulsory research requirements have now been incorporated into every surgical training program. Not only that, research experience and output has become one of the differentiators in many job and training position applications.

Even if being an active researcher does not become part of your surgical career, a sound working knowledge of the ins and outs of research is essential. There is no better way to understand evidence based surgery than to be involved in a few research projects.

Despite these expectations on aspiring surgeons to participate in research, there has been a paucity of structured teaching in basic research knowledge and skills with a surgical focus. This appears to be the case both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This Monash University short course has been developed to fill this void.

​The course aims to introduce you to a variety of study designs that are most relevant to surgical research. Through a series of hands-on workshops, you will also learn practical skills in conducting a surgical research project. We hope to deliver a course that is both interesting and challenging, thus provide a foundation for you to build on, all through a casual learning environment.

Course overview:

• Delivered over 3 weekends (17-18 June, 29-30 July, 9-10 Sept), to accommodate for the busy surgical week.
• Workshops are hands-on with a focus on practical research skills.
• Faculty are made up of academic surgeons.
• Can be an aid to completing current projects.
• Gives an insight into surgical research, and provides a foundation to build on.
• Time efficient way to learn research skills, and complete an existing project at the same time.
• Participants are required to familiarise themselves with pre-course and intra-course reading materials.

 

A short course designed for:

• SET Trainees
• Pre-SET Trainees
• Interns & Residents

• Medical Students
  (Year 3+ / BMedSc / Honours)
• Early graduate research

By the end of the course, the participants should:

• have an understanding of the role of surgical research and the importance of evidence-based surgical practice.
• be familiar with the common study designs.
• be able to critically appraise and evaluate the surgical literature.
• be familiar with the basic workflow of conducting a simple surgical research project.
• have a good understanding of the statistical methods commonly used in surgical research.
• feel confident in submitting a conference abstract to a meeting, and in giving an oral presentation in a scientific forum.
• be able to write a complete manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.