Full programme for Collaborators' Meeting to be held in the Royal College of Surgeons of England London, 16th September 2014

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Student Audit & Research in Surgery (STARSurg)
Cordially invites UK Medical Students and Junior Doctors to...
Protocol Launch Event
& Research Skills Course
Tuesday 16th September 2014
10:00 - 17:30
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Holborn, London
£5
Voluntary Donation Recommended
Register now at:
bit.ly/DISCOVERSTARSurg

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Contents
Title
Page
Introduction
3
Programme
4
STARSurg Research Skills Course
5-8
Other Workshops & Activities
Lunch & Refreshments
9
10
STARSurg Committee Bios
11-12
Invited Speakers’ Bios
13
Sponsors & Affiliates
14-15
RCS England Affiliate Scheme
16
ASiT Foundation Surgical Skills Rwanda
17
The STARSurg Reports
Trainee Research Collaboratives
18
STARSurg : The Medical Student Collaborative
19
STARSurg Research Course: Online Modules
20
STARSurg Buddy Scheme
21
STARSurg Twitter Journal Club
22
GlobalSurg
23
Future Meetings
24

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Introduction
Welcome to the 3rd National Meeting of Student Audit & Research in Surgery (STARSurg). This event promises again to be a hive of academic activity. The programme boasts interactive workshops and training sessions, a range of eminent keynote speakers and a dedicated expert faculty.
Following the success of our first project ‘STARSurgUK’, published in The British Journal of Surgery and presented to 4 international conferences, we are delighted to introduce our 2014 project:
Other highlights of the 3rd National Meeting include:
STARSurg Research Skills Course
This interactive and dynamic research skills course offers core and advanced arms tailored to your level of experience
Workshops delivered by academic trainees and senior members of ASiT explore essential skills in critical appraisal and poster design.
A key addition to the portfolio of any budding surgeon-scientist!
Professor Dion Morton
“Mentorship in Surgical Research”
Director of Clinical Research at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Miss Clare Marx
“The role of the medical student in improving patient safety”
President at the Royal College of Surgeons of England

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Programme
TIME
SESSION
SPEAKER
09:00 am
Registration Opens
10:00 am
Welcome
Dr James Glasbey
Session I: STARSurg Research Skills Course
Featuring seminars and workshops tailored to your level of experience.
10:10 am
Core and Advanced sessions begin
11:30 am
Coffee Break
See programme (pg.5.)
12:00 pm
Core and Advanced sessions continue
13:00 pm
Lunch
Session II: DISCOVER Sessions
Learn about the 2014 STARSurg national cohort study.
14:00 pm
STARSurg II: The DISCOVER Study: Background and Aims
Dr Dmitri Nepogodiev
14:10 pm
DISCOVER: Patient selection, Inclusion & Exclusion
Dr Michael Kelly
14:30 pm
Tutorial: Clavien-Dindo & Operation-Specific Complications
Dr Stephen Chapman
14:40 pm
Tutorial: REDCap Data System
Mr Tom Drake
14:50 pm
Q&A DISCOVER: Protocol
STARSurg Committee
Session III: STARSurg Programmes
STARSurg has a number of new, exciting initiatives to offer its national collaborators.
15:00 pm
STARSurg Research Skills Course: Online Modules & Certification
Mr Tom Drake
15:10 pm
STARSurg Buddy Scheme
Mr Chetan Khatri
15:15 pm
STARSurg Twitter Journal Club
Dr James Glasbey
15:20 pm
Building Blocks: A Career in Academic Surgery
Mr Vimal Gokani
15:30 pm
Coffee Break
Session IV: Keynote Plenary
Advice and insight into careers in academic and clinical surgery from internationally recognised experts and field-leader.
16:00 pm
The Role of Medical Students in Improving Patient Safety
Miss Clare Marx
16:30 pm
Mentorship in Surgical Research
Professor Dion Morton
17:00 pm
Concluding Remarks
Mr Aneel Bhangu
17:10 pm
Optional Networking Event at the Nuffield Bar & Conservatory
All collaborators welcome!

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STARSurg Research Skills Course
This course is designed to cover a comprehensive curriculum of core competencies in research practice. It will empower participants with the skill-set essential for involvement in local and national research projects. It is designed to be interactive and promote discussion about key issues in clinical science.
Seminars will provide grounding in basic research principles and workshops will allow participations to apply these broad principles to complete a practical task.
The core sessions have been designed for medical school years 1-4, and the advanced sessions with medical school years 4-5 and foundation doctors.
We are delighted to invite an extensively experienced and internationally recognised expert faculty to help deliver the STARSurg course, with representatives from The Society of Academic & Research Surgeons (SARS), The Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT) and the Institute of Medical Ethics (IME).
All delegates will receive certification following satisfactory completion of the course & provision of feedback.
Further learning will be facilitated by online teaching modules. Once this becomes available, students will be given opportunity to complete practical tasks, with tangible outcomes, to utilise the skills taught by the course. This will include a writing letter-to-the-editor, drafting a comprehensive clinical trial design and creating a robust scientific poster.
Unsure which sessions you should attend?
A decision tool is available here: researchcloud.org.uk/mod/

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STARSurg Research Skills Course
Learning Outcomes
Core
The Language of Research – Mr Chetan Khatri
A1: Research & Future Practice
Searching and Reviewing the Literature – Dr John Mason
C1: Evidence Based Surgery, C4: Searching for Literature and Interpretation
Study Designs: What to Use & When – Dr Dmitri Nepogodiev
C1: Evidence Based Surgery
Study Design Task – Mr Aneel Bhangu & Mr Vimal Gokani
C2: Audit v. Research, C4: Searching for Literature and Interpretation
Poster Design Task – Mr Aneel Bhangu & Mr Vimal Gokani
C6: Preparing for a Poster Presentation
Advanced
How to Read & Assess a Scientific Paper – Dr Richard Abel
A2: Choosing & Answering a Research Question, C5: Searching the literature and interpretation
Producing an Abstract with Impact – Mr Edward Fitzgerald
C5: Producing a Scientific Abstract
Using Statistics as a Surgeon – Mr Ewen Harrison
A5: Choosing the Right Statistical test
Surgical Research Ethics – Mr Andy Beamish
C3: Ethics in Research, A2: Choosing & Answering a Research Question

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STARSurg Research Skills Prize
STARSurg are delighted to offer two lucky collaborators a copy of the essential undergraduate revision textbook:
Surgical Talk
RRP: £32.00
This fantastic prize will be awarded for outstanding contributions to the core and advanced research skills courses. More details will be given during the event!
“The only comprehensive textbook for medical students wishing to learn top tips in surgery”
RCS Book Reviews

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Other Workshops & Activities
Portfolio Troubleshooter
09:00 – 10:00
Webb – Johnson Hall
Whether you are just starting out with your surgical portfolio, or looking to improve your portfolio before applying to the academic foundation programme, this informal session is for you! Join our academic trainees for some practical tips and advice based on current guidelines from the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme.
EoSurgical Surgical Skills Workshop
13:00 – 14:00
Edward Lumley Hall
Try your hand at some basic laparoscopic skills using the innovative EoSurgical portable surgical simulator.
Tips & Tricks in Appendicectomy
13:20 – 13:50
Edward Lumley Hall
Prepare yourself for your first laparoscopic procedure! This informal discussion session will take participants through a case of appendicitis from diagnosis to follow up. Current surgical trainees will share practical tricks and tips and highlight gaps in current evidence.

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Lunch & Refreshments
We are delighted to provide STARSurg meeting delegates with lunch and refreshments from the catering partner of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided in the Edward Lumley hall at registration and throughout the day. Please do visit the sponsor stands during the breaks!
Lunch will include a mixed buffet for STARSurg delegates with vegetarian and halal options available. Please be sure to alert us to any dietary requirements or allergies prior to the September meeting.
The day will conclude with drinks to be held at the Nuffield Bar and Conservatory within the College building. All delegates and faculty are invited for an informal networking and social event.

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STARSurg Steering Committee 2014/15
Aneel Bhangu, MBChB MRCS is an academic general surgical registrar in the West Midlands.
T: @aneelbhangu
Stephen Chapman, MBChB BSc is an academic foundation doctor in the Leeds Teaching NHS Hospitals Trust.
T: @SJ_Chapman
Tom Drake, BMedSci is a fourth year medical student at the University of Sheffield Medical School.
T: @Tom_Drake1
J Edward Fitzgerald, BA BM BCh MRCS FHEA is an academic general surgical registrar and clinical advisor to the Lifebox Foundation.
T: @Diathermy
James Glasbey, MBBCh BSc is an academic foundation doctor in the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the Foundation Doctor Representative to ASiT.
T: @cusurgicals
Ewen Harrison, MBChB PhD FRCS is a senior lecturer in general surgery at the University of Edinburgh and consultant surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
T: @ewenharrison
Michael Kelly, MBBCh BSc is a foundation doctor in the Mersey deanery.
T: @mkell90

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Chetan Khatri, BSc is a fifth year medical student at Imperial College London Medical School.
T: @ChetanKhatri2
Nicholas Kong is a final year medical student at the University of Glasgow Medical School.
T: @KongChiaYew
Harriet Mitchell is a third year medical student at Bristol University Medical School.
T: @Harri_Amy
Dmitri Nepogodiev, MBChB is an academic clinical fellow in general surgery at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust
T: @dnepo
Please do come and introduce yourself!
collaborate@starsurg.org
Want to get involved in steering future projects?
Each summer, opportunity will arise for collaborators to get involved in project-level steering of STARSurg. Steering committee members will be selected based upon their academic potential and commitment to STARSurg.
Getting involved in the national cohort study and attending our annual meetings is an important first step!
More details will be published via our mailing list (starsurg.org/register) as they become available.

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Invited Speaker Biographies
Miss Clare Marx is the President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
T: @RCSnews
Professor Dion Morton is the Director of Clinical Research at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
T: @RCSnews
Vimal Gokani is the President of the Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT) and a British Heart Foundation Research Training Fellow.
T: @VimalGokani
Andi Beamish is the Past-President of the ASiT and RCSEng/David Johnston Bariatric Research Fellow.
T: @beamishaj
John Mason is an Academic Clinical Fellow in the Oxford Deanery and the outgoing Foundation Representative to ASiT.
T: @jmason85
Richard Abel is a musculoskeletal researcher and lecturer to students on the Imperial College London intercalated BSc in Surgery and Anaesthesia

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Sponsors & Affiliates
The Academy of Medical Sciences is committed to supporting the careers of the next generation of biomedical researchers. They encourage undergraduate medical students to embark on a career in medical research through an INSPIRE programme, funded by the Wellcome Trust.
As our primary sponsor, we thank the INSPIRE programme for their generous special project grant, supporting STARSurg over the next year.
W: acmedsci.ac.uk/careers/ T: @INSPIREresearch
Founded in 1976, the Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT) is a professional body and educational charity working to promote excellence in surgical training across all ten surgical specialties in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. ASiT is independent of the Surgical Royal Colleges and is run by trainees for trainees.
We thank ASiT for their regional meeting grant, and ongoing support.
W: asit.org/join T: @ASiTofficial
The Wesleyan Assurance Society offers a range of financial products tailored to meet the needs of medical and dental professionals. You can follow @Wesleyan on Twitter. You may be interested in Wesleyan’s student pages.
W: wesleyan.co.uk/professions/doctors/medicalstudents/ T: @Wesleyan
The Institute of Medical Ethics (IME) is a charitable organisation dedicated to improving education and debate in medical ethics. Their mission is "promoting and supporting the study and understanding of medical ethics and its integration into clinical practice through education, research, and publication".
W: instituteofmedicalethics.org/ T: @IMEweb
The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng) is a professional membership organisation and registered charity, representing surgeons in the UK and abroad.
We thank the Royal College for providing the venue for this meeting.
W: rcseng.ac.uk/ T: @RCSnews

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EoSurgical aims to improve the quality of surgery throughout the world by providing accessible surgical training tools. No regular access to a surgical simulator for training, skills progression or pre-operative warm-up? EoSurgical have the answer! Own it. Use it. Master surgical skills.
W: eosurgical.com/ T: @EoSurgical
CRC Press is a publishing group that specializes in producing technical books for Medicine and Surgery. Their best-selling titles include Bailey and Love’s Short Practice in Surgery, one of the world's pre-eminent medical textbooks, beloved by generations of surgeons worldwide!
W: crcpress.com/ T: @CRC_Medical
Medical Protection Society is the world's leading medical defence organisation, offering support to more than 290,000 doctors and health professionals worldwide. MPS are dedicated to helping you to avoid risk and provide medicolegal advice.
W: medicalprotection.org/uk T: @MPSDoctors

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Royal College of Surgeons of England Student Affiliates
Would you like to undertake an intercalated Bachelor of Science degree related to surgery?
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is delighted to announce that it has set aside funding to award grants to medical students studying at UK medical schools wishing to undertake an intercalated bachelor of science degree related to surgery in the academic year beginning September 2014.
As there are variations in the way by which students are funded, or not funded for such degrees, the College will take a flexible approach in the way in which these funds are allocated, i.e. the funding application may be for bench fees, consumables or subsistence.
Eligibility
Medical students applying must be subscribed to affiliates of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
To apply, please visit http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/surgeons/research/awards-and-grants/medical- student-awards
Deadline: 26th September 2014
RCS Elective Prize in Surgery
The RCS Elective Prize is an award of up to £500 for clinical students wishing to pursue a career in surgery and planning to undertake an elective in surgery in the ‘developing world' in 2015/2016.
Eligibility
Clinical students at a UK medical school who are Affiliates of The Royal College of Surgeons of England, are wishing to pursue a career in surgery, and are planning to undertake their elective attachment in surgery in the ‘developing world' during the 2015/2016 academic year (July 2015 to August 2016), are eligible to apply.
This prize will be advertised on the RCS website in Spring 2015.

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ASiT Foundation Skills in Surgery Course, Rwanda
The Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT), a UK-based charity run by surgical trainees for surgical trainees, is fundraising to help fund a visit to the main hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. ASiT will teach a ‘Foundation Skills in Surgery’ Course to local medical students in September 2014.
On qualification, Rwandan doctors start work in basic local community hospitals, often practicing alone as the only doctor serving the area. This includes responsibility for emergency surgery, such as c-sections or appendectomies. Good surgical skills are essential at an early stage! ASiT’s ‘Foundation Skills in Surgery’ Course has been successfully run throughout the UK and Ireland for several years, and teaches medical students and junior doctors the fundamental techniques required in surgery such as safe surgical practice, sterile technique, knot tying and suturing. This is the first time the course has been taught overseas and ASiT hopes this pilot trip will see the start of rolling the course out in other resource-poor settings internationally.
The venture is entirely self-funded and ASiT would be very grateful for any support you can offer.
Please consider donating to ASiT here: givey.com/ASiTRwanda
And following updates of the trip on Twitter: @ASiTofficial
Thank you!

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The STARSurg Reports
Autumn 2014

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Trainee Research Collaboratives
The trainee collaborative research model was first developed by a group of general surgery registrars in Birmingham. They had become frustrated by the difficulty of setting up and completing complex research projects within the limited time spent on rotation at any particular hospital. By working together across several hospitals, they found that after each rotation they could seamlessly continue each others’ work. With this approach trainees could now run multi-centre studies, recruiting far more patients than possible in a single centre.
Under the guidance of Professor Dion Morton, these trainees developed what became the West Midlands Research Collaborative (WMRC). It first met in 2007. Initially the group led regional audits to test their network. By 2009, ROSSINI, the first ever multi-centre trainee-led randomised controlled trial was launched.
Following the first national collaborative meeting in Birmingham in December 2009, the collaborative model rapidly spread across the country. Some of the earliest collaboratives to follow were the London Surgical Research Group (LSRG) and the Welsh Barbers Research Group (WBRG). There are now over 20 regional collaboratives.
The WMRC led the first national multi-centre audit in 2012, looking at appendicectomy provision. All 241 collaborators across 95 centres were citable authors on the resulting BJS publication. The Severn and Peninsula Audit and Research Collaborative (SPARCS) co-ordinated the next national audit in 2013, focussing on sepsis.
ROSSINI, an evaluation of wound edge protectors, was published in the BMJ in 2013, having randomised 760 patients. This success signalled the viability of the collaborative model to produce high quality research. Many major studies and randomised trials are now in progress, run by collaboratives around the UK.
The collaborative model continues to spread, with new collaboratives forming in many specialties. These include vascular surgery, orthopaedic surgery, urology and anaesthetics. The newly founded National Research Collaborative will seek to capitalise on this enthusiasm by running a pan-surgical national study.

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Bhangu A, Kolias AG, Pinkney T, Hall NJ, Fitzgerald JE. Surgical research collaboratives in the UK. Lancet. 2013 28;382(9898):1091-2.

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STARSurg
The national medical student collaborative
Our group, Student Audit & Research in Surgery (STARSurg) was founded in 2013 as the first student-led national research collaborative in the world. Having successfully published our first national study, we are looking forward to working in partnership with UK postgraduate collaboratives to offer students opportunity to learn about audit and research through participation in high-quality projects.
For some time, researchers have explored the role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as pain relief after surgery. Notably, previous research has identified a link between NSAIDs and risk of anastomotic leak following bowel resection. However conflicting evidence exists. In autumn 2013, the STARSurg collaborative chose to further investigate this important aspect of peri-operative care as the topic of their first national observational cohort study (STARSurgUK).
Between September and December 2013, some 250 medical students and 100 junior clinicians collected data at their local hospital. Data points from 109 centres across the United Kingdom (UK) were contributed to a central database. Uniquely, a detailed protocol allowed students to approach surgeons in their local hospitals with a relevant and important study question. As the patient identification period spanned only two weeks, with follow up to 30 days, the project was ideally suited for students to complete alongside their attachments to general surgical teams. A national collaborator meeting, mandatory online learning module, and prospective data validation strategies formed part of a planned quality assurance process.
The main finding of this observational study was a decrease in complication rates in patients receiving early high-dose post-operative NSAIDs (predominantly ibuprofen). Instead of increasing the risk of post-operative complications, the results suggested that NSAIDs may reduce the risk of such events when administered to carefully selected patients. With high external validity, the evidence offered by the first STARSurg study justifies further investigation of the role of these commonly used medications for post-operative pain relief.
These results gained much interest on an international basis. On behalf of the collaborative, the STARSurg Steering Committee presented the findings to a number of academic conferences in the UK and overseas. The research was later accepted for publication in the British Journal of Surgery, Europe’s premier surgical journal. The delivery of this study confirmed UK medical students as aspiring leaders in surgical research, demonstrating leadership, teamwork and commitment.
As a collaborator, be proud at what you have achieved; for yourself, your colleagues and most importantly for your patients. You have contributed to a study that will help to shape future clinical care.
We encourage you to participate further in the next STARSurg study, DISCOVER: DefinIng Surgical Complications in the OVERweight, set for Autumn 2014.

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STARSurgUK: Safety of Early Post-Operative NSAID Prescribing in GI Surgery
STARSurg Collaborative. Impact of postoperative non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on adverse events after gastrointestinal surgery. Br J Surg. 2014 Aug 4. doi: 10.1002/bjs.9614. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 25091299.

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DISCOVER: Defining Surgical Complications in the Overweight
A multi-centre, student-led study of guidelines on obesity and post-operative complications.
Study participants:
Any UK or Irish hospital offering elective and/or emergency surgery may register DISCOVER. Mini-teams (two students and one doctor) will collect data under the overall supervision of a consultant surgeon.
Study period:
Each mini-team will collect data over a 14-day, consecutive period. Up to three mini-teams may participate at each site collecting data over successive periods. It is recommended that data collection takes place during one of the following set periods:
 Period 1: 0800 Wed 1st Oct to 0759 Wed 15th Oct 2014.
 Period 2: 0800 Wed 15th Oct to 0759 Wed 29th Oct 2014.
 Period 3: 0800 Wed 29th Oct to 0759 Wed 12th Nov 2014.
Study registration:
DISCOVER may be registered as clinical audit or service evaluation.
Study aims:
(i) To establish compliance with NICE guidelines requiring early identification of obese patients.
(ii) To determine the role of obesity as a risk factor for major post-operative complications in current UK and Irish practice.
Audit gold standard:
All patients should have BMI calculated on admission to hospital.
NICE CG 32, 1.2.2
All hospital inpatients on admission should be screened for malnutrition.
NICE CG 32, 1.2.6
Screening should assess body mass index (BMI).
Inclusion criteria:
All consecutive adult (age ≥18 years) patients with an overnight stay in hospital, undergoing gastrointestinal surgery or hepatobiliary surgery should be included. Include both emergency and elective patients and both open and laparoscopic surgery.
Exclusion criteria:
Minor anorectal surgery, transplant surgery, urological/ gynaecological/ vascular/ trauma indications for surgery.
Risk adjustment:
Without adjusting for pre-operative risk, it is likely that any findings would be biased. The following indices will be used to risk adjust outcomes:
 ASA score.
 Revised Cardiac Risk Index.
 Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) score.

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 Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Primary outcome:
30-day major complication rate (Clavien-Dindo grade III-V complications) in the obese versus patients with normal weight.
Secondary outcomes:
Procedure-specific complications, unplanned admission to critical care unit, re-operation and re-admission.
Follow-up:
The primary and secondary outcome measures will be recorded if they occurred at any point from post-operative Day 1 (day of surgery) to Day 30. To ensure follow-up captures complications diagnosed at other hospitals and in the community, mini-teams should consider calling patients or general practitioners at 30-days. Telephone scripts will be provided.
Data collection:
Data will be collected and stored online through a secure, approved University of Edinburgh server running the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) web application. REDCap is widely used internationally by academic organisations to store research databases.
Data analysis:
Data shall be analysed by the steering group. Data will not be analysed at a surgeon level or centre level.
Authorship:
All mini-team collaborators will be eligible for PubMed-citable authorship. Each mini-team collaborator should participate in registering the audit, identifying patients, collecting data and completing follow-up.
Funding:
STARSurg is supported by INSPIRE.
INSPIRE is coordinated by the Academy of Medical Sciences and supported by the Wellcome Trust. INSPIRE activities are designed and delivered locally by individual medical schools.
Further information:
For matters relating to mini-team setup and audit registration, please contact your local lead (details at www.starsurg.org). For general enquiries concerning the protocol, please contact the steering committee by email (collaborate@starsurg.org) or on Twitter (@STARSurgUK).
Project timeline:
Sept 16th 2014
 National STARSurg collaborator meeting at RCSEng, London.
Aug 18th – Sept 26th 2014
 Full protocol published
 Local leads co-ordinate formation of mini-teams.
 Audit is registered at each participating centre.
Oct 1st – Nov 12th 2014
Data collection periods (30-day follow-up ends Dec 12).
Dec 5th
Preliminary results presented at National Research Collaborative Meeting in Cardiff.

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STARSurg ‘Buddy’ Scheme
It is universally recognized that mentorship through early career stages is integral to medical students’ professional and personal development. In fact, medical students pinpoint strong mentorship as a key persuasive factor in pursuit of a career in clinical academia.
Student and junior doctor collaborators who participate in the DISCOVER study will be invited to join an exciting new opportunity to be paired with a research-active surgical trainee within a regional postgraduate research collaborative group.
The wealth of academic experience and expertise of these trainees will provide STARSurg members with a number of opportunities for engagement with surgical academia, and a dedicated source of career advice and pastoral support.
Mentees will benefit from regular structured goal-orientated meetings with a single assigned mentor. They will be invited to attend relevant local and national meetings with the trainee, engaging with local research and quality improvement processes and gaining insight into academic surgical training. Reflective practice and self-assessment will be encouraged by the mentor and records will be held anonymously on an online portfolio. Mentors will be provided with a specific training day to maximise outcomes for students involved in the scheme.
STARSurg hopes that this scheme will allow collaborators to develop long-term professional relationships with local mentors throughout their early surgical careers. It will encourage a smooth transition from STARSurg participation, to trainee-led research collaborative projects, to research active surgical consultancy; applying evidence based practice for the benefit of UK patients.
STARSurg
Student participates in annual cohort study
Skills
Completion of three tiers of research course
Buddy scheme
Student eligible for mentoring by regional trainees
Academic
Student leaders nurtured into academic pathways
Graduation
Seamless transition into post- graduate research collaborative
Consultancy
Clinical research embedded into routine clinical practice

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The GlobalSurg group is delighted to offer STARSurg collaborators an opportunity to participate in an exciting new international collaborative surgical audit, which already has already registered interest from over 1000 clinicians in 70 countries.
GlobalSurg : Determining universal processes related to best outcome in emergency abdominal surgery: an international evaluation
The project involves 2 weeks of data collection on patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery with 30 days of follow up and will provide highly valuable data on global surgical outcomes. The project is running from July 2014 – November 2014 so there is still time to get involved! This internationally relevant, simple and brief study is ideally placed for student involvement. In fact, in countries such as Peru and Egypt, students have been instrumental in both the propagation and implementation of the GlobalSurg protocol. All contributors will achieve co-authorship in all publications leading from the data-set produced!
GlobalSurg truly is a unique way to boost your surgical CV and get involvement in a practice-changing study.
Register now! (www.globalsurg.org) or get in touch! (enquiry@globalsurg.org)
Do you have extensive email networks in Western Europe, Africa or Asia? Why not become a dissemination co-ordinator!
Latest update available at:
bit.ly/GSAugust

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Future Meetings
Enjoyed this event?
STARSurg are delighted to announce two further meetings for the 2014/15 academic year!
ASiT 2015 International Conference – STARSurg Parallel Session
February 2015
STARSurg is delighted to announce that we have been invited to chair a dedicated parallel session at ASiT’s 2015 international conference in Glasgow!
The annual ASiT conference is a perfect opportunity to socialise with over 700 fellow trainees from all ten surgical specialties, listen to the latest up-dates in clinical practice, training, and workforce, and hear what the future holds for us all.
With an impressive range of great value pre- conference courses, abstracts printed in the International Journal of Surgery and over £3500 in prize money to be won, ASiT provides a broad range of opportunities for CV-boosting and professional development.
ASiT student and junior doctor delegates will be invited to join STARSurg for a series of workshops and plenaries from world-leading academic surgeons during the weekend. The sessions will be carefully designed to give you transferable skills and advice on building your career in surgical research. The ASiT conference will also mark the launch of an exciting new STARSurg initiative – watch this space!
STARSurg 4th National Meeting
Spring 2015
STARSurg will hold its 4th National Meeting in Spring 2015, location: TBC. Further details to be released in the winter! This meeting will offer:
i. An interactive STARSurg research skills course, with expert teaching faculty.
ii. Dissemination of the findings of STARSurgII: The DISCOVER study and its parallel educational arm.
iii. A variety of targeted lectures and workshops from field-leading experts.