• Br J Neurosurg · Feb 2019

    Multicenter Study

    Undergraduate neurosurgical conferences - what role do they play?

    • John Hanrahan, Charlotte Burford, Ali Ansaripour, Brandon Smith, Katie Sysum, Kapil Mohan Rajwani, Marian Huett, and Bassel Zebian.
    • a Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine , King's College London , London , United Kingdom.
    • Br J Neurosurg. 2019 Feb 1; 33 (1): 76-78.

    IntroductionUndergraduate student conferences provide networking opportunities for students interested in exploring a speciality. The ability to meet with like-minded students, engage with senior clinicians and experience the practical side of a speciality are valuable in shaping the career trajectory of undergraduates. We report our experience of developing a national undergraduate neurosurgery conference - a combined project between the medical students of King's College London School of Medicine and the neurosurgery department at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.DesignEvaluation of conference design and student feedback.MethodsThe conference was organised by medical students with support from a neurosurgical unit. Senior clinicians and trainees helped design practical workshops and a focused programme. Questionnaires were distributed before and after the conference to assess the quality of content and impact of the conference on students.ResultsPrior to the conference, 80.7% of respondents stated they were interested in a career in neurosurgery. After the conference the figure rose to 88.9%. The percentage of students who felt they understood what a career in neurosurgery involves increased from 38.6% to 92.1% of respondents. 39.0% of participants had no neurosurgery exposure prior to the conference. 91.9% of participants agreed or strongly agreed they would be more confident engaging with a neurosurgical department following the conference. All participants agreed (29.0%) or strongly agreed (71.0%) that they would recommend this conference to a colleague.ConclusionsStudent conferences are a valuable method of increasing exposure to a career in neurosurgery. They serve a great purpose in demystifying the specialty and guiding those with an interest through the steps required to enter and progress.

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