UK Travelling Fellowship
“Congratulations! We look forward to welcoming you to the United Kingdom and the IFSSH Congress,” the long-waited mail I received on a pleasant winter morning. I was one of the luckiest fellows to attend UK Travelling Fellowship, London 2022.
As a young plastic surgeon from Bangladesh, I have very little experience in hand surgery. But I always wish to operate on children with hand deformity especially congenital hand. I used to attend BSSH/BFIRST online educational program on hand surgery but lacks practical experience.
By availing this fellowship, I got the opportunity to do 2 weeks clinical observership training in different Hand Surgery centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh, under supervision of Mr. Wee Leon Lam, consultant plastic and hand surgeon. This fellowship was fully funded by BSSH, and I also offered complimentary registration for the conference held from 6-10 June in London. My five scientific papers were accepted for presentation in the conference and three abstracts were published in The Journal of Hand Surgery, European volume in June 2022.
Fellowship attachment started from 23rd May 2022. I was placed in four different hospitals in Glasgow and Edinburgh. I attended hand clinic and theatre at Stobhill Hospital, Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow Royal Infirmary Hospital and Royal hospital for children and young people in Edinburgh.
Fig: In the operation theatre at Stobhill with my consultant Mr. Iain McGraw
Managing children with congenital hand is quite difficult. I was more concern about learning the differences: consultation time, way to behave with children and their parents, counselling, hand therapy, follow up and preservation of patients’ data.
We were invited for dinner at Royal College of Physicians and Surgeon’s Glasgow, most cherished place for a surgeon from LMIC country. I gave a presentation along with my other three fellow colleagues on my work and workplace. The evening was so wonderful and memorable one in presence of other hand surgeons from Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Fig: A memorable evening at Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Glasgow
On 2nd June we arrived in London to attend IFSSH, IFSHT, FESSH Combined congress held in Excel London from 6-10 June. Third June was our Fellowship Day; started with educational morning at Royal College of Surgeons of England. Mr. Wee Leon Lam and Miss Gill Smith conducted an excellent session on Congenital hand.
Fig: Educational morning at Royal College of Surgeons of England
Fellowship journey ended by attending wonderful conference, lots of scientific papers, conference dinner and closing ceremony for 32 IFSSH fellows from other parts of the world.
Fig: At Excel London, 6-10 June,2022
This fellowship attachment helped to upgrade my surgical knowledge, attitude and skill towards patients. I was more focused on management of congenital hand. I observed during conducting hand clinic consultant includes hand therapist and clinical psychologist in the team. Besides treating the baby, emotional support to the parents specially with congenital hand is also important. I have learned how to deal these types of patients with empathy.
Counselling of the patients and their parents regarding disease, management protocol, complications and taking consent is more structured here. It was hard to observe and learn so many things in short duration. So, it will be more helpful if we can increase the duration of fellowship and if possible, provision of scrubbing in the theatre for the fellows.
Besides attending Hand Clinic and theatres, I spent wonderful moments in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Roaming around, visiting historical places, Edinburgh Castle, attending dinner sponsored by our consultant Mr. Wee Lam was memorable
My fellowship journey from 22nd May to 10th June is one of the memorable events I will cherish forever. As a young plastic surgeon from LMIC country, it was very difficult to bear all the expenses to make it possible. I am so grateful to IFSSH, BSSH, BFIRST, FESSH for organising such an amazing fellowship program and giving me the opportunity to become a part of it. This UK Travelling Fellowship IFSSH 2022 introduced me to the amazing world and people of Hand Surgery.
Fig: Fellowship closing ceremony on 10.06.2022 at Excel, London
This fellowship program gives me an opportunity to learn recent advances in hand surgery, meeting experts from other parts of world and upgrade myself as a competent hand surgeon.
Best wishes for IFSSH and I hope IFSSH will continue to provide this opportunity for hand surgeons.
Thank you all.
Most. Nurunnahar Begum
