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Background In the UK, Core Surgical Training (CST) marks the start of a surgical career, but previous experience and skills vary widely. Whilst Individual hospital Trusts offer local inductions, these are generally of a generic, administrative nature rather than advising trainees on how best to harness training opportunities. We designed a regional induction programme, ‘Building Excellence in Surgical Training’ (BEST) to address this, develop essential technical and non-technical skills, and engender support networks. Methods All incoming London Core Surgical Trainees (annual cohort size 90) were invited to participate, during the week prior to commencement of training. Trainees undertook 3 modules (portfolio, surgical skills and human factors-based simulation) and a research paper presentation day. We collected qualitative and quantitative data through a structured evaluation form, pre and post course Likert-scale scores and self-assessment utilising the non-technical skills for surgeons (NOTSS) framework. Results 972 CSTs have completed BEST over the past 12 years. In 2019, significant improvements were seen in: confidence for starting CST, 45% (n = 22/49)-83% (n = 33/40,p = 0.00045); feeling the core programme cared about them, 55% (n = 27/49)-98% (n = 41/42, p = Conclusion BEST equips trainees with the fundamental skills and confidence to safely embark on surgical training and provides tools to navigate the challenges training presents. The ethos of collaboration and support will aid the development of more resilient and empowered surgeons, vital in this era.

Learning is a lifelong process and academic study and professional training sessions often incorporate presentations to educate learners about a specific topic. Hayley Allan and Lisa Hadfield-Law give aesthetic practitioners essential advice on the dos and don'ts of giving presentations and recommend ways in which they can improve the calibre of their content and delivery skills

It is widely believed that it is impossible to train surgical trainees to Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT)-level in a mere 48-hour week; that trainees cannot gain sufficient exposure to surgical disease or carry out an acceptable number of procedures to gain the confidence and competence for CCT within the time now available. The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) is a reality and hospitals are already implementing strict controls to ensure its trainees do not exceed the hours they are allowed to work, resulting in a consultant-led service that further restricts training time and opportunity.

William Halsted was an innovator of surgical training in the 20th century. Traditionally training was offered to senior professors and Halsted wished to improve this, not to change it and bring it round full circle but to take training and education to a higher level. Halsted changed the focus of training to the house officer. House officers were given graduated responsibilities including supervised surgery within an apprenticeship model. Dependent on time served and numbers of patients treated, the programme ensured that the resident surgeon would be skilled and experienced. This concept of surgical training has continued to be used successfully but has recently had to evolve with the implementation of Modernising Medical Careers and the European Working Time Directive.