Course Review: Yorkshire Clinical Courses - Essential Plastic Surgery Skills for Junior Doctors Course.

Abstract

Contemporary medical curricula exhibits substantial gaps in plastic surgery education, with 70 percent of medical students completing their training without formal exposure to the specialty. The Essential Plastic Surgery Skills (EPS) course addresses these educational deficits through simulation-based learning for junior trainees. The 2-day program, conducted at Waterton Park Hotel, Wakefield, attracted a global audience from medical students to general practitioners. Faculty comprised 17 experienced educators providing 1:3 teacher to student ratios with continuous feedback and personalised instruction. Day 1 covered fundamental skills including skin closure, lesion excision, and tendon repair using biological specimens. Day 2 advanced to burns management, skin grafting, flap reconstruction and microsurgical techniques utilising porcine and poultry models. Course evaluation demonstrated adequate simulation equipment with sufficient time allocation for comprehensive skill development. The EPS course bridges the gap between undergraduate and postgraduate surgical training through simulation, addressing practical skill deficits while providing skill acquisition opportunities in a controlled learning environment. The program represents structured experience for those trainees interested in seeking broad plastic surgery exposure or transferable surgical skills.