Younger Fellows Group
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh established a Younger Fellows’ Group to encourage senior trainees and younger consultants to form a network that not only supports one another, but also works with the College to feedback opinions to the College Council on important professional issues from the current/future workforce.
The College has a proud history, educating surgeons and setting standards for the profession for more than 500 years. Life as a consultant has changed dramatically over this time, but perhaps most noticeably over the last decade. Consultants now live in an environment of raised public expectation, increased scrutiny with the individual reporting of surgical outcomes and escalated workload due to changes enforced by the European Working Time Regulation. In recognition of these pressures, the College has committed to assist our younger consultants and has provided an avenue of mentorship and support through the Younger Fellows’ Group.
A Younger Fellow (YF) is defined as any surgeon who has obtained Fellowship within the last 10 years. The aim of the group is to facilitate younger surgeons of all disciplines and from all locations in the UK to socialise, get involved in College life and feedback their opinions on professional issues to Council through the YF Committee, as well as provide an outlet to discuss frustrations or share success stories with new friends and like-minded colleagues.
Younger Fellows Committee Members are:
- Clare McNaught, RCSEd Council Member and Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon, Scarborough Hospital
- Miriam Day, Locum Orthopaedic Consultant, Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil
- Farhat Din, RCSEd Regional Surgical Adviser (Scotland, South East) and Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon, Western General Hospital
- Peter Driscoll, Consultant Laparoscopic and Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon, Victoria Hospital, Fife
- Johnny Ferguson, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, James Cook University Hospital
- Ewen Harrison, Senior Lecturer in General Surgery, University of Edinburgh
- Richard McGregor, ECAT Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Specialty Registrar in General Surgery, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
- Mark Peter, RCSEd Regional Surgical Adviser (Yorkshire & Humber) and Consultant General Surgeon (UGI and Bariatric Surgery), Scarborough General Hospital
- Nathan Stephens, Specialist Registrar in General Surgery and Scottish Clinical Leadership Fellow in 2014/15
- Mike Woodruff, RCSEd Regional Surgical Adviser (North West) and Consultant Orthopaedic Hand & Wrist Surgeon, Royal Preston Hospital
Younger Fellows Group Events
The Younger Fellows’ Committee regularly invites senior trainees (ST 7/8) and Fellows within 10 years of their FRCS to attend informal evenings where you can socialise and network with other surgeons from various specialties. These meetings focus on the increasing pressures facing surgeons in the NHS and discuss strategies to avoid burnout.
There is also practical advice covering issues such as financial and pension planning, as well as the opportunity to meet members of the Younger Fellows’ Committee, who are there to feedback your ideas and opinions on professional matters to the RCSEd Council.
CPD is available for these meetings.
There is also food, beer and wine for an informal evening.
For further information about the Younger Fellows Group and forthcoming meetings, contact outreach@rcsed.ac.ac.uk
