The first thing is to ask yourself whether surgery is a career for you. Find opportunities to expose yourself to the various surgical specialties available through surgical placements, SSCs and electives. It is essential to demonstrate an interest in surgery from an early stage and have a well maintained portfolio to support this.

There are several things to look out for which would help you to decide about a career in surgery. These included lectures on surgery, workshops, study days and conferences – so watch out for Scalpel’s events! Throughout the year, Scalpel organises many talks delivered by notable speakers and surgeons with career advices.

The following websites will provide you with more detailed information on the recruitment, stages of training and the application process:

• Medical Specialty Training (England) – www.mmc.nhs.uk
• Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme – www.iscp.ac.uk
• Surgical Careers @ Royal College of Surgeons of England – surgicalcareers.rcseng.ac.uk
• Association of Surgeons in Training - www.asit.org/resources/medical_students
• Women in Surgery (WinS) - surgicalcareers.rcseng.ac.uk/wins