Permit me to start off by expressing my profound gratitude to Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSS) and University of Edinburgh (ESO) for this excellent opportunity of participating in a world acclaimed ChM programme in Orthopaedics and Trauma surgery. It would have been practically impossible to have enrolled in this programme save for the scholarship offer. I remain eternally grateful.
As a surgical trainee from Nigeria, I am very conversant with the seemingly perpetual challenges in the areas of training, research, and surgical skills acquisition. This scenario is further compounded by the dearth of qualified orthopaedics and trauma surgeons to cater for the needs of almost 200 million Nigerians.
This programme really came in handy; the programme is well structured, and the syllabus is very robust and also applied well to my training needs. Looking back, this programme has greatly enriched my knowledge to the extent that my very senior colleagues have made it a point of duty to seek my opinion in most cases. I also made sure during the academic ground and ward rounds, my knowledge is cascaded to all and the feedbacks have been quite encouraging.
If I were to truthfully evaluate the impact of this programme on my surgical training and profession career, I will succinctly put it thus:
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I can performs minor and intermediate cases without supervision and major orthopaedic procedures under supervision.
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I have developed skills relating to the professional management of “everyday” general elective and emergency orthopaedic surgery.
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I now have a good understanding of preoperative assessment, operative management, and postoperative care of both the elective and emergency surgical patient
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I have a good knowledge of trauma and orthopaedics, and I am able to fairly apply this knowledge to the systematic assessment and management of surgical patient in the elective, urgent and emergency clinical settings.
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I can demonstrate critical understanding of the principle theories and apply this knowledge and understanding to the systematic assessment of surgical patients.
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I can critically reflect upon day-to-day surgical practice in the context of recent advances/published findings.
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I am able to make clinical decisions based upon evidence and findings, taking into account ethical and professional issues.
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I am now open to new ideas, methods, and ways of thinking.
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Being an avid learner, and I am now committed to continuous learning, reflection, self-evaluation, and self-improvement.
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I am able to present information clearly in written, visual, and oral forms, and communicate ideas and arguments effectively.
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I can mediate and negotiate with patients, relatives/carers/partners, and colleagues (juniors and seniors) with ease.
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I am constantly aware of and respect different cultures, values, views, and beliefs.
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I respect patient autonomy and have learned to avoid stigmatising any category of patient.
For the record, my specialist and core academic activities were adjudged 73 and 83 respectively. And I graduated with a class of Merit. This has in a way justified the essence of the scholarship offer. I am very proud of this achievement. This will further encourage CSC to increase the slots for this programme, because I am very sure there are financially constrained candidates who can surpass this achievement if granted scholarships.
I look forward to using my ChM as a leverage for securing further trainings in UK and also passing my other professional exams in West Africa with ease. I also look forward to my graduation and I am highly privileged to be an Alumni of CSC and University of Edinburgh.
Thank you,
Dr Olusegun Emiju
Orthopaedic Trainee (Nigeria).
