I am Dr Wone Banda from Malawi. I was awarded a scholarship to pursue an online masters programme in Surgical Sciences with the University of Edinburgh in 2011. At this time, I was just beginning my plastic surgery residency programme. The first two years of this programme focus on surgical sciences which made it an ideal time to pursue for me to pursue the course. The online content was very relevant and helped me tremendously to prepare for my MCS exams which I sat in 2013. I found the practice MCQs helpful and had easy access to online journals which was particularly helpful.
My final year in the MSc in Surgical Sciences programme, which is the research year, equipped me with the basic knowledge of how to conduct research projects. I am currently a Plastic Surgeon working at Kamuzu Central Hospital and would highly recommend this programme to all trainees starting their surgical training regardless of the specialty they will pursue. I recently attended an ESO alumni retreat which provided a great platform to network and through this I am in talks of possibly engaging in research collaboration in burn care.
