Skills Stations

for Chennai 2022 Conference

These skills competition challenges have been used for the RCSEd National Student
Surgical Skills Competition. They are designed to test the surgeons’ dexterity, skills,
and knowledge. All stations need to be supervised to time the competitors.

For the Chennai 2022 Conference, you may pick as many stations as you deem fit
for company’s booth:

1. Knot-tying

Instructions to candidate
This is a station designed to test your ability to tie a knot and understand the
properties of the materials that you are using. You will be asked to tie 3 knots under
supervision and answer some questions relating to suture materials. Each of these
knots will be demonstrated to you at the beginning of the exercise.

Stations
1. One handed reef (square) knot
2. Surgeon’s knot
3. Tying at depth

The knot tying station can be timed and fastest results can be displayed on a digital
leader board. See attached PowerPoint for instruction videos.
 2. Laparoscopy

First option: Pre-printed placement card with beans or beads. This should take
around 5 minute, or a points-based system can be used with a time limit (3 min) with
points scored for every object placed in the correct position.
Second option: Threading a suture through the loops is the second test. Can be
timed similarly to the first option with one point per threaded loop.
Third option: Cube stacking using the laparoscopy instruments, also timed as above.
 3. Suturing

Each participant should have an incised skin pad, jig, scalpel, needle holder, forceps
and suture. The participants are required to demonstrate 5 uninterrupted stitches.
This task can be timed and all successful attempts can be displayed on a digital
leader board.

Combined points from all three stations can be used to determine the winner of the
competition, or a single station can be chosen. Please note that the stations will
require someone to register the results and/or judge whether the tasks have been
carried out correctly.