Scottish Surgical Boot Camp: why are all new Scottish Core Surgical trainees now sent to the Highlands?

In 2014, the Highland Surgical Boot Camp - an innovative, simulation-rich induction course in the Clinical Skills Centre in Inverness - was commissioned by the Scottish Core Surgical Training programmes and became the 'Scottish Surgical Boot Camp'. As a result, all new-start trainees on these national programmes now come to Inverness for 4 days of innovative, simulation-rich training in key skills essential to a safe and flying start in Surgery. The skills included are not just technical (operating), but also non-technical (eg situation awareness, decision-making, communication and teamwork). Immediate feedback has been very positive and a qualitative study of the Boot Camp used educational theory to understand its processes. In this talk we will learn what it took for a Highland course to find a national market and become oversubscribed. We will examine how rich learning occurs on induction to a community of practice, and how Boot Camp sets standards not just in skills and knowledge, but in attitudes and values. Describing the components of the course, we will look in detail at the simulated ward round and the practical skills labs as worked examples (including video footage) and consider transferability of the model to allied medical or to non-medical professions. Finally we will consider the long-term benefits to the host hospital and region, of placing a Highland course at the centre of a national training programme.

This abstract was presented at the Innovative Solutions in Remote Healthcare - 'Rethinking Remote' conference, 23-24 May 2016, Inverness, Scotland.