College medical students honoured in University education awards
“The Cambridge University Surgical Society received a number of nominations for their incredible efforts to support their peers during the disruption of the 2020-2021 academic year”
Three St John’s medics have been recognised in a University-wide awards scheme for their ‘incredible’ efforts to support student peers during the pandemic.
Cambridge University Surgical Society has been named as a winner in the 2021 Outstanding Student Contribution to Education Awards (OSCEA) – with St John’s students Kiran Joshi, Daphne Chia and Alex Fung jointly nominated for their efforts within the society, claiming top-spot in the Innovative Practice category.
Kiran and Daphne were in their sixth and final year as undergraduates reading Clinical Medicine in 2020-2021 when the pandemic hit; Kiran was Surgical Society President and Daphne was Vice-President. Alex was in his fifth year of Clinical Medicine and together they helped organise and run the Surgical Skills Club, which supported fellow students with their learning and professional development when the Covid-19 crisis hit.
As well as the skills club, the society was also commended for putting on a webinar series on surgical topics for exams, a Careers and Innovation conference and a Women in Surgery conference.
The OSCEA citation states: “The Cambridge University Surgical Society received a number of nominations for their incredible efforts to support their peers during the incredible disruption of the 2020-21 academic year. Representing the Surgical Society for this award are Kiran Joshi, Daphne Chia and Alex Fung…
“Several groups of students have mobilised to support their fellow peers’ learning during this hugely disrupted year and Cambridge Surgical Society have been exemplary.
“The society organised a four-week Surgical Skills Club programme in which clinical medical students were taught essential surgical skills by senior surgeons. They also developed a series of online resources including infographics on common surgical procedures, a skills video course and a surgical placement guidebook. These resources, although designed with the pandemic in mind, will last many years and provide long-term benefit to the student community.”
Kiran and Daphne, who graduated in 2021, are both now Junior Doctors, while Alex is in the final year of his undergraduate degree and remains a member of the Surgical Society committee, helping to run events.
The OSCEA, which are held annually by Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning, enable members of the collegiate University to show appreciation for students’ efforts in improving the educational experiences of their peers, and to celebrate their achievements.
There are five categories in the awards, the other four being: Access and Outreach, Inclusive Practice, Peer Support, and Academic or College Representative. Joint runners-up in the Innovative Practice category are Rachel Fox and Emily Wilson, who were sixth-year undergraduates at Gonville & Caius College last year.
Cambridge University Surgical Society is an academic society aiming to promote surgery as a career path and inspire the next generation of surgeons, and is affiliated with Cambridge University and The Royal College of Surgeons in England.
Published 4/2/2022