General Surgery

5 years programme

The program includes essential instruction and training in pedagogical techniques and research methodology/epidemiology. The programme consists of two parts and the course of study is a minimum of five years - Part I maximum of three and a half (3.5) years inclusive of deferrals and Part II maximum of four and a half (4.5) years inclusive of deferral. The programme takes place either at the University Hospital of the West Indies or at institutions in the contributing territories recognized by the University for this purpose.

Part 1-Two Years

• During this period, students will be assigned to three-monthly rotations in General Surgery and the surgical subspecialties. A rotation in critical care medicine may be taken through the Section of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care.
• A maximum of three months may be spent in the Basic Medical Sciences Department (Sections of Anatomy, Biochemistry or Physiology), the Department of Pathology.
• Provided that the in-course assessments are satisfactory, the Part I examination is taken at the end of two years

Part II – Three years

• During this period, students are assigned to general surgery rotations with increasing levels of responsibility.
• Up to one year’s elective may be spent at institutions in or outside of the Caribbean provided that prior approval is obtained from the Specialty Board in Surgery. Such approval must be obtained at least six months prior to the commencement of the elective period. The elective period is limited to the penultimate year only.
• The penultimate year of the programme can be undertaken at an approved institution by the Specialty Board.
• Entry to Part II is dependent on satisfactory completion of the Part I.

Assessment

• The following three requirements must be met before the Part II examination:

a) Reach a satisfactory standard in on-going assessments.

b) Submit a list of all operations where the candidate was the primary surgeon or assistant surgeon as certified by their supervisors.

c) Case book or Clinical Research Project

• All DM Surgery candidates must submit to the Specialty Board or the Coordinator of the programme, at least six months before the final (Part II) Examination, ONE of the following:

a) A Clinical Research Project or research thesis. This option should have been previously agreed on at the commencement of the Part II programme by the Specialty Board and the project carried out under the guidance of a supervisor appointed by the Campus Committee for Graduate Studies and Research on the recommendation of the Specialty Board in Surgery. 

or

b) A casebook of ten cases and a Clinical Research Project eg. a pilot project not exceeding 8,000 words. The latter could provide the basis to conduct a Clinical Research Project on clinical material to be later developed into a publication.

• Students are required to discuss the preparation of the casebook/project report with their Consultant(s) and/or Supervisor(s) during the preparation of the book. Each should be entered in a log and signed as satisfactorily completed by the supervisor. The writing of the casebook offers the student the opportunity of choosing cases of clinical relevance and to express an opinion, based on careful evaluation of the current literature. The case reports should be of high quality suitable for publication in a peer reviewed journal.

Examination

• Before admission to any examination, candidates must be certified by their supervisors as having completed all relevant parts of the programme. There are two examinations, one each at the end of the Part I and Part II and only 2 attempts are allowed per examination. Candidates will be eligible to sit the Part I examination two years but not greater than three years after entry into the programme. The Part I examination consists of two sections:

Section A - Principles of Surgery

Section B - Basic Pathology, Anatomy, Physiology (including Biochemistry)

• The examination must be completed within one calendar year of the first attempt. There will be a written paper, which may include multiple choice questions and an oral examination in each subject. The candidate must pass Section A and at least two parts of Section B to qualify for entry to Part II of the programme. Candidates who are repeating Part I must remain in the programme. Candidates who score 40 or less on the written paper should not progress to the orals. Continuation in the training programme will be dependent on the recommendation of the Specialty Board based on its continuous assessment and the results of the Part I examination. Candidates will be eligible to sit the Part II examination at the end of the three years in Part II (i.e. at the end of year V), but not greater than four years (at the end of year 6) after successful completion of the Part I examination. 

• The Part II examination consists of:

a) Written papers which may include multiple choice questions.

b) an oral examination which may include clinical material and must be taken within one calendar year of the acceptance of the project or casebook.