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Foreword: Journal of Education Leadership, Scholarship and Praxis in Education (Volume 1)
No full textForeword: Journal of Education Leadership, Scholarship and Praxis in Education (Volume 1
Surgo Visions Competition
No full text"A picture is worth a thousand words" - Confucius
To encourage intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, observational and diagnostic skills, the ability to empathize with patients, and promote a general sense of well-being, Surgo will publish up to 5 images submitted by medical students in each issue.
Images can be in the form of a painting, cartoon, photograph, still life drawing, doodle ... the list is endless - limited only by your imagination.
Selection criteria:
The image must be an original piece, submitted via email to the Editor in Chief, Surgo (format - JPEG or TIFF)
It should be certified as original and be accompanied by a short description of what it represents/means to you / why it should be published.
The best 5 will be selected for publication in Surgo by Professor Cindy Chew.
Each successful submission is awarded £20.
At the end of the year, all published images are eligible to compete for the Best Medical Vision prize - up to £10
Surgo Freshers\u27 Edition
No full textThis edition, read about a pioneering public health academic, who transformed the management of upper GI bleeds, student electives, humanitarian missions overseas and exciting new societies which are having a positive impact on improved accessibility to medical school; to name a few
My Summer as an Anatomy Intern
No full textThis Summer, I had the privilege of working under Siobhan Cantley and Professor Scott Border as a multimedia intern at the Anatomy Department of the University of Glasgow. Having seen the position advertised by the Student Opportunities Hub, I was intrigued by the prospect of self-directed content creation, utilising existing technology and practices to develop new teaching modalities for students at the college of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences.
The Thompson building is home to the Clinical Anatomy Skills Centre of the Royal College of Surgeons of Glasgow, where trainees develop their surgical skills on cadavers under supervision. Separate from the MBChB and Anatomy BSc curricula, the team are keen to integrate training footage from these courses into undergraduate teaching, to give them a perspective of how an understanding of anatomy is utilised in clinical practice. For example, I used footage from an abdominal laparoscopic procedure to visualise the boundaries of the abdominal cavity. Learning how to make mini lectures while complying with the human tissue act was a huge challenge but one so important given the gratitude and respect owed to our body donors.
Three-dimensional visualisation of anatomy is another modality I spent time trying to develop. Through attending training at the University of Edinburgh, I learned how to use the department’s Artec Spider 3D scanner; a highly impressive device that creates high precision 3D models of real-world objects. Prosection teaching is not without it’s challenges which include long-term sample preservation and accessibility in large cohorts, therefore I discovered the benefit of having digital 3D models of prosections to complement existing in-person teaching.
A highly accessible modality that predates the Artec scanner is the MRI scan and as such I gained access to one of my own from a research study I took part in last year. Being able to demonstrate my own neuroanatomy in the mini lecture was quite the privilege and highlights how far we’ve come from looking at a film on a lightbox.
Making anatomy more tangible is another goal of the department and 3D printing was one of their recent investments towards to this. Having converted my MRI scan into a 3D model on Blender, I set about printing a life size model which after a lot of trial and error I managed to complete. The department are not short of anatomy models therefore I was keen to make my prints of educational benefit. Few models of musculoskeletal joints can be physically manipulated and taken apart therefore this is something I hope to develop.
Overall, the use of this innovative technology is likely to improve the anatomy learning experience. A learning point from the internship is the importance of keeping innovation relevant to the outcomes you are trying to achieve. Dopamine addicts like myself are very excited by fancy new technologies such as 3D printers, scanners and virtual reality devices such that we often don’t consider their impact and efficacy as learning tools. It is therefore essential that if these practices are introduced into the curriculum, they must be supported by robust evidence that supports enhanced learning outcomes and are not merely gimmicks.
This is an exciting research space and one that I would like to contribute to following my internship experience.
Reference:
1.University of Glasgow - Schools - School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing - Anatomy Facility [Internet]. Gla.ac.uk. 2022 [cited 2025 Sep 14]. https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/medicine/anatomy/
Tolkien and Voice: Sound Descriptions in The Lord of the Rings
Full text linkIn this article at the intersection of literary studies and sound studies, I extend academic analysis of sound in modernist literature to the fantasy genre, focusing on the treatment of sound and voices in relation to the narrative building of invented worlds. Not only is sound an arguably under-analysed dimension of literary text, but the affective potential of reading, the sound of specific words, and the distribution and description of voices have wide-reaching implications for the ways authors can both subtly and overtly influence a reader’s reception of a text, a character, a scene, and – in the case of fantasy literature – entire invented races.
I demonstrate how sound can play a unique role in fantasy worldbuilding and the potential narrative impact which sounds – if any – an author chooses to include or highlight in their work. Using the sound studies concept of ‘voice’, I analyse examples from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy to show the way that descriptions of voices signpost whether a character or race is friendly or antagonistic and explore the possible affective influence of such choices on the reader’s judgments. More specifically, I focus on the contrast between Saruman’s ‘enchanting’ voice which leads the listener astray and Gandalf’s ‘clear’ one countering it, as well as the descriptions of sounds emitted by the Black Riders versus the Ents, after a brief examination of which invented races get to speak in the first place or make other characteristic sounds. Thus, I illustrate the interplay of sound with fantasy worldbuilding, the importance of an author’s choice in who to give a speaking voice (or any sound at all), and the potential effect of sound descriptions on the reader
Dyslexia in medicine
No full textOn a recent ENT placement, I was taking ahistory from a patient on the ward duringwhich the patient asked me If I would be ableto explain their diagnosis further to them.During the morning ward round, they hadbeen given a brief explanation of theircondition by a member of the surgical teamand given a patient information leaflet abouttheir condition. The patient confided in me that althoughthey don’t have problems with their vision,they have never felt comfortable reading asthey feel the words can move around thepage. They went on to mention how they arevery embarrassed about struggling to readand feel modern life is very difficult whenyou can’t read. The patient reported abouthow narrowed their life opportunities wereby this. They will only ever eat from onetakeaway and order the same meal each timebecause they don’t know what the otherwords say. Although this is on the extremeend of the spectrum, this patient is clearly amember of the 10% of the population whohave dyslexia.(1) Dyslexia is a learning difficulty which istypically characterised by difficultiesreading, writing, and spelling, despiteaffected individuals having normal levels ofintelligence.(2) In normal physiology thereading pathway includes Broca’s area, theinferior parietotemporal lobe (includingWernicke’s area), the anterior, middle lobeand the left occipitotemporal sulcus. Thesefour areas are vital for phonologicalprocessing and have been shown onfunctional MRI scanning to be far lessactivated in people with dyslexia. This is compensated for by a greater use ofthe alternative anterior systems. Theseanterior systems can enable accuratereading but are unable to support fluent orrapid reading to the same extent as is seen inthe more established reading pathway. (3)People with dyslexia experience significantlyreduced reading and writing speeds,experience problems with reading andproblems with phonation. In addition tothese more classical symptoms these peoplealso experience problems with workingmemory impairments (4) and auditorytemporal processing. (5)Dyslexia is also strongly linked to low selfesteem which is likely to be caused byindividuals at a young age having difficultiesboth inside and outside of school. (3)As dyslexia is typically diagnosed by aneducational psychologist it is not commonlyconsidered to be within the remit ofmedicine. However, it is important to beaware of the struggles which it may causepatients. A quick screening question whichcan also cover patients who don’t have theirreading glasses could be ‘If I were to give youa patient information leaflet would you haveany difficulty reading it’. Doctors and Medical students are constantlybeing asked to consider more and moreissues which may seem to run adjacent tothe practicing of medicine. This isundoubtedly a challenge but patients with abetter understanding of their ownconditions, internal locus of control andbetter relationships with their clinicianshave better outcomes. (6) As 10% of our future patients are likely tohave dyslexia it might be worth having athink about thinking of some ways in whichwe can ensure such patients are as engagedand integrated into their own care as wewould want any of our other patients to be.My experience Having dyslexia is often thought of by manyas being both a gift and a curse. Dyslexiaprovides a lot of advantages in terms oflateral thinking, imagination and problemsolving. The disadvantages are evident:challenges with reading speed—both aloudand silently—writing difficulties, andimpaired short-term memory.The only problem is that in third leveleducation its more likely that the downsideswill outweigh the benefits. Especially in achallenging degree such as medicine. Asidefrom the obvious challenges faced by aplethora of textbooks, research articles andclinical guidelines and the reading challengesthey present there are other ways in which 1.2.dyslexia affects medical students:Terminology – the medical world is full ofcomplex terminology and jargon. Although Ilove the romanticism in naming things inGreek and Latin it does provide an extrahurdle. The minefield of cholecystitis,cholangitis and choledocholithiasis springsto mind. From my experience it’s not thatthese are stumbling blocks, rather that Ineeded to learn to be patient with myselfwhen I get them mixed up yet again.Short term memory – Short term memory isan area in which most people in medicine areparticularly gifted. As a result, havingdifferent neuronal pathways which affectstudents ability to remember facts in theshort term can be very challenging. Fromunsuccessful attempts to cram topics forexams, to forgetting details for upcomingPBL’s it can make aspects of universitysignificantly more challenging. I try and havea notebook on me for important informationon placement and remain buoyed by the factthat once I understand something and find aplace for it in my brain it does thankfully staythere. Exams – organising my thoughts into thecorrect terminology and getting them downon the page efficiently for markers providesa challenge. Exam technique is something Iam constantly trying to improve. Thankfully, there does seem to be the beginnings of agear shift to improve exam questions andstyle to better suit a wider aspect of thepopulation.My primary strategies are centred on twokey pillars: firstly, embracing my weaknesseswhile leveraging my strengths; and secondly,seeking out support wherever possible. Thedisability services at the university are veryhelpful and have provided me with a lot ofassistive technology. In addition I havebenefited from one-to-one tuition helpingme develop adaptive study techniques whichcan help me restructure information. Thishas taught me to summarise long lists intocategories which I prefer to deal with. Thishas all been provided to me quickly and freeof charge for which I am massively grateful.I am not trying to shout from the rooftopsabout difficulties I have faced, rather hopingto find some people who recognise mychallenges in their own experiences andhave been considering exploring a diagnosis.People with dyslexia can achieve as much inmedicine as anyone else can and there arecountless examples of this. The importanceas in anyone is recognising where we mightneed help and being humble enough to askfor it
A New Year of Surgo
No full textHello Everyone, it’s Daanyaal your Surgo Editor-in-Chief for the Year 2024/25. As we enter a new academic year, Surgo also experiences a change in leadership and management. I want to start by crediting the work that Anna and the team underwent to transform Surgo and bring it online for all to read. I hope to be able to also add to the legacy in my own way this year.
My main aims are to:
Develop the Journals to include more editions and featured pieces.
Enhance the Instagram to include articles from the journals as well as other fun pieces of media.
Have overarching themes for each edition to differentiate them from each other and provide an enjoyable and informative reading experience for you all.
Run more competitions and other fun interactive experiences to get everyone involved.
I hope to be able to build on all my predecessors and continue to make Surgo an important part of the Glasgow medical student experience. Thank You
The Cost of Being a Medical Student
No full textIn the face of what many are calling the mostchallenging economic climate in decades, therepercussions of soaring inflation rates arereverberating throughout the nation. Manypublic sector workers have taken to thestreets in protest, with the well-documentedjunior doctor strikes serving as a poignantexample. However, amidst the headlines, thefinancial struggles of a vital group have gonerelatively unnoticed: medical students.A recent financial survey conducted by theBritish Medical Association (BMA) has shedlight on the alarming impact on medicalstudents nationwide. The majority of over athousand respondents reported having tomake sacrifices in basic necessities such asfood and heating, while over 40% disclosedrunning out of funds before the end of theterm. Furthermore, more than half of therespondents revealed having to juggle parttime work to finance their studies, but asignificant majority felt this compromiseadversely affected their academicperformance.These findings are not in isolation. A recentpoll commissioned by The Office forStudents (OfS) found similar rates offinancial hardship amongst students inhigher education. In addition to this, almost20% of students had considered droppingout of their course due to financialdifficulties. In 2022, an article published inThe British Medical Journal (thebmj)assessed the current plight of final yearstudents balancing jobs on top of clinicalplacements as well as the staggering amountof debt students encounter upon graduating. In a time when the NHS is facingunprecedented challenges with recruitmentand retention, it seems the lack of financialsupport for medical students may furthercompound these issues.This year, the SURGO team are committed tounderstanding the true extent of the costof-living crisis medical students face duringthe 2023/24 academic term. We are reachingout to the medical student community inGlasgow with a short, anonymous surveydesigned to capture your experiences. Thedata gathered will be carefully analysed andcompiled into a comprehensive report,which will be featured in our next edition.Our goal with this survey is to unravel thefinancial challenges entwined with pursuinga medical degree in 2023/24 and advocate forenhanced support from the medical schoolto alleviate these burdens during youruniversity journey. Join us to spotlight therealities faced by medical students. Scan theQR code or check the link on our Instagrampage to share your insight
Tail Lights
No full text1st October 2023. As autumn leaves fallsoftly and rustle to the ground, this poppedup on my Twitter feed: 52 years ago, the veryfirst CT scan was performed on a person.Godfrey Hounsfield was apparentlyintrigued by the notion of using cosmic raysto find hidden structures without “openingthe box” or entering ancient Egyptianpyramids. This brought to my mind thebeautiful bag Elliot (MedChir President,2022/23) gifted me on behalf of MedChir atthe Alumni Ball 2023. Why? Because the firstwoman featured on the bag is Cleopatra. Iloved it so much I ordered a few more forProfessor Judy Yee MD in New York City. Shewas chuffed and Twitter lit up with requestson where to buy them! (Supporting the localeconomy and all that….!)As we continue striving towards genderequality, I thought I’d share the wonderfulevent Elliot and the MedChir team pulledtogether for International Women’s Day,showcasing 4 amazing women Professors. Itwas a scintillating evening where we wereprivileged to hear and learn about their verydifferent careers and experiencesculminating in Professorships in Medicine.No mean feat by any standards! (Let meknow if you would like to attend anotherevening like this and I’ll see what we can do). Professor Rona Mackie / Lady Black another woman who changed the world!(disappointingly, not pictured on the bag) regrettably could not join us on the night. Asthe first woman appointed to an establishedChair at the University of Glasgow,Professor Mackie is a trailblazer, achievingand continuing to achieve so much in hercareer and life. As one of the foundingmembers of The Academy of MedicalSciences, not only has she been at theforefront of groundbreaking medicalresearch, but has also enabled others tocontinue advancing cutting edge medicine aswell as establishing one of the mostsuccessful medical mentoring programmes. Ihope you enjoy reading our little chat anddraw as much inspiration from it as I didmeeting her! Her vitality and formidability issomething that we should all aspire to
Competition Time
No full textNow that Surgo is linked to a Creative Commons license AND articles are regarded ascitable publications, we want to give students the opportunity to share their researchprojects with the world. In each issue we want to publish five student visual abstracts. What is a visual abstract? A visual abstract is a novel way of presenting research. It is a small graphic that gives abrief overview of the research question, methods and conclusions of the project. Inessence it is an eye catching summary of the research you have carried out. Below is anexample published by the BMJ(1):What do I need to submit? The first five visual abstracts that aresubmitted to [email protected] 10th February will receive £20.Thereafter, the five best visualabstracts that are submitted (asjudged by Prof. Cindy Chew) will beselected and displayed in eachsubsequent future issue. The authorsof these visual abstracts will alsoreceive £20 each. To wrap up this academic year ofSurgo, Prof. Matthew Walters haskindly offered to judge and decide onthe best visual abstract submittedover the course of the next twoissues. The winner will receive £100prize money. Your written abstract (introduction, methods, results, conclusion (250 words))Your visual abstract The name of one project supervisor The date of submission to the competition Good luck