The Student and Foundation Doctors in Otolaryngology (SFO) Conference 2021 kicked off to a great start with a very warm welcome from SFO UK Chair Mr Dheeraj Karamchandani and Professor Nirmal Kumar, ENT UK President. The friendly and encouraging tone of this introduction set the theme for a day of informative, engaging and animated panels, presentations and talks.
Professor Claire Hopkins delivered a very personal and inspirational talk about her journey into ENT. The talk touched on the difficulties women have faced and continue to face in getting full gender equality in the speciality, as well as advice on surviving the gruelling but worthwhile journey. Following this, ‘How do I get there?’ by ENT surgical run-through trainees Dr Rohma Abrar and Ms Emma Watts began with a presentation packed with top tips and guidance on Core Surgical Training (CST) applications. This information was all closely tied to the CST self-assessment criteria and as a result was highly relevant to all delegates.
The nasoendscopy station in Action.
After a short break we were treated to a fascinating talk from Miss Somiah Siddiq on ‘new horizons in ENT’ based on new technology emerging in the field. This featured the role Artificial Intelligence will play in future practice as well as the possible effect of new genomics research and the potential impact that new developments in robotic surgery will have on patient outcomes. A free paper session followed, and then a thoroughly engaging panel on diversity and inclusion in the specialty. The panel chaired by Miss Nona Mistry included Professor Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam, Mr Tim Mitchell and Dr Ayomide Ayorinde. This panel focused on what us, the delegates, could do as current and upcoming ENT clinicians to improve diversity and representation within the specialty to the benefit of all of us and to ensure we are representative of our patient populations. To round off the events before lunch Professor Peter Brennan gave a talk about human factors. This served as an interesting look into how we as clinicians should look after ourselves to ensure we are in tip top shape and ready to bring our A-game when treating patients. It included advice on avoiding conflict, anger, and burnout.
The panel chaired by Miss Nona Mistry featuring Professor Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam, Mr Tim Mitchell and Dr Ayomide Ayorinde.
During the lunch break delegates were given a chance to have a final look at the posters on display and cast the vote for their People’s Choice. After lunch, delegates were given an opportunity to work their way in groups around eight stations based around some clinical and surgical skills used in ENT. These included nasoendoscopy, paediatric bronchoscopy, temporal bone drilling on a haptic feedback machine as well as tonsil ties and grommet insertion. After these skills sessions, the conference was brought to a close and the prize winners were announced. Mervyn Owusu-Ayim won the prize for best oral presentation. Rudrik Thakkar won the judges award for best poster while Emily Wilson was the recipient of the People’s Choice poster prize.
