A specialist training course for multidisciplinary health professionals, including a new training model and live surgery, took place in February.
The course, held within the education department at the University Hospital of North Tees, focused on didactic and practical training for shoulder arthroscopy – a minimally invasive surgery that involves inserting a camera and instruments into the shoulder – to examine tissue structures and repair problems like rotator cuff tears.
The session invited doctors in training, scrub nurses and physiotherapists as part of a multidisciplinary training approach. Aiding surgeons in practical training techniques, while informing and improving practice for other clinical colleagues; so they can better understand and explain the procedure and expected outcomes to their patients, ultimately improving patient care.
The morning session included presentations from national and international expert speakers and gave health professionals the opportunity to trial and practice the procedure on a new anatomical shoulder arthroscopy model, supplied by medical device company, DePuy Synthes.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Richard Jeavons said: “Shoulder pain is a common problem and arthoscopy is a powerful tool in helping to diagnose and treat the cause of pain for our patients.
“It was brilliant getting to trial and test a new product during the course as the model is a lot more anatomically accurate, which gives us a more realistic experience of what performing the procedure can be like – with a more accurate representation of all the anatomical structures you would expect to be looking for and operating on.”
The afternoon session included a live shoulder surgery led by consultant orthopaedic surgeon Raymond Liow, which was streamed from the operating theatre, to a screen in one of the Trust’s training rooms.
Richard continued: “The day was a brilliant opportunity for health professionals from both within and outside of the organisation to hear and learn from some of the best shoulder arthroscopy experts from across the country.
“It was a great day to trial a new training model and to share good practice – to ensure we are delivering the best care for our patients.”
Special thank you to DePuy Synthes Companies for sponsoring the event and for allowing colleagues to trial the new training model.
