💡 You Don’t Always Have to Spend Money On Surgical Courses to Get Trained

MedSync
Jun 6
2 min read

Spending money on all the courses — Money Does Not Have To Be The Barrier To Your Training

Surgical training is often described as an apprenticeship — and for good reason.

It’s not just about exams or ticking off competencies. It’s about applying real knowledge to real clinical problems, with guidance from those who’ve walked the path before you. That dynamic doesn’t disappear as you become more senior — it just evolves.

As you move from foundation doctor to core surgical trainee and then registrar level, your autonomy increases. But here’s the truth:

There’s no reward for pretending to know what you don’t.

If the answer’s in a book — read it.

If the technique’s online — watch it.

If a colleague can elaborate on it - ask them.

Investing in Your growth ... Not Just Surgical Courses

To grow as a surgeon, you need to invest in your development. And there are really only two ways to do it:

1️⃣ Invest your time, then your money2️⃣ Invest your money, then your time

Whichever route you take, both will be required eventually — but here’s the good news:

Money shouldn’t be the barrier to getting started.

Especially in the early to intermediate stages of training, the fundamentals are already out there — many of them free. You just need to put in the time and look.

Invest time into your training — Invest Your Time First

Visual Learner? You’re Not Alone.

Most surgical trainees are visual learners. If that sounds like you, tap into the vast range of free and low-cost resources available:

Watch surgical technique breakdowns on YouTube
Use Google and PubMed to build theoretical foundations
Ask your seniors, registrars, or even reps for insights
Start conversations — even with strangers in the corridor of the speciality you're interested in

You’ll be surprised how willing people are to help when they see genuine curiosity.

Practice Outside the OR

There’s a lot you can work on outside the operating theatre, especially in the early years:

✅ Suturing

✅ Tendon repairs

✅ Planning surgical approaches

✅ Practicing on simulation kits — even those found at conference booths

Courses are fantastic — we run them ourselves. But they’re not magic. The biggest breakthroughs come when you already have a baseline to build on. That’s when real learning happens: not just how to do the skill, but how to refine it.

Show Up Prepared

When you show up prepared:

✔️ You’re more confident

✔️ You focus on precision, not panic

✔️ You perform better under pressure

✔️ Most importantly — your patient outcomes improve

A Thought for Educators

One final note for those of us who run surgical courses:

If a course has a pass/fail outcome, and a trainee doesn’t pass —should we view that as a failure on their part… or a sign that we didn’t meet their educational needs?

(Maybe a discussion for another blog post. 🙃)