MUSIG 2016

The Monash University Surgical Interest Group (MUSIG) is a not-for-profit, student run organisation, dedicated to promoting the profession of surgery to medical students at Monash University. Since the last edition of the Cutting Edge, MUSIG has been busy with several key events.

Surgical Careers Symposium  

In April, MUSIG held a Pathways into Surgery Symposium, where each of the nine RACS Surgical Specialties were represented by a distinguished Consultant Surgeon or current surgical Trainee. The event was keenly attended by students across all year levels and was streamed live to regional Clinical Schools. Surgeons highlighted the fascinating world of their chosen specialties, discussed personal career pathways, and covered topics ranging from advice on becoming a competent and proficient surgeon, to involvement in research and academia, and the importance of mentorship.

MUSIG would like to thank the Victorian Regional Office of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and each of Monash University’s Departments of Surgery for their wonderful support of this event.

Surgical Skills Workshops

Across May to August, MUSIG held four surgical skills workshops (Alfred, MMC, Gippsland and Preclinical), reaching over 200 medical students. Stations ranged from basic suturing and hand-tying, to more advanced skills such as laparoscopic simulation, airway management, chest-tube insertion, bowel anastomosis, cyst removal, z-plasty and tendon repair. Guided by outstanding surgeons and trainees who generously volunteered their time and expertise, students wetted their appetite for surgery, brushed up on their surgical anatomy and gained a greater understanding of the intricacies and dexterity involved in surgery. At each of the workshops, surgeons gave very positive feedback and praised students for their enthusiastic attitude and learning abilities.

MUSIG and attending students would like to extend another heart-felt thanks to all Surgeons who assisted as tutors, and to the Departments of Surgery at the Central Clinical School, the School of Clinical Sciences (Monash Health), the Gippsland Clinical School and the Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology for their ongoing support and backing.

How can you get involved?

Many doctors and surgeons tirelessly share their knowledge and passion for surgery at our events. If you, or staff in your Department are interested in teaching medical students with a keen interest in surgery, please feel free to contact our chairs Michael Zhu and Matthew Lam at musig@mumus.org.

An Introduction to Surgical Research

The inaugural Monash University, Central Clinical School short course “An Introduction to Surgical Research” was held between June and September this year. The course was designed to equip participants with the foundation knowledge and practical skills required to conduct clinical studies on surgery related topics. This year’s course was attended by 12 budding surgeons who have an interest in surgical research. The cohort comprised of surgical registrars, residents and medical students. The course was held over 3 weekends, 6 weeks apart. The intervals between instalments of the course allowed the participants time to assimilate the knowledge, apply their newly learned skills to their current projects, and complete pre-course reading and tasks.

The course was predominantly run by academic surgeons James Lee (Endocrine Surgeon at The Alfred) and Sebastian King (Paediatric Surgeon at Royal Children’s Hospital). Prof Danny Liew (Chair of Clinical Outcomes Research at DEPM and Consultant Physician at The Alfred) ran the statistics days, while Prof Wendy Brown (Chair of CCS Department of Surgery and Upper GI Surgeon at The Alfred), Prof Jonathan Serpell (Director of General Surgery at The Alfred) and Assistant Prof Brandyn Lau (Health Sciences Informatics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) brought additional dimensions to the course in guest speaker roles.

Throughout the course, the participants were presented with hands-on, practical, and interactive sessions on a wide spectrum of surgical research skills – from generating structured research questions, gathering and analysing data, to disseminating research findings via conference presentations and journal publications. With the knowledge and skills they gained from this course, many of the participants have gone on to start research projects, while others have found new techniques and confidence to propel their current studies.

The course feedback was overwhelmingly positive. In particular, one participant commented, “Really practical, real world examples. Great course, will recommend.” Another participant remarked “Excellent speakers, enthusiastic sessions, well-tailored to specific needs within the group.” Finally, from a participant who is about to start a research year, “Thoroughly enjoyed, found it extremely relevant and makes me look forward to commencing surgical research.”  Dr Marlie Stowe was the winner of the brief presentation competition (pictured above).

As the convenor of the course, James would like to thank all the faculty members and participants for their enthusiasm and efforts.
Further details of the course is available at www.tinyurl.com/teachmeresearch  The course will be conducted again in 2017.
Enquiries can also be directed to James at: James.Lee@monash.edu

Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME)

The Monash Institute of Engineering (MIME) was established in late 2014 to foster collaboration between engineers and medical professionals across the entire Monash Medical Faculty and its teaching hospitals.  CSIRO and other Monash Faculties such as Science, Business, Art, Architecture and Design are also involved so that multidisciplinary teams can be set up to solve clinical problems with the development of new medical technology, devices, and IT solutions. 

We welcome the involvement of surgeons for any ideas they wish to develop for new surgical instruments, 3D modeling, mechanical and electrical devices, robotics, mechatronics, new materials and new imaging techniques.  Our engineers and scientists work on scales from nano- to micro- to the macro- scale.  A number of Monash affiliated surgeons are already involved and some have been successful in obtaining our seed grants for new technology development.

The current successful seed grant projects are on our MIME website.

We would be pleased to advise on how to set up a collaboration, the IP issues and how to develop connections with industry.  We will also advise the surgeon on how to plan and achieve a commercial outcome for their ideas.  Please contact me (j.rosenfeld@alfred.org.au) of Heather St John the MIME Chief Operating Officer  at Heather.Stjohn@monash.edu  if you wish to explore ideas.

Monash Partners

 Background: Monash Partners Academic Health Science Centre is a collaboration between clinical care providers (public and private), Monash University, and health research institutes and was recognised by the NHMRC in 2015 as one of four internationally leading Centres in Australia. Established in 2011, founding members are Alfred Health, Monash Health, Monash University, Cabrini Health, Epworth Healthcare, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Burnet Institute, and Hudson Institute of Medical Research. In September 2016, Peninsula Health and Eastern Health joined Monash Partners, extending its coverage to 3.5M Australians (15% of the population). We catalyse, facilitate and enable integration of research, education and health care, building partnerships to accelerate the pace, scale and impact of research and innovation to deliver tangible health benefit. Our vision is “to measurably enhance the health of the communities we serve.”

Monash Partners provides a non-competitive collaborative space, transcending traditional silos across public, community, primary care, ambulatory and acute services and across the translational research continuum from benchtop to public health and policy, creating a systems platform to improve health.

Progress on priorities emerging from our theme and discipline strategic plans includes:

• Expanding our partnerships: Importantly we are beginning engagement with Primary Health Networks and regional partners around collaborative opportunities.
• Revitalising and supporting Theme and Disciplines: optimising partner engagement in the executives, revising and revitalising leadership, providing administrative support, organising collaborative forums and contributing to a Monash Partners retreat to review groupings and structure and progress strategic priorities and planning.
• Streamlining Research Ethics and Governance: a Council nominated multi-organisational, multidisciplinary working group is co-developing and implementing a model to streamline and harmonise ethics and governance review across the Partner organisations to create efficiencies of scale through the sharing of best practice, resources and processes. Supported by a project officer, funded by the Partners, the group is chaired by Professor Paul Myles and is working in collaboration with the NHMRC and Victorian Government.
• Accredited Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Training: all Monash Partners staff have access to accredited ICH GCP training, at no individual charge, at the AMREP and MHTP campuses. Refresher GCP training is also available, and a suite of training is being developed for clinical staff to build capacity in clinical research and healthcare improvement. This training program is provided by Monash University and funded by the Partners.
• Building a culture of research: implementing a coordinated range of initiatives to build a strong research culture in our partner health services by increasing awareness and engagement with patients, the community and health professionals. We are adapting and implementing strategies proven effective internationally in this endeavor, which is funded by the Partners and coordinated by Ms Cheryl-Ann Hawkins.
• Data driven health care improvement and research: a multi-organisational, multidisciplinary Data forum has been held with all key stakeholders and an Executive is being finalised. They will focus on improving data quality, harmonisation and linkage to optimise and align population health and drive health care improvement. This initiative is being led by Assoc Professor Jim Buttery and Professor John McNeil with representation from all partners.
• Engaging and integrating with primary care and community health: the primary and community health discipline, led by Professor Grant Russell, is forming an executive, to be chaired by Professor Leon Piterman. The executive will bring together key stakeholders in primary care and provide an opportunity for enhanced primary care collaboration, integration, innovation, communication and leadership.
• A problem focused collaboration in falls prevention: a multi-organisational, multidisciplinary workshop has been held, an Executive, chaired by Professor Terry Haines, has been formed. Working groups have been established to maps falls prevention guidelines/practices/models of care across the Partners, examine disinvestment in the current falls risk assessment tool, and explore opportunities for patient/family and caregiver engagement in falls prevention activities.
• Health care innovation and systems improvement: Monash University has appointed a newly funded Professor of Health Care Improvement, Professor Rick Iedema and his team, with formal partnerships with Warwick University in the UK. This initiative will link to the relevant disciplines in Monash Partners to co-develop a range of capacity building education programs in this area for staff across the partnership.
• Catalysing and facilitating integration of early translational research into clinical and population health practice and research: a lead has been appointed to facilitate and enable inter digitation of early translational research into later phases of translational research, informed by successful models internationally. A committee will be formed shortly.
• Building a National Alliance of AHSCs: Monash Partners is taking a leadership role in collaborating nationally through an Alliance of Academic Health Science Centres to provide a platform to drive better health outcomes.
• Communication: A communications lead is soon to be appointed and will update the website and provide regular Monash Partner updates. We are also working with the NHMRC to highlight key collaborative success stories and would be keen to hear from anyone.

Proposed activities next on the agenda:

• Public, patient and community involvement: we are progressing a range of strategies around public and patient involvement (PPI) to enable greater engagement, to catalyse co-design, and build capacity for stakeholder engagement for researchers, clinicians and for patients and the community.
• Education program: This work is just starting and will progress over the next 12 months in collaboration with Monash University and the Partners.

Key contact details:

• Angela Jones, Senior Program Lead: angela.jones@monashpartners.org.au 
• Helena Teede, Executive Director: helena.teede@monash.edu 

Upcoming funding opportunities

These are just a few of the research grants that are currently open and available to surgeons.  Dr Daphne Vogiagis, Buisness Manager at the Alfred Department of Surgery, maintains a complete list of upcoming grants which will soon be available on our website.  She can be contacted by email Daphne.Vogiagis@monash.edu

NHMRC Partnership Project Grants

Up to $1.5M and up to 5 years

Closing Date:  23 November 2016 Minimum Data Requirement.  NHMRC external deadline: 7 December 2016.

Opportunities for researchers and policy makers to work together to define research questions, undertake research, interpret the findings and implement the findings into policy and practice. Partnership projects will answer a specific research question to influence health and well-being through changes in the delivery, organisation, funding and access to health services.

https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants-funding/apply-funding/partnerships-better-health/partnerships-projects


NHMRC Practitioner Fellowships
Closing Date: 1 February 2017 to MRO: 18 January 2017

Amount: Level 1 $133,703 per year, level 2 $160,389
These support active clinicians and public health or health services professionals in undertaking part-time research that is linked to their practice or policy. The aim is to support research which results in the translation of new evidence into improved clinical practice and health policy and which delivers improvements in health and healthcare to Australians.

https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/book/nhmrc-funding-rules-2016/NHMRC-funding-rules-2016/practitioner-fellowships-scheme-specific/1

NHMRC Research Fellowships

Closing Date: 1 February 2017 to MRO: 18 January 2017

Amount: $124,531 to $170,396
These fellowships support Australia’s medical and health research, and are available for researchers working in biomedical, clinical, public health and health services research areas. Full time and part time fellowships are available for a period of five years.

https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/book/nhmrc-funding-rules-2015/research-fellowships

NHMRC Development Grants

Closing Date: 1 February 2017 to MRO: 18 January 2017

The Development Grants scheme provides financial support to individual researchers and/or research teams to undertake health and medical research within Australia at the proof of principle or pre-seed stage that specifically drives towards a commercial outcome within a five-year timeframe.

Early stage research or knowledge creation research (this is fundable through the NHMRC Project Grants scheme) will not be funded through the Development Grants scheme.

The Development Grants scheme supports the commercial development of a product, process, procedure or service that if applied, would result in improved health care, disease prevention or provide health cost savings.  Research supported by this scheme must have experimental data that supports a demonstrated proof of principle or pre-seed concept and have a detailed feasible commercialization strategy that takes into account the regulatory pathway, protectable IP, commercial barriers and potential routes to market.

https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants-funding/apply-funding/development-grants

D. S. Rosengarten Surgical Trainee Research Prize 2016 - open for applications

D. S. Rosengarten Surgical Trainee Research Prize 2016 is now open for applications.
• Taking place: Saturday 3 December 2016 at 8am
• Applications due: Friday 25 November, 2016
• About the D.S. Rosengarten Surgery Prize.
The prize consisting of a shield and $1000 will be awarded for the best surgical research project performed by an Alfred Hospital surgical trainee.
2015's prize winner, Dr Katherine Suter with Mrs Rosengarten (left).

Advanced and Basic Surgical trainees in all disciplines at The Alfred Hospital are eligible to apply and are encouraged to participate.

The winner, to be decided by a panel of adjudicators, will be announced at the conclusion of a scientific symposium at which the projects will be presented. This will be held on Saturday 3 December, 2016 at 8:00am in the AMREP Seminar Room, AMREP Education Centre, The Alfred.
The format will be ten minutes verbal presentation with five minutes discussion.

The panel of adjudicators will award points for the following: originality of idea, planning and design, methodology, analysis, conclusion, presentation, discussion and the abstract.
The closing date for applications will be Friday 25 November, 2016.

It is emphasised that abstracts submitted after this date will not be accepted.

The application should include a summary abstract (no greater than 200 words on A4 paper, preferably in WORD format) of the project including introduction, aims, methods, results and conclusion and should be forwarded to:

Ms Jane Babarikas,
Personal Assistant, Department of General Surgery
6th Floor, Centre Block, Alfred Hospital
Or via email to j.babarikas@alfred.org.au
t 9076 3290  f  9076 3902 
On behalf of Mr Stewart Skinner Chairman
Further details and advice may be obtained from Mr Stewart Skinner, Professor Jonathan Serpell or Associate Professor Wendy Brown

Message from the Chair of MUSAG - Professor Julian Smith

Surgery in the new Monash MD course

The March 2016 edition of The Cutting Edge outlined the proposed changes to the undergraduate medical course at Monash University and introduced the new Monash MD course. The curriculum framework in the new Monash MD course places Surgery throughout Year 3/B and also as a dedicated six week Surgery rotation in Year 5/D. The undergraduate surgical curriculum is currently undergoing review by the Surgery Discipline Reference Group, co-chaired by Mr. Peter Evans and Mr. Tristan Leech who have both been appointed the Curriculum Assessment Leads for Surgery. The surgical curriculum developed by the Group will be ready for delivery to the first Year 3/B cohort in 2018.

There will also be a significant research component in the new Monash MD course with an On-line Research Methods Module in Year 3/B and a six week Scholarly Intensive Project in Year 5/D. The Scholarly Intensive Project will include traditional research activities in the biomedical, social, educational and population sciences as well as quality improvement activities in clinical practice. As a there is likely to be a high demand for surgical research projects, there will be a need to identify suitable projects and supervisors to ensure that the agreed standard of academic rigour is applied to meet the various accreditation standards. All Departments of Surgery will need to contribute to this exciting new endeavor.

It is very pleasing that Surgery will continue to have a strong profile within the new Monash MD course and also that students will be introduced to aspects of surgical research, both of which may encourage students to pursue a career in Surgery and possibly with a significant academic component.

The Cutting Edge will continue to report on the above developments as they evolve.