ANATOMY BY WHOLE BODY DISSECTION COURSE – Post-graduate Students in Medicine (WBD-MS)
This course is available for postgraduate medical students enrolled in the Master of Surgery (by coursework) Degree Course at the University of Sydney.
This course has been accredited by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. It has been also approved by the Board of Studies, of the University of Sydney. The inaugural course (WBD-MS2012) was held in August/September/October 2012. The twelve participants all successfully completed the course.
The WBD-MS Course is composed of four Units of Study (SURG5027, SURG5028, SURG5029 and SURG5030), which are conducted in serial fashion over twelve weeks. The next course, (WBD-MS2013) will be held in August/September/October 2013.
Schedule
The Schedule of Dissection for WBD-MS2013 can be found below:
Download schedule document (PDF - 75KB)
These courses are conducted all day on Mondays/Tuesdays/and Wednesdays of each week for 12 weeks as shown in the Schedule. The 34 days of dissection of the course (i.e. a possible 272 hours of dissection) constitute the 4 Units of Study (i.e. SURG5027-30). These Units of Study are combined into WBD-MS and generate 24 Credit Points of the 48 Credit Points required for the award of the MS Degree.
Enrolments are only accepted for the full 12 weeks of the course. This is a full-time intensive anatomy dissection course. The full commitment and out-of-dissection-class preparation, reading and study required, makes this course incompatible with a concomitant hospital post even with very favourable rostering.
The full details of the four Units of Study comprising the WBD-MS Course taken from the Surgery Handbook can be accessed by following:
http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/surgery/postgraduate/coursework/units-of-study.php
It is possible to complete the Master of Surgery Degree (by coursework) by completing the “Surgical Anatomy Stream” of study. The full details of the Surgical Anatomy Stream (and WBD-MS) requirements, taken from the Surgery Handbook, can be accessed by following:
http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/surgery/postgraduate/coursework/stream-requirements.php#SAS
Methods
Dissections follow Cunningham’s Dissection Manuals (Romanes GJ, Cunningham’s Manuals of Practical Anatomy, Vols 1-3, 15th Edition, 1986, Oxford Medical Publications) available from the Coop Bookshop. Candidates will also be expected to be familiar with Last’s Anatomy 9th Edition (McMinn RMH, Last’s Anatomy Regional and Applied, 9th Edition, 1994, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh) also available from the Coop Bookshop. This is the edition of Last approved by the RACS and has the RACS logo on the back cover.
Process
Candidates in the course dissect in groups of 6 or less per cadaver. Specialist surgeons act as Tutors and Supervisors, especially when their areas of interest and expertise are being dissected. Thus the course has a strong clinical and surgical emphasis. Regular formative wet specimen viva voce examinations are held throughout the course. There is a Pre-course practical test and an End-course summative wet specimen written practical examination, which must be passed to successfully complete the course. The course is coordinated by Professor George Ramsey-Stewart, Professor of Surgical Anatomy, University of Sydney.
The course is run along similar lines to the Elective “Anatomy by Whole Body Dissection” Course (AWBD) for Final Year Medicine students which have been held annually at the University of Sydney over the past four years. Details of this medical undergraduate course can be accessed by following:
http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/anatomy/current-student/whole-body-dissection/index.php
Contact
Full details of this Postgraduate Whole Body Dissection course (WBD-MS) and the method of enrolment can be obtained from:
MS Administration
The overall organiser of the course is:
Professor James May
Coordinator of Postgraduate Surgical Studies, University of Sydney