Alongside the regular board meetings, the second annual retreat of the Swiss College of Surgeons (SCS) took place on November 18, 2024, centrally located at the Hotel Bern. Key topics of this retreat included a review of this year’s congress and the planning of the next congress in Lausanne in 2025. Additional points of discussion were the basic examination, a presentation by the “Young Surgical Students Association,” the CCrISP course, the SCS finances, and an update on the social media strategy.
The SCS can look back on a successful congress in Davos, which featured well-attended and engaging discussions and achieved a financial outcome in line with expectations. The next SCS congress will take place from May 21 to 23, 2024, at the Swiss Tech Convention Center in Lausanne, hosted by the EPFL. As in previous years, the first congress day will focus on practical courses, a proven format. In 2025, the SCS congress will host a guest society for the first time and welcome the Swiss Society of Plastic Surgery. The board discussed how this collaboration can be highlighted, including a joint tandem session. Additionally, the main sessions were planned to center on the intersection of technology and surgery under the theme “Technology complements Surgery,” with renowned speakers from EPFL.
Beyond this central theme, several other important topics for the Swiss surgical community were addressed. On November 2, the basic examination was conducted digitally for the first time at the University of Bern, in collaboration with the Institute for Medical Education (IML). The exam was a success, with a pass rate consistent with previous years. In December, the third CCrISP course in Switzerland will take place and is already fully booked. This course, designed to equip junior residents with the tools to competently and safely manage critically ill patients in the ward setting, has now been firmly established in Switzerland. Three additional courses are planned for 2025, with locations and dates to be announced soon.
The board had to pleasure to welcome Julien Gisiger, representing the “Young Surgical Students Association,” who presented the activities of this dynamic organization of medical students interested in surgery. The board decided to support these young colleagues in various ways, a dedicated working group will explore a potential integration of this student organization into the SCS. To better engage members, the SCS has expanded its social media presence with LinkedIn and Instagram accounts. Both platforms are experiencing continuous growth, with LinkedIn having the larger follower base. These channels are also available for the base organizations to share events or other news.
Good news comes from the Core Surgical Curriculum: user numbers have significantly increased in recent months. Additionally, the SIWF (Swiss Institute for Continuing Medical Education) has recently decided on a dual solution involving the applications 'LogIC TM' from the provider Reallience (http://www.realliance.ch) and 'PreparedEPA' from the company PrecisionED (https://www.prepared.app/de) for recording Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). The SCS is currently evaluating these two tools to provide a recommendation to the base organizations for their practical implementation in training centers.
