A MEDICAL student from Oxford has been celebrated for her surgical skills and will now compete to be named the best in the UK.

Evelyn Qian was named this week as the regional winner of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s Surgical Skills Competition, which celebrates future stars of the field.

The Oxford University student will now join 19 other heat winners at the grand final in Edinburgh next month to battle it out for the top spot.

The competition, now in its fifth year, has final year medical students from across the UK demonstrate their surgical talents and skills in a series of challenges.

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It begins with 20 heats, one at each UK medical school, where students are asked to undertake a series of surgical tasks from suturing and knot-tying to laparoscopic skills tests, with the winner of each heat announced on the night.

Professor Michael Griffin OBE, president of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, said: “The Surgical Skills Competition is one of the high points of our college calendar year around the UK.

“The development and the acquisition of surgical skills is a crucial element for any doctor aspiring to surgical training.”

He added: “The competition for medical students is quite simply lots of fun but also represents a challenge, which I have watched many students over the years rise to.

“Last year’s competition was as keenly contested as ever and I have no doubt that this year will be just as exciting.”

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Ms Qian said thanked the college for providing a ‘fun platform’ to practice surgical skills.

She added: “It was well designed to be inclusive of all skill levels and a valuable opportunity to practise important techniques.

“I look forward to future college events which may aid a surgical career.”

Ms Qian and the winners from each region will travel to Edinburgh to stay at the college’s Ten Hill Place Hotel and take part in the grand final.

The competition will culminate in the Scottish capital on Saturday, March 14.

Finalists will undertake a range of surgical procedures before determining who will be make the cut to become the overall winner presented at the grand final.

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As well as prizes awarded to the winner and runner-up, all competition participants will receive a certificate of participation and gain two years’ affiliation to the college’s Affiliate Network.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has almost 26,000 member who live and work in more than 100 countries around the world, with the majority in the UK.

It represents people at every stage of their career, from medical students through to trainees, consultants and those who have retired from practice.

For more information visit rcsed.ac.uk.