821 Impact of a One-Day Conference on Perceptions and Understanding of T&O - Outcomes of the South West Orthopaedic Conference 2023

Abstract

Abstract Aim This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a student-organised conference on delegates’ motivation and understanding of orthopaedic surgery. Method This was a conference organised by students with the support of consultants from the Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Centre in The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. Identical questionnaires were completed immediately before and after the conference on google forms. The google forms were distributed to the delegates via their registered email address. The pre- and post-conference questionnaire had three sections comprising of understanding, motivations, and barriers to pursing orthopaedic surgery. Pre- and post-conference responses which were recorded on a Likert scale and were compared using Wilcoxon signed rank test. All data analysis performed was using IBM SPSS (v.28, USA). Results 62 delegates completed the questionnaires, the majority of which were medical students with 4 junior doctors. Understanding of orthopaedics showed a significant increase in the majority of questions (p<0.001), except the intention to pursue orthopaedics which showed no significant difference. Delegates were attracted to orthopaedics due to the work-life balance, prestige and salary (p<0.001), however they showed a reduced interest in case variety and private practice. There was no difference in the barriers to pursuing orthopaedic surgery, except lack of patient contact which showed a significant increase (p<0.001). Conclusions Orthopaedic conferences improve delegates understanding, perceptions and motivations to pursue a career in orthopaedic surgery. We therefore encourage orthopaedic surgeons and educationalists to increase exposure to orthopaedics for undergraduates by supporting more student-led initiatives to promote recruitment into orthopaedic surgery.