Surgery is a passion for a lot of medical students, irrespective of the university they belong to. However, due to limited resources and guidance, even the most passionate students might not get a chance to showcase their knowledge and talent. In order for everyone to get equal opportunities and further explore the intricacies of a surgical career, the Surgery Interest Group (SIG) at the Aga Khan University formulated the “Ambassadors Programme”. The Ambassadors Programme aimed at bringing surgical enthusiasts from different universities to one platform, where they could share their resources with each other. Students from medical universities within Karachi were reached out and enrolled within the programme, based on their passion, commitment, and novel ideas. The roles played by these ambassadors ranged from publicizing various events held by SIG in their respective institutes to contributing their ideas for further igniting a spark within surgically inclined students. The programme aided surgical enthusiasts all over Karachi to attend various conferences and events based on alumni mentorship and the development of surgical skills. The events within the programme included the following:
1) Cardiothoracic Surgery and Beyond 2020: Cardiothoracic Surgery Conference, December 6-8, 2019
2) SIG Suturing and Knot Tying Workshop: Part of the CTS Conference, December 8, 2019
3) Surgical Residency in the UK: Mentorship Talk by Dr. Arish Haider (AKU’018), January 3, 2020
4) Trauma: Striving for Change: 5th AKU Annual Surgical Conference (AASC), February 14-16, 2020
5) Surgery Olympics: 5th AASC Pre-Conference Workshop, February 14, 2020
The Ambassadors Programme allowed an increased number of medical students to attend these events at subsidized costs, allowing the propagation of our aim and promoting further skills in students within Karachi who are passionate to pursue surgery as their medical career. Currently, the programme encompasses 22 medical universities with 40+ ambassadors working together towards achieving SIG’s objectives.
