SURGIA Newsletter: General Surgery Edition Volume II Issue 1 | Page 28

STAIRS 2015
July 9th & 10th
by Mia Zhang

G

riffith University, Dr Charles Nankivell, Dr John
North, Dr Marije Dalebout, and the Surgical Interest
Association worked together to offer medical students in
their clinical years the opportunity to attend STAIRS 2015.
The two day seminar was held over the 9th and 10th of July
2015. Students had the opportunity to learn in a lecture
style environment from surgeons who are committed to
excellence in surgical education.
The seminar provided students an overview of acute
surgical care and management, which spans across a
wide range of surgical disciplines. It also aided students in
the recognition and initial management of acute surgical
cases.
25 | SURGIA Newsletter The General Surgery Edition

On day 1, Dr John North and Dr Charles Nankivell welcomed
everyone and introduced the program. Dr Nankivell, a
general surgeon and Director of Surgery at Redlands
hospital, began the first session on acute abdomen,
providing the audience with valuable knowledge on the
initial management of abdominal emergencies. Dr Peter
Wysocki, a general surgeon and instructor for the Early
Management of Severe Trauma Course run by the Royal
Australian College of Surgeons, followed by an interesting
presentation on biliary and pancreatic emergencies.
The midday session focused on orthopaedic surgery.
Associate Professor Aneel Nihal, a consultant orthopaedic
surgeon at GCUH and Pindara Private Hospital, engaged
the audience and talked about lower limb orthopaedic
traumas. This was followed by Dr John North, past
President of the Australian Orthopaedic Association,
who proceeded to cover upper limb orthopaedics very
effectively and concluded the session on orthopaedic
emergencies. The afternoon ended with Dr Sneha John,
a specialist in gastroenterology, who spoke about GI
bleeding, IBD and endoscopic complications.