'Banana surgery' lures young doctors

By Melissa Jackson
BBC News health reporter

Bananas are used in the operating theatre

There is nothing better than getting some practical experience of a job before deciding whether or not to consider it as a career.

In medicine, letting teenagers loose on operating theatres and surgical equipment sounds dangerous.

But a hospital consultant believes it is worth the risk and invites sixth formers to find out at first hand what it is like to work in the health industry.

The closest they get to surgery is

stitching up a banana or dissecting an orange - but they get a real insight into life in a busy hospital.

The two-day weekend course is run once a year by consultant anaesthetist Dr William Notcutt at the James Paget Hospital, near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.

It can accommodate up to 70 lower sixth formers from schools and colleges across the county.

The course includes a series of presentations from medical staff, including surgeons, physiotherapists and anaesthetists.

Dr Notcutt has even persuaded the hospital's chief executive to get involved and explain what it's like to run a £90m business.

Each presentation is kept to a 15-minute slot to avoid boredom setting in and to ensure the students spend no more than two hours in the lecture theatre.

After this, they split into smaller groups and visit different departments like operating theatres, X-ray, the pharmacy and A&E.

Private parts

Practical sessions seem to be the most popular among students.

Dr Notcutt said: "We let them push needles into veins on dummy models of arms and legs.

"We have models of male private parts, which they can stick a catheter into.

They're not going to become surgeons overnight, but they can try out different techniques Dr William Notcutt, Consultant anaesthetist

"Stitching bananas gives them something to do with their hands.

"They're not going to become surgeons overnight, but they can try out different techniques.

"They use a laser - that I would use on the cervix - to burn their initials into an apple."

The aim is to make it informative, varied and fun.

Dr Notcutt said: "The kids' response is wonderful.

"They say they can't believe it's like this."

The pre-requisite for securing a place on the course is a genuine interest in working in the medical field.

The course has been running for about four years and many of the students have since entered the medical profession.

Work experience

Dr Notcutt said: "This experience will go down on their CV.

"And if they want to do any further work experience, they are already prepared. So you don't have to start from ground zero.

"To get work experience in this hospital, you will have almost exclusively have to have done the course."

One person, who completed the course and has lined up work experience at the hospital, says it really convinced him he wants to be a doctor.

Students get hands-on experience

Iain Gould comes from a family of GPs, although he admits this initially discouraged him from following in family footsteps.

The 16-year-old student, who is taking A levels maths, chemistry, physics and biology, said: "The course showed me what I could go in to.

"I liked the hands-on bit, the keyhole surgery on plastic organs.

"I was thinking about a career in engineering or medicine, but since doing the course, I have started to like biology more than physics.

"I don't want to become a GP, but I would like to work in a hospital."

Thanks to Dr Notcutt, it is an ambition he is a little closer to fulfilling.