JTG Conference 2021
The 2021 JTG of BAOMS Committee were proud to host last year’s JTG Conference after a two year hiatus following the pandemic: it signalled an end of isolation, and a return to usual OMFS annual festivities. The conference was held on the 12-14th November in the beautiful Horwood House venue in Milton Keynes, the hometown of 2021 JTG Chair Rhea Chouhan as per JTG tradition.
The theme was ‘Better Together’, with the aim of bringing trainees under the same roof for an entire weekend of networking, educational talks and CV building activities. Tickets sold out quickly and we hosted 90 attendees for the event, ranging from first-degree students with an interest in OMFS, to dual qualified trainees applying for ST1/3 positions.
Friday
On the Friday evening, we hosted welcome drinks. This was a lovely opportunity to catch up with likeminded people from across the UK at different stages in their OMFS journey!
Saturday
Rhea (JTG Chair) and Kate Howson (Conference Officer) opened the conference to welcome guests and encourage as much mingling as possible.
Our theme for lecture sessions was ‘Specialities’ and we aimed to display a broad selection of smaller OMFS specialities for trainees to experience. We listened to incredible talks on Craniofacial surgery, managing skin cancer, leadership and management in the NHS, and the challenges of operating abroad on aid missions, treating Noma patients in Ethiopia.
The afternoon was spent discussing current JTG issues at the annual AGM, giving members a chance to voice concerns or ask questions on various pathways.
In the evening we hosted a beautiful black tie ball in a 1920’s Great Gatsby Theme to the delight of attendees.
Sunday
The second day started with a relaxing yoga session for early bird delegates who had recovered quickly from the night before. The main conference itself started with a fantastic talk on managing cleft lip and palate patients, and how to apply for this career pathway; followed by lesson in the history of trauma, and the current difficulties of managing facial fractures. Talks on both days were interspersed between oral free paper sessions- giving successful applicants the chance to present their papers nationally on various OMFS topics.
The Sunday afternoon hosted a Q&A panel of successful CT and ST1-3 applicants (Jon Dennis, Gemma Stonier and Alex Thompson respectively) alongside Consultant and ST interview panelist Anne Begley to share their experiences and offer wisdom and tips with regards to applications, interviews and more.
Throughout the weekend, attendees had the opportunity to take part in small group, hands-on fracture plating workshops run by KLS Martin, learning valuable practical skills in plating a variety of facial fractures.
Our conference was kindly sponsored by KLS Martin, our platinum sponsor, as well as Stryker, Welseyan, Colgate, MDU and UK Loupes. We aimed to make our conference as inclusive as possible, providing areas for prayers or breast feeding. We were also delighted to host 2 babies as honoured attendees this year!
The conference was an outstanding success with the committee receiving a standing ovation at the end. Our overall aim for the conference was to bring OMFS trainees together, to share their experiences, network and just be together for a weekend of support and having fun. After a difficult 2 years of the pandemic, this event was needed more than ever before. We’re already looking forward to the 2022 conference by the new committee!
Junior Trainees & Members Representative, BAOMS
JTG Chair 2021
