So teaching in the operating theatre is a bit of a unique environment, but a very valuable one for the medical students. But the first thing to recognise is that the operating theatre is quite unfamiliar to most people. It can be a very relaxed place for people who regularly work there. The surgeon to anaesthetists and the nursing staff for for medical students, particularly at the start of their career. They might find this very unusual and somewhat anxiety provoking. There are places that they can go in the operating theatre. There are things that they can touch, and other times they'll be warned away from some of those places. So I think it's important to, first of all, set their mind at ease that they are welcome if we want to get good education for the students. We need to make sure that they're not anxious and they're not distracted by other things or rules, if you like, of the operating theatre. I'm one of the really good times to do this is during the team time out, which is done at the start of every operation. And if at that stage a medical student is introduced, then I think that means everyone understands why they're there and who they are. And also, you know, there's an opportunity not necessarily in the team timing out, but to lay down the rules of the operating theatre where they can go, what they can touch, and who the different people are. It's also important, I think, that not only if I may be on a surgical rotation in the primary, education purpose, it might be to teach them about surgery, but there are many other opportunities in the operating theatre. They can learn a lot from the anaesthetists. They can learn a lot from the nursing staff in terms of sterile technique, the equipment we use. And so every, every one of those opportunities should be something we try and utilise while we're, you know, rather medical students in the operating theatre. I think, we sometimes the surgeons often get caught up in the minutiae or the technical details of the operation, and that might be appropriate for some of the medical students. But we may be dealing with people all the way from the first time in the operating theatre, right through to just prior to them becoming interns or even, you know, after their interns. And so you need to trot and tailor the teaching to, to that level. I think early on, it's really good to contextualise, what we're doing and if there's an opportunity for the student to meet the patient beforehand, take a history, even examine the patient. That's absolutely ideal. Now, if that opportunity hasn't arisen, then we should try and contextualise it ourselves. So whilst we may be operating on a certain part of the patient's body, we need to make sure the medical student understands why we're doing it, what the symptoms were, what the expectations of the surgery were, and then any interesting findings, pathology or pathology that might explain some of those symptoms? Sometimes it's, surgeons. We get really excited about a particular technical part of the operation. That may not be something that the medical students necessarily appreciate or even understand. So contextualising or tailoring their teaching to the level of the student and the particular patient you've got is really important. I think there are certain things in the operating theatre that go well, and sometimes that they don't go well. having a student there when things are stressful may not be, the best thing for the team. And so there are times, and this should be explained to the student in advance, that we might actually ask the student to step aside or leave the operating theatre if we need more space or more concentrating time. and the other thing is that there's a limited number of people in the operating theatre where this is, safe for the patient. And so having multiple students, you know, more than four is generally not a particularly smart thing. There's limited space and there's obviously a risk of people coming and going with infections, etc. So I try to limit the number of students I have to, usually two, but maybe a maximum of four. There's a great value in the students scrubbing for the operation, so if that opportunity arises, I get a bit of view and we can show them exactly what we're doing. And they sometimes get to handle the instruments or handle the tissues, and they can be very useful. And that makes them feel, you know, part of the team as well. So where possible, get them to scrub in. but if not, at least include them in what you're doing by regular questions in a non-threatening way. Again, they probably feeling unfamiliar being in this environment. But if you can encourage them to, ask questions but also answer questions, that's a really good way, a good use of their time. So one of the things I do is often ask them a very simple question to begin with, the real Dorothy Dix, where they know the answer, everyone knows the answer, and so therefore they get a bit of confidence and they realise that no one's out there to try and humiliate them or harm them. And so that can lead to much more open dialogue between the the staff in the theatre and the medical student as well. I think the operating theatre is a really interesting place to do medical education. And one of the reasons is that you don't get that many opportunities in your career as a doctor if you don't go into surgery to actually have that experience. In fact, many people might only spend time as a medical student in theatre, and it's only a short period of time 7 to 10 weeks. Or then as an intern. And that might be the only experience I ever get in the operating theatre. So I think it's really important that we try and make this a positive experience for them. Some of them will be basing their impressions of all the future career directions, but also their impressions of our speciality as surgeons based on these limited experiences. So where possible, we should try and make it a positive and safe environment. We do want to encourage people who have an interest in surgery to consider that as a career. But even more importantly, I think the doctors who don't end up in the operating theatre as part of their career, whether they're a GP, a psychiatrist, a dermatologist. I think it's really important that they have an understanding about what goes on in the operating theatre. It's a complex, exciting and challenging environment. And, you know, if you're a GP looking after a patient who's going in for surgery, I think you can much better look after their patient. If you've got some understanding of the experience of that patient's going through. So that's a really good, reason for us to, you know, not focus on the medical student, but at least make sure the medical student has a positive experience and feels welcome in the operating theatre. So whilst I believe that the operating theatre is a really valuable experience for medical students and extremely valuable, there are times that I think the value gets degraded and we've probably all as doctors or as medical students ourselves, being in the operating theatre where we've been told or felt that we have to stand in the far corner, out well out of the way, frightened to do anything fraud and to ask any questions. I don't think that's very valuable experience. You may get some insight into the operating theatre by observing what's going on, but you're more likely to feel a bit anxious and afraid. And so therefore, you know, we need to make sure that that's not it's not a waste of the resources and a waste of time for medical students. So where possible. As I said, getting to getting them to scrubbing is ideal, but at least getting them, close enough so that we can demonstrate things without, you know, contaminating our sterile field, but making sure that they are interacting with us. And this is the same with education in general, but interactive education is far more valuable for the students, whether this is in the operating theatre or taking them for a ward round, the teaching ward round generally is much more valuable, and they'll retain a lot more information than if we just give them a didactic lecture or a tutorial. So I think that sort of interaction, engaging them with questions, gentle questions initially, and then more searching questions as they get their confidence and they feel, you know, relaxed about the environment that they're being taught in. that's really valuable for them.