The British Undergraduate Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology: Use of a national society to encourage interest in obstetrics and gynaecology in undergraduate and prespecialty trainees

Introduction Obstetrics and gynaecology teaching is a vital part of the undergraduate curriculum. Those interested in O&G careers are encouraged to seek additional experiences. The British Undergraduate Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BUSOG), founded in 2012, remains the only national O&G society for students and prespecialty trainees. BUSOG aims to provide extracurricular information and activities for those interested in O&G. A new committee was appointed in May 2020. Methods BUSOG has several strands: • Newly expanded core committee. • Student Ambassador and new Prespecialty Representative networks. • Monthly webinar via Zoom, with feedback collected through Google Forms. • Social media platforms with regular interactive posts. • Digital resource bank providing guidance on OSCEs, intercalation and postgraduate applications. • Research partnership with UKARCOG. Results We recruited 37 Student Ambassadors and 26 Prespecialty Representatives for our new network for FY1-3 doctors. We have held four webinars, each with ∼100 international attendees from a range of training grades. Topics included COVID-19 and pregnancy, O&G in primary care, pre-eclampsia and pregestational diabetes. Each webinar has patient representation. Over 95% of attendees agreed that BUSOG webinars deepened their interest in pursuing O&G and that patient speakers were valuable. Since May, Facebook and Twitter audiences have grown by 22% and 39% to 4098 and 832 followers respectively. Average monthly impressions are 7.4K on Instagram, 10K on Twitter and 21.7K on Facebook. Conclusion An effectively run national society is a useful tool in engaging undergraduate and prespecialty trainees in extracurricular activities within O&G.