Guild of Examiners Update June 2026

The Guild seeks to maintain world-class examination standards and foster a sense of professionalism and community, and we have a lot to build on – over 500 years of activity already all undertaken as volunteers. We should be very proud of ourselves.

The Update will report Guild activities, give information about forthcoming examinations and events and feature reports and articles from examiners and assessors from across the College and from all parts of the world. Thank you for taking time to read it and thank you in advance to all examiners, and others, who will become contributors.

Last, I should like to offer very special thanks to my colleagues and friends who have supported and helped me in my role as Dean for Examinations and get the Guild of Examiners off the ground.

Best wishes

John Hines FRCSEd, RCSEd Dean for Examinations

Inaugural RCSEd Examiners Guild Update - Musings of an Examiner

It gives me an immense pleasure to write an article for the inaugural edition of the “Guild Update”.

It is indeed extra ordinary times we live in! The world has seen changes like it has never seen before and things remain very fluid even as I put pen on paper. I doubt whether things will ever get back the what they were at the beginning of 2026.

So how has the year been so for me as an examiner, in these uncertain times?

I started off the examinations year by examining for the RCSEd MRCS OSCE in Cairo in November 2025 – Mystical Egypt with its rich history and heritage had been an excellent starting point for the examinations calendar for me. Great opportunity to visit this fascinating country and to enjoy the fantastic Egyptian hospitality while helping the next generation of bright young Egyptian surgeons to advance in the career. 

Back to UK –Fast forward to February 2026 and I found myself in Beautiful Buckingham – Once again examining for the MRCSEd OSCE, carefully planned and orchestrated by the RCSEd examinations team, led by Professor Doug McWhinnie. Another great success.

Fast forward to May – back to back MRCSEd OSCE examinations in Manchester followed by RCSEd new examinations diet in Heathrow!  It was great to see the well subscribed RCSEd examinations run smooth as clockwork despite raging uncertainties in the current climate - Kudos to the RCSEd Examinations team and the Examiners.

So What do we have in this inaugural edition of the “Guild update”?

• Read the welcome note by John Hines, RCSEd Dean for Examinations, who conceptualized and brought the RCSEd Examiners Guild to life from scratch.
• Professor Robin Paton, RCSEd Vice President, writes on how the current uncertainty and instability in the world can affect the successful delivery of certain examinations.
• Professor Grant McIntyre, RCSEd Vice President (Dental), put pen to paper on the Faculty of Dental Surgery and examiners guild.
• Professor Christopher Halloran, Deputy Dean - Surgical Examinations, sat down with Professor Martin Griffith, a seasoned FRCS examiner, to provide a glimpse into a FRCS examiners mind.
• Finally, an update on upcoming RCSEd examinations to top everything off.

Once again, Kudos to the Fantastic RCSEd examinations team for organising and running the RCSEd examinations calendar smoothly.

Last but not least, Kudos to all the examiners in the guild – Your fantastic contributions to train the next generation of surgeons and You make many things possible.

Looking forward to catching up soon.

Lasitha B Samarakoon FRCSEd, RCSEd Council Member