Summer Quarterly Review from Head of School
Welcome to the summer edition of my quarterly review. There has been much activity since my last report including 59 ARCPs - so we have been very busy!. Congratulations & Welcome - Firstly many congratulations to our trainees who passed Part 2 MRCOG in May: Becky Simms & Abigail Oliver (who also received a letter of commendation), in addition to three IDTP doctors working in the Severn School: Pradeep Hettipathiara, Karim Wahba & Amr Yehia.
Congratulations also to three of our trainees who have successfully secured Consultant posts, all in the Severn Deanery: Becca Swingler - Consultant in Gloucester, George Attilakos - Consultant at St Michaels & Tamer Abdel Razik - substantive Consultant in Swindon. We look forward to them all helping to guide future trainees. Other successful appointments include Jo Crofts who was appointed to the new 4 year Clinical Lecturer post at Southmead, Sherry Halawa who was appointed as Subspecialty Trainee in Fetal & Maternal Medicine at St Michaels, Becky Simms who was appointed to a two year research post at Southmead & two trainees who are taking up Education fellow posts in August: Cressida Bond, (Southmead) & Caryn Albury (Bath) for Out of Programme Experience. Good luck also to Matt Epee & Lizzie Glanville who are working abroad for some Out of Programme Experience from August. We welcome 8 trainees back from maternity leave who have all chosen to work less than full time & congratulations to Eli Medd and Najiya Ali who have recently safely delivered. Good luck to a further 4 trainees who are due to start maternity leave shortly. I do hope all trainees are aware that personal practical obstetric experience is not a mandatory requirement for a career in O & G!! We look forward to welcoming the 11 new ST1;'s to our School in August and hope they enjoy their time in the Severn Deanery. Forthcoming appointments I am aware that Debbie Sirett always circulates information about forthcoming appointments being advertised in the Deanery but I wanted to highlight a few. The Academic Education Training post at St Michaels is currently being advertised with a closing date Monday 26th July. This is open to all trainees in ST5 and above and is recognised for training and not an Out of Programme opportunity. This post is a joint initiative between the Severn Deanery, University Hospitals, Bristol & the University of Bristol & is an exciting opportunity for a trainee who is interested in medical education. It has been designed to permit the trainee to progress towards CCT while developing skills in the field of teaching & learning, directly in undergraduate education, but applicable & transferable to other fields. The trainee will work closely with academic staff involved in RHCN (Reproductive Health and Care of the Newborn) to develop & deliver the undergraduate curriculum. Towards the end of the year the Subspecialty Gynae-oncology post based in Cheltenham will become available & is likely to be advertised in September. Finally there is currently recruitment to an ST4 Specialty Training Post in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) in the Severn Deanery with a closing date 12 July. In 2011 recruitment to SRH will be at ST1 level. ARCP feedback. I am pleased to report a marked improvement in the submission of the paperwork for the recent 3 days of ARCP, but there is still room for improvement. Changes will be made to the guidelines on the website but a particular plea from the panel was for trainees to present the current paperwork in a well ordered separate folder. Remember the panel is assessing your progress since the last ARCP & need to look at the relevant evidence & only refer to the previous folders if necessary. Looking for documents buried in large folders sometimes up to three volumes all 10cm thick is not an easy task! It is essential that trainees & their supervisors refer to the Annual Minimum Expectations of Training Document on the School website when preparing for the ARCP. If these minimum levels at each stage of training are not met this should be acknowledged in the paperwork submitted to the panel. At the very least an explanation or plan for addressing any deficiencies should be presented. It should be noted that logbook signing & work based assessments should be occurring throughout the year & not in the 4 weeks leading up to the ARCP – this will be more rigorously assessed at the ARCP in 2011 – you have been warned! Curriculum Changes. The RCOG Curriculum and Logbook are dynamic documents which are constantly being updated. This is relatively straightforward using an E Portfolio but trainees using paper based versions should ensure they are referring to the most recent version of the logbook especially if there are difficulties with signing competences. Ultrasound changes – it should be noted that there have been changes in the competence required for the basic obstetric ultrasound module. Fetal biometry should be performed under direct supervision & independent competence is no longer required. The School is aware there are difficulties in completing basic ultrasound training but trainees should be aware that those starting at ST1 in August 2008 or beyond should commence the two basic modules at the beginning of specialty training & the modules must be completed by the end of ST5, although ideally, ST1 trainees should aim to complete the modules by the end of ST3. Trainees are reminded that they are entitled to free registration for the ISUOG website which would normally cost £125 per year. Sexual and Reproductive Health. An e-learning package has been developed by the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare in partnership with e-learning for health (e-lfh). Trainees can register at no charge in order to undertake the e-learning component. From August 2011 it will be mandatory for all trainees completing ST5 to have completed the modules of the e-SRH. From August 2010 trainees commencing the programme at ST1 should ideally complete the e-SRH by the end of ST2, but should definitely have completed it by the thetime they complete ST5. This will therefore be included in the minimum expectations document. I have been advised that the module takes between 20-30 hours to complete but I would value feedback from trainees who have undertaken the training. The Diploma of FSRH includes practical training & there remains a charge for this. Trainees are encouraged to consider undertaking this additional training but it is not mandatory for CCT. STRATOG – I am pleased to report that 29 trainees in ST1-3 registered with STRATOG in order to take up the opportunity to obtain access to 25 tutorials of their choice funded by the School of O & G. I am looking forward to receiving feedback about this e learning package produced by the RCOG from trainees to decide whether this initiative should continue for the future ST1 trainees if funds are available. SWOT and logbook calendar – I am pleased to report that the calendar for 2010 has broken all previous records for the number of training days provided. However it is appreciated that trainees may find difficulties taking leave to attend an increased number of training days & so the target for the ARCP has been reduced to 50%. Trainees should ensure they allow all their colleagues an equal opportunity to attend these training days & priority should be given to trainees attending mandatory logbook days. It is also essential to inform the organiser if you have booked on a SWOT or logbook day but find you are unable to attend. New instructions will appear on the website soon. If any trainees have any particular requests or ideas for LogBook or SWOT days please tell Debbie Sirett or Jon Ash. Other training opportunities. Medical Leadership - Prof Davinder Sandhu recently circulated the following information about an e learning package for Medical Leadership which I urge you to consider. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges & NHS Institute for Innovation & Improvement in partnership with DH e-Learning for Healthcare, have created an e-Learning resource called LeAD to help doctors develop their understanding of how their role contributes to managing & leading health services. This is based on the Medical Leadership Competency Framework & the Leadership content is now part of all speciality Curricula. George Attilakos recently attended the Leadership skills course funded by the Severn Deanery designed and delivered by Baroness Julia Cumberledge & Louise Ashelby will be attending the second course in October. Teaching and Learning for Health Professional (TLHP) – the Severn Deanery are currently funding bursaries for trainees to undertake the TLHP. Further information is available on the Severn Deanery website. Severn School of O & G Simulation Centre – I am pleased to report the development of the Severn School of O & G Simulation Centre based at Southmead. Funding has been found to purchase both a laparoscopic simulator (LAPSIM) & an ultrasound simulator (ULTRASIM). It is hoped that initially the trainees based at Southmead will benefit from these facilities & make good progress with their competences in the clinical setting as a result. Pilot projects are planned to assess both the feasibility & implementation of this type of training & I look forward to reviewing the results. If the project is successful it is hoped to increase access to O & G trainees from other Trusts. PMETB Survey – Thank you to all the trainees who have completed the PMETB/GMC survey this year – we reached 96.7% completion for our School. We await the publication of the results. Severn School of O & G Awards 2010 – Everyone should now be aware of the new Award Scheme starting this year. Information can be found on the website and all trainees are eligible to apply for one of the three levels of award (closing date 1 September 2010). The provisional date for the Award ceremony is Thursday 23 September at The Clifton Club Bristol and all trainees are encouraged to attend even if you have not applied for an award. More information will appear on the website shortly. I think that brings everyone up to date with recent activities in our School of O & G. I look forward to seeing everyone at the Awards ceremony in September or the AGM in November. If anyone has any suggestions for improving the website please contact Debbie Sirett.
Best wishes
Dina Bisson
Head of School