6th June 2016

Weeks with Bank Holidays in are still packed with activity: beginning to wonder what a "day off" might be like...

TPDs Training Day

Last Thursday, College Tutors and Programme Directors from HEKSS gathered in Croydon to hear updates on the curriculum and the changing face of postgraduate education in the current contract climate.

We heard from the Dean, Graeme Dewhurst, on recent GMC evaluations of our region and on the whole we did good. GMC @gmcuk have some specific requirements of us, number one of which is weekend supervision of trainees (already a box ticked in Surgical specialities). Number two is an obsession: banning the use of the term "SHO". No idea why they've got such a bee in their collective bonnet about that one, strikes me there are much higher priorities than that, but what do I know.

GMC Requirements

1. Weekend supervision of trainees

2. Abolition of the term "SHO"

3. Handover - formal time AND location

4. Rota gaps - impinge on clinical supervision of trainees

5. Excessive workloads negative impact on training

6. Feedback from incident reporting

As you can see, the majority of this requires engagement of organisations to make this happen, and will be a focus for the Guardian of Safe Working (see last post)

Appointments Advisory Committee

The following day I shot up the M6 to the very pretty cathedral city of Lichfield, Staffordshire

Not much time to look around, though plenty to see, as I was there as a College Representative for a Consultants Appointnent panel

I have been a representative on behalf of @RCSnews for a couple of years now, and it's a really interesting gig. This is the first time I've done a military one though, and they are set up a little differently

This gave me cause to reflect on the different goalposts the Surgical subspecialties set themselves to benchmark the standard at CCT. Of course I am familiar with the requirements in T&O: x2 closed loop audits, x2 first name publications in good quality journals, specified numbers of index logbook procedures all before you're 'allowed' to sit the Exit exam. 

I gather General Surgical specialities are placing less emphasis on the need to publish and audit, and this made me think - why do we make trainees do it?

Audit is an important pillar of revalidation, so getting into good habits is a reason I suppose but what I think self directed investigations of topics (and that's what most clinical research is) shows curiosity, interest in doing things better, providing best care for patients. 

CVs with no research projects or audit are what I would call 'old style' in other words CVs that would get posts 15-20 years ago. For a Chief Executive, that means employing like-for-like, a younger version of the retiring consultant (but with significantly less experience). Not exactly a winning scenario.

CVs that show some dynamism with service improvement projects, clinical research topics and engagement in self-audit suggests a dynamic appointment, someone who is going to drive the department forward, give added value. Much more appealing.

Anyway, congratulations to former South Thames trainee Jeremy Granville-Chapman @JGC_Ortho on his appointment at Wexham Park Hospital, Frimley Health @frimleyhealth

Surgeon of the Week

We've had an Appointments Panel of our own in T&O this week so it is my pleasure to introduce to you our latest Consultant colleague Mr Josh Jacob

Josh will be a familiar face as he is currently our Lower Limb Fellow and will shortly start with us as an additional Trauma Consultant. 

And finally...

Congratulations to Arshad Khaleel: the Chertsey Ilizarov Course has been formally recognised as an accredited Royal College of Surgeons course. This is no mean feat and demonstrates the quality of training meets the College standards for surgical education & training