16th November 2015

MRCS Success

Huge congratulations to four @HEKSSSpeciality Core Trainees who sat the MRCS B: Sophie @sophiehfwrigley and Asad... 

... Kamran and Dan ...

Stunning results all round. The best part of getting that test out of the way is now you can enjoy the job, the experience of being a surgeon. Well done.

More success...

Last post, I told you we had no less than FIVE podium presentations at @britishtrauma British Trauma Society 2015 Meeting. 

The paper by Zu Nawaz, Sophie Wrigley and Arshad Khaleel "Follow up of 810 consecutive Ti-HA coated uncemented stem hemiarthroplasties" won First Prize as Best Clinical Presentation! Fantastic achievement, so pleased for you all

LNC Meeting

This week saw one of the quarterly meetings of the Local Negotiating Committee (LNC). LNCs are made up of elected local representatives who negotiate – and have the authority to make collective agreements – with local management on behalf of medical and dental staff of all grades. 

This group is not just made up of senior medical staff and BMA rep Cathy Taylor, but also your junior doctor representatives: Dominique, Beatrix @beatrixlv and Holly @unclehester

It was good to hear at the meeting that the Chief Operating Officer Bob Peet @bobpeet1 has started gathering senior managers and consultants to plan safe staffing dependent on how @theBMA vote turns out. 

Another important issue discussed was Diary Carding, just entering its second week. I cannot stress how important it is that these cards are filled in accurately. 

The Trust cannot change staffing levels or improve workloads without data, so this is key. If you overstay your shift time, you must, must ring your consultant. The reason for this is that every morning, the consultant is contacted to verify the diary card entries. So if you ring and they tell you <ahem> where to go you, write down exactly that in the notes. A text message will do. 

When I was a 4th year Reg @ASPH the first time round (ST6 in new money) accurate diary carding pushed us up to Band 3, and we were back paid really quickly. Returns in previous years have been so poor that no inferences could be drawn about work patterns or intensity: please don't let this opportunity slide.

Surgeon of the Week

So, Urology trainees have been asking "where are our bosses for Surgeon of the Week?" They are ELUSIVE and have been known to sprint down the corridor away from my camera (yes, YOU Mr Agrawal). Here we have a Urologist pinned down by Humphrey Scott @humphrey_scott, the Godfather Mr Robin Cole:

 

Forthcoming Attractions

Core Surgical Training applications are now OPEN (fanfares). Read the instructions, follow the checklist ...

... and please come and find me with your portfolio so we can buff & polish it. Had a very satisfying session with Christian @marshaisic creating a portfolio to be proud of. I will do a whole post on Portfolio Preparation soon.

Another plug for 'Are You Cut Out For It?', the competition for CT2s to test dexterity & skills. Winners go to the National Finals at the College @RCSNews in February for a chance to win the first prize, £1,000. Have you got what it takes? The X Factor?

9th November 2015

Olympic Gold Medallist opens MRI

Lots of news this week: starting with the opening of the new MRI scanner at Ashford. You may have seen my pics of it going up in a matter of days: well it's been up and running since 19th October and on Tuesday it was formally opened by double Olympic sailing gold medalist Sarah Ayton OBE @sarahayton, here with CEO Suzanne Rankin @suzrankin

Sarah was born in Ashford Hospital, learned to sail on Staines reservoir and has even had a head MRI after a bump with a boom so the perfect person to declare the new machine ready for action. It did raise the hilarious conundrum of how to ceremoniously cut the red ribbon if you can't take scissors into the magnet but that was neatly solved...

...by moving the ribbon...

Blowing our T&O trumpet

Hugely proud of Arshad Khaleel and the trainees he has energised with his infectious enthusiasm achieving FIVE podium presentation of their research projects at the British Trauma Society Meeting in Keele this week. Persuaded Arshad to take a @britishtrauma selfie with Ankit Desai @ankdes1 and Rob Boyd @mrbobramsay

This is an incredible achievement: our trainees are not only working their maximum hours to provide excellent patient care but they are also studying for exams AND putting the hours in on projects such as these. Immense.

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

I am BURSTING with pride for our Core Surgical Trainees: Every Single One of them who sat the MRCS B exam PASSED!

Huge congratulations to our junior doctors who have now shed that 'Dr' to become 'Miss' and 'Mr': Sophie, Dan, Kamran and Asad. Will do more on this next blog, but couldn't wait to share the glorious news as it broke Friday.

Surgeon(s) of the Week

Not long now before we formally fuse with the Royal Surrey @royalsurrey but close links have existed for years between the surgical specialities of both hospitals and this week Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mike Lemon was the latest to come up the A3 to join with our own Paul Trikha in an exciting procedure, a meniscal transplant. 

Forthcoming Attractions

The date is set: the @HE_KSS Regional Heat of 'Are You Cut Out For It?' will be on Thursday December 3rd at 6pm in the Fracture Clinic of the Rowley Bristow Unit. All CT2s can enter and the winners will go forward to the @RCSNews Final where first prize is £1,000

And finally...

It's been a strange week for surprise emails. The GMC has written to us all regarding potential industrial action and some junior doctors have had a letter from Jeremy Hunt inserted into their eportfolio mailboxes (@JRCPTB are investigating as there could be a data breach). I add here the generous and thoughtful letter written by Professor Pandit, Chair of the Oxford Medical Staff Cttee. I hope it reproduces but if not, it is on twitter and I hope you take strength from it: https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/662317129891467264