1st August 2016

A Big Welcome

This week @ASPHFT we welcomed brand new doctors to their Induction Week. 

Our Director of Medical Education neonatologist Dr Peter Martin led the introductions supported by the Foundation Programme Directors Vincent O'Neill and Tayo Johnson.

It may seem unnecessarily pessimistic, but early on in the piece I talk to the new doctors on how we can help tackle Bullying and Undermining. It's a bald fact of life that across the NHS as a whole 28% of staff experience undermining from other staff. ASPHFT is no exception as you can see from the 2015 NHS Staff Survey results: 

So if it does seem a bit of a downer I make no apology for spelling out that I'm here to help.

Departmental Induction

Next week sees the turn-around of the vast majority of our junior colleagues. Apart from the Surgical and T&O HSTs who changeover in October, Wednesday will see the arrival of the 2016/17 intake.

Wednesday will be for them spent on Trust Induction which means we should all take this opportunity to be prepared to give our inpatients every support. 

I'm looking forward to meeting our new tranche of Core trainees on Thursday when our first action will be a group crash course on how to steer ISCP, the portfolio whose evidence forms the basis of their revalidation.

T&O ARCPs at Stewart House

This week I made my first visit to Stewart House, the new Russell Square home for @HEE_KSS.

Right alongside the brutalism of Senate House (see below), Stewart House has a good set-up for the ARCP process with access to functioning Wifi and big screens so everyone can see what evidence has been uploaded

The afternoon saw the STC meeting where we had feedback from trainees on their experiences in the different Trusts in the region. Lots to digest and discuss, for  @ASPHFT at any rate.

HEE KSS has three TPDs in T&O, to cover this enormous territory. Phil Housden from William Harvey (Kent), Sam Hook from Worthing (Sussex) and Matt Solan from Guildford (Surrey) 

Forthcoming Attractions

(Some dates for the diary)

Careers Fairs coming up: first @theBMA's offering 

Next up is the RSM @RoySocMed Careers Fair in November:

https://www.rsm.ac.uk/CAREERSFAIR16

And Finally...

Happy Birthday Mr Michael

7th December 2015

'Are You Cut Out For It?'

This week saw the @HE_KSS heat of the Royal College of Surgeons @RCSnews competition for second year Core Trainees. Each LETB (formerly known as 'Deanery') holds heats with the winners going to the College in February for the Finals and the chance to win the first prize of £1,000.

This is a surgical skills-based competition, with competitors demonstrating suturing, knot-tying, excision of lesions & closure of defects and laparoscopic dexterity skills: here our own Aphiwat Luangsomboon stacks sugar cubes to the amusement of Sachin Agrawal

Thanks to everyone who came out on a windy Thursday night to Fracture Clinic at the Rowley Bristow. It was a tough call to judge, with the range of scores being very tight, but winners we had and congratulations to first prize winner Ana Borges...

... and runner-up Jennifer Caswell...

...who received their certificates from Bill Dunsmuir and will go forward to represent our LETB at the Finals.

Huge thanks to the judges who gave up their free time to support this event: Bill Dunsmuir, Sachin Agrawal, Holly Ni Raghallaigh (@UncleHester) and Ben Carrick. Thanks too to Sophie Wrigley @sophiehfwrigley and Christian Asher @marshaisic who were magnificent in helping set up and pack away afterwards.

Tuesday's Day of Action

Preparations for potential industrial action were incredible and very organised. On the day itself of course, junior doctors were working as negotiations brokered by ACAS were underway. Theatre lists had already been stood down, which left some surgeons with an incredible opportunity to get together, brainstorm, and take the time to talk through plans and strategies not only for CCG-related projects but also interdisciplinary issues such as rotas and training.

It is so rare to have the time to sit down with colleagues both clinical and managerial (here above with ADO Cathy Parsons @cparsons007 and Associate Divisional Director Paul Trikha @surreyknee): three ad hoc meetings later I felt I achieved more in that one day than in months of emails.

Changeover Wednesday 

Wednesday morning was given over to Departmental Induction. Four months goes by so quickly, doesn't it: we welcomed some new faces to T&O

They will benefit from the hard work put in by previous trainees Emily Decker @emilydecker1, Seok Cho @YSeokC & Sophie Wrigley @sophiehfwrigley who have sat down with us to construct a weekly service plan that should provide that elusive balance of continuity and education. I'm a firm believer that the doctors happiest with their rotas are those who have gotten a grip of it themselves.

We covered a huge range of topics including Consent training, Unit structure,  pre-assessment - not to worry, it can be found on Trustnet including the surgical handbook, for reference.

 

Surgeon of the Week

This week it is my pleasure to introduce Magdy Moawad, see here on the left, with fellow Consultant Vascular Surgeon AJ Jibawi

Magdy is a fantastic support to me in educational projects and at Surgical LFG. Until his arrival we had very little input from Vascular Surgery at all. Now he, AJ @abdjibawi and Barun Majumder @barunmajumder have elevated the educational profile of their speciality in the hospital: wonderful

Forthcoming Attractions

On Friday, @ASPHFT host the Regional Speciality Study Day in T&O. We have some interactive talks lined up as well as a practical saw bones session. This event is for @HE_KSS Core trainees but if you are an ASPHFT junior doctor faintly interested in a T&O taster, you are more than welcome. At lunchtime I will be holding a "Portfolio Clinic" - if you would like me to cast an eye over yours, do bring it along 

And finally...

Can't help myself: LOVE seeing St Peter's in print!!!