Dr Claire Mallinson on why it’s important to join Council

Being a member of the College Council over the past two years has been an absolute honour. Being a small part of the growth of the College has been humbling and I remain a huge advocate as it goes from strength-to-strength for its Fellows and Members.

Nominations to Council are open until 19 October, so I’m pleased to have this opportunity to give you an insight into what’s it’s like being a College Council member and why Fellows and Members should think seriously about putting themselves forward for the positions available.

As a member of Council it is our responsibility to ensure the College carries out its role effectively. We have worked on a wide range of topics such as the long-term strategic direction of the College, the development of the membership offer and each of the different membership areas. In each discussion, our role as Council has been to both support and provide constructive challenge to ensure all decisions are carefully thought through and made in the best interest of the organisation and its full membership.

This might sound a bit daunting but, in reality, Council works together and makes decisions collectively. Different members of the Council have different skills – some are experts in areas such as NHS leadership and education including exams, while others are practising experts in their own subspecialty. This balance is essential - it allows us to deliver effective oversight and ensures there’s a strong representation of the very people the College was created to support.

Before joining Council, I had some experience of governance in my NHS position. This set me in good stead for my work with the College, particularly in my role as Chair of the Education and Professional Development committee. This has been a particularly rewarding aspect of the role and one where I felt I made a real contribution because I understand first-hand the challenges anaesthetists face and what they need from a professional body such as the College.

It has also given me the opportunity to work alongside the permanent staff team in London on really key areas such as the launch of webinars and the introduction of CPD accreditation for online meetings. In recent months I have worked alongside the rest of the Equality and Diversity committee to oversee the process of how we make a positive impact to our membership to realise everyone’s full potential. Other members of Council have been closely involved in overseeing the development of this emerging programme.

In terms of the time commitment involved, I have found my work for the College has fit easily alongside my full-time NHS role. Council meetings are usually held in London, but currently via video and sub-committee meetings are held, again by video conference or in non COVID times, a mixture of multimedia styles every few months. Our aim before COVID was to reduce our carbon footprint with unnecessary travel. We don’t get involved in the day-to-day running of the College, as this is the remit of College staff led by the CEO, but we are there as a ‘critical friend’.

There is no doubt that I have benefited enormously from being a member of College Council and it has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career so far. It has been great professional development too – being involved with all sorts of people at the very leading edge of the profession has given me an insight. I hope I’ve also got better at chairing meetings as I have now had a lot of practice!

Having the chance to support and shape the work and strategic direction of the College has allowed me to make a difference to a cause which really does matter to me and which I am passionate about. I have been able to give something back to the profession. It is absolutely right that there is representation on Council from anaesthetists who work in all areas every day and I would strongly encourage anyone who thinks they have a contribution to make and some time to spare, to consider standing for election on to College Council.

Claire Mallinson