Find out the latest appointments approved, and with sadness we record the deaths of some of our fellows.
Find out the latest appointments approved, and with sadness we record the deaths of some of our fellows.
Search
We've found 316 results
This article explores how and why less-than-full-time training is increasing in popularity, with 28% of AiTs now choosing to work LTFT.
Dr Hooper, ST8 Anaesthesia and ICM at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire shows us how multidisciplinary simulation in airway management constitutes a remarkable step forward in enhancing patient safety.
Airway management is a crucial aspect of patient care, where effective and prompt actions can be life saving. The RCoA recognises the importance of continuous education and training to ensure healthcare professionals are well equipped to handle complex airway scenarios.
Multidisciplinary simulation has arisen as a valuable tool in this regard, offering an immersive and dynamic learning experience that fosters collaboration among different professionals involved in patient care.
Traditionally, training in airway management has often been siloed, with the focus on individual disciplines. However, real-life situations demand a coordinated effort from various healthcare professionals, including anaesthetists, operating department practitioners, nurses, physiotherapists, surgeons and theatre nurses. Therefore, conventional training styles may not adequately prepare individuals for the intricacies of interdisciplinary communication and cooperation.
This article outlines best practice in providing educational support or mentorship for all anaesthetic staff within your department.
We hope you will find this information useful in helping all anaesthetic staff within your department access the educational supervision or mentorship they require.
Introduction
In addition to consultants and doctors in formal training, anaesthetic departments frequently contain SAS and Locally Employed Doctors. SAS doctors are employed on national SAS contracts, the current of which are ‘Specialty Doctor’ and ‘Specialist’. Locally employed doctors (LEDs) are employed on non-national Trust-derived contracts. LEDs have multiple titles including ‘Clinical Fellow’ and ‘Trust Doctor’. Medical Training Initiative (MTI) doctors are also commonly employed as LEDs and form part of this latter group.
Within this combined cohort are doctors at all stages of their careers, with individual development needs. To maximise the potential of the existing anaesthetic workforce, it is imperative that these doctors are offered support to achieve their potential and reach their career goals. These goals may include broadening their role into non-clinical domains, (re)entering formal training, becoming consultants through the GMC Portfolio Pathway or becoming Specialists.
Dr Sinha and Dr Melarkode from Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust review the parity for LTFT slot-sharing trainees and tell us what needs to happen next.
Transitioning from Full-Time (FT) to Less-Than-Full-Time (LTFT) training has been a journey in revealing LTFT training disparities and discovering a new Health Education England (HEE) LTFT funding policy.
The Gold Guide’s latest guidance suggests that any trainee can apply for LTFT training (including those not yet in post but who have received an offer) provided they have a ‘well-founded individual reason’. In Yorkshire and Humber Deanery, the number of anaesthetic/ICM LTFT trainees has nearly tripled in the last five years. We anticipate LTFT numbers increasing in the future as more trainees seek better work–life balance. Training Programme Directors (TPDs) are encouraged to slot-share LTFT trainees, as this decreases gaps in rotas and continues to maintain recruitment (as LTFT training prolongs training pro-rata). This is important as the RCoA estimates that there will be a shortfall of 11,000 anaesthetists by 2040. If not slot-shared, a solo LTFT trainee does reduced sessions in a single FT slot.
This article looks at the review process of our appraisal and revalidation information since the GMC published an updated version of Good Medical Practice, earlier this year.
At the end of January 2024, the GMC published an updated version of Good Medical Practice, the core guidance for all registered doctors. This has been accompanied by guidance on a number of other areas, including confidentiality, consent and research, and legal and regulatory proceedings, all of which can be seen on the GMC website.
The opportunity has been taken to conduct a major review of the College’s supporting information for appraisal and revalidation.
Dr Glaze, our Dinwoodie Simulation Fellow and an ST5 anaesthetist in training, updates us on some exciting developments in simulation.
I'm the RCoA’s Dinwoodie Simulation Fellow and an ST5 anaesthetist in training in the Thames Valley region. I’m pleased to take the opportunity to update you on some exciting developments in simulation.
Anaesthetics was an early pioneer in utilising simulation, recognising its benefits in rehearsing uncommon emergencies and how it can be used to develop non-technical skills. Anaesthetists in training can now expect simulation-based education to feature frequently throughout their training as they develop skills and practise the management of critical incidents, and it will continue to feature throughout our careers. Anaesthetists are also frequently seen delivering the simulation-based education, whether that is for peers or other members of the multidisciplinary team. Simulation as an educational tool has many guises, including part-task trainers to rehearse a skill before performing on a patient, sessions in a dedicated simulation suite and, most recently, immersive technologies such as virtual reality.
Duncan McMillan, our Head of Content, welcomes you to the second article in our new feature, in which we share and showcase education and training content.
In this second of our ‘Education resources of the quarter’ feature, we’re taking a look at recent College talks and podcasts on airway matters, and taking videos from our events and podcast programme from the last few years and re-sharing them here.
This article provides an update on all the great work done to improve the reliability, performance and general user experience of the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLP).
Maintaining and improving the LLP
Since its launch in August 2018, the College has committed to improving the reliability, performance and general user experience of the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLP) for our members. With the inclusion of three new curricula and of ICM users in late 2021, it became apparent that the added level of complexity and the need to support more users required additional funding, so a sizeable new budget was approved by the College’s Finance and Resources Board in August 2022.
This additional funding has allowed us to resolve many historic issues, keep the infrastructure and related systems up to date, as well as making significant improvements where needed. We still have a great deal of work to do, but as you will see below, we have already achieved a lot over the last year and have a clear plan of where we are heading in the coming months.
It's good to talk: Frances Bright, our Associate Director of Marketing and Communications tells us about our 'Let's Talk' events for our members and why we'd love to see you there.
The College hosts regular online ‘Let’s Talk’ events for our members. These meetings are an opportunity for you to talk with College representatives about whatever’s on your mind.
You might have questions or feedback for us, or you might want to share your views or experiences on any number of issues affecting the specialty.