Dr Ruth Bennet and Dr Eimear McClenaghan share their experiences of finding out they were dyslexic as adults in the hope it might help others in similar positions.
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Dr Marie Nixon, Consultant Anaesthetist and Dr Thom O'Dell, ST7 Trainee discuss their experiences of wellbeing and what it means to them.
Understandably, well-being means something different to all of us, but does it have more awareness and recognition than 20 years ago?
Dr Marie Nixon, Consultant Anaesthetist and Dr Thom O'Dell, ST7 Trainee discuss their experiences of wellbeing and what it means to them.
Dr Jon Chambers welcomes us to spring's issue which clearly demonstrates how our specialty continues to rise to meet the challenge of change.
The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) is 10 years old this year, so this is a timely point to review progress, highlight achievements, and look at the persisting challenges ahead.
Author: Dr Dave Murray, Consultant Anaesthetist South Tees NHS Trust; Chair NELA
The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) is 10 years old this year, so this is a timely point to review progress, highlight achievements, and look at the persisting challenges ahead.
In the beginning
NELA was commissioned in 2012. One of the key pieces of evidence to support its funding was the paper published by the Emergency Laparotomy Network.1 This observational study of more than 1,800 patients highlighted a 15% mortality rate, but with a nine-fold variation in mortality across the 35 trusts. Consultant presence was 74% for surgeons and anaesthetist presence was 64%. Half the patients were admitted to critical care, and patients returning to the ward had a 6.7% mortality rate.
Dr Shepherd and Professor Krige produce resources to support you if you encounter a patient living with ME/CFS.
Over the years both the College and the ME Association have been receiving a number of enquiries from patients living with ME/CFS bemoaning the lack of information on how anaesthesia might affect their condition, but also seeking reassurances that their needs in the perioperative period would be met with understanding and compassion.
The College acknowledged that there was not much in the way of information to support these patients nor the anaesthetists looking after them, and agreed that this gap needed to be addressed given the relatively high occurrence of the condition in the UK. Current reports estimate that there are 250,000 people living with ME/CFS at any one time in the UK, but this is likely to be a gross underestimate as traditionally it is poorly diagnosed, and many Long COVID patients fulfil ME/CFS diagnostic criteria. The most recent ONS survey reports 1.7 million people in the UK living with Long COVID.
This was new territory for the College, as producing information without a comprehensive body of evidence for such a poorly understood medical condition was something we had never done before.
Dr Ramai Santhirapala, Editor of the Bulletin, welcomes you to the last print issue acknowledging that while the current climate of the NHS may seem unrelenting, she hopes, as we do, you find many opportunities to feel inspired in this issue and beyond.
Welcome to the July 2023 edition of the Bulletin. As I write this, it is challenging to summarise the state of the UK NHS as anything other than the epitome of uncertainty. Yet many of us, myself included, continue to advocate for a healthcare service so close to our hearts, striving for solutions as we approach the 75th anniversary of the NHS.
As someone who comes from an immigrant background, I have personally witnessed sustained periods of uncertainty and instability – and, also, through creative thinking, steadfastness, and perseverance, outcomes beyond any that were imaginable. Observing generations of family, my parents included, undergo the process of building life anew including acculturation, instilled in me from a young age a strong foundation of hope that no situation is insurmountable. This hope is beyond naïve positivity, but rather is borne of a pragmatic optimism resulting from lived experience. As a specialty, we are intelligent, resourceful and innovative – we have ‘found a way’ countless times.
In this article, SEAUK reviews some new technologies which are changing how airway management is taught.
While anaesthesia has always taken great care to tread the tightrope between training and patient safety, new technologies and innovation in education practices are further improving the risk-to-benefit ratio.
The acquisition and maintenance of airway skills are fundamental for all anaesthetists. A delicate balance exists between allowing the trainee to learn practical techniques and exposing patients to potential harm, a situation which is no greater than during airway management. Clinical pressures, demands on training time and reduced operating capacity since the COVID-19 pandemic have had a major impact on learning opportunities for anaesthetists in training.
In this article, we review some new technologies which are changing how airway management is taught.
Dr Ramai Santhirapala, Editor of the Bulletin, welcomes you to April 2023's anaesthetist in training (AiT) issue of the Bulletin and looks at why this year's theme 'Adapting to change' is very apt in these uncertain times.
Welcome to the April 2023 anaesthetist in training (AiT) edition of the Bulletin. As I write this, NHS doctors in training are imminently embarking on industrial action following an unequivocal ballot; unprecedented since 2016. Whatever your opinion on industrial action, the common thread is that these are intense times for those of us within the NHS. It is often these times, however uncertain and unsettling, that further solidarity for the betterment of care for patients and each other. The conversations I have had with anaesthetists across the UK bring forth this sentiment; we are in this together.
‘Adapting to change’ is the theme for this edition of the Bulletin. No better place to start than to introduce our new anaesthetist in training members of the Bulletin’s editorial board, Dr Lauren Elliott and Dr Nipun Agarwal, who have been an absolute joy to work with for this issue.
This article provides some additional information and FAQs about the remaining SIAs in the 2021 curriculum.
This article outlines the ‘good’, the ‘bad’ and the ‘ugly’ of delivering and receiving feedback for professional development.
Authors:
- Dr Rachel Holmes, CT4 ACCS Anaesthetics, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust
- Dr Suzanne Taylor, Consultant Anaesthetist, Mid-Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust
- Dr Susannah Thoms, Consultant Anaesthetist, Mid-Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust
Society for Education in Anaesthesia UK (SEAUK)
The 2021 RCoA curriculum states that ‘access to high-quality, supportive and constructive feedback is essential for the professional development of the anaesthetist in training’.1 So, what do we mean by feedback, and what do we want this feedback to achieve?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines feedback as: ‘advice, criticism or information about how good or useful something or somebody’s work is’, only this is just half of the story. Another definition, relevant to us as trainers and learners, would be: ‘the information sent to an entity about its prior behaviour so that the entity may adjust its current and future behaviour to achieve the desired results’.2 In the context of anaesthesia training, information is provided on the gap between a learner’s performance and a standard set by the RCoA, with suggestions on how the gap might be bridged. Self-reflection on any feedback is a vital ingredient to consolidating the learning achieved.