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GasReach

GasReach is an exciting new collaborative project between the Widening Participation Medics Network (WPMN) and the Royal College of Anaesthetists which aims to increase diversity within anaesthesia.

The Singhota Family prize: bringing the generic professional capabilites to the curriculum forefront

This article discusses 'The birth of the generic professional capabilities learning hub' project which won second place in the Singhota Family prize, awarded in memory of Dr Jasjot Singhota.

Authors:

  • Dr Hannah Headon, Medical Education Fellow, King’s College NHS Foundation Trust, Anaesthetics South East London
  • Dr Christopher James, ST6 Anaesthetics, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dr Kate Millar, ST4 Anaesthetics, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dr Joseph Lipton, Consultant Anaesthetist   Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

On 10 June 2022, the sun was shining and I was on my way to present at the RCoA’s College Tutors’ Meeting in Cardiff, feeling increasingly nervous and eager to share our hard work. 

However, my nerves were misplaced: the meeting was extremely friendly and our project, ‘The birth of the generic professional capabilities learning hub’, was well received – to the extent that it came second in the competition for the Singhota Family prize, awarded in memory of Dr Jasjot Singhota.

Time to get serious about anaesthesia associates

The pandemic has generated a staggering backlog, with more than 7 million patients waiting for care. In order to treat these patients in a timely way, we need to increase our work rate beyond pre-pandemic levels but with our current workforce and model of care, this will be difficult. 

Authors:

  • Dr Hamish McLure, Medical Director (Professional Standards and Workforce Development) and Consultant Anaesthetist, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Dr Natalie Drury, Consultant Anaesthetist and Anaesthesia Associate Lead, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

The pandemic has generated a staggering backlog, with more than 7 million patients waiting for care. In order to treat these patients in a timely way, we need to increase our work rate beyond pre-pandemic levels but with our current workforce and model of care, this will be difficult. 

Fatigue, burnout, repeated acute illnesses and a punitive tax system mean we have a fragile workforce with minimal capacity or interest in additional work. RCoA workforce data shows little to be optimistic about, with a projected gap of 11,000 anaesthetists by 2040. This demand cannot be met without a massive increase in training numbers. Given the pressures in virtually every other specialty, this is unlikely.

Best practice in the provision of educational support for SAS, locally employed and MTI doctors

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.