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Authors:

• Dr Anna Simpson ST7 Anaesthetics, Bristol Royal Infirmary
• Dr Neil Botting CT3 Anaesthetics, Worthing Hospital
• Dr Joe Hetherington ST6 Geriatric and General Internal Medicine, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
• Hannah Wilson Consultant Anaesthetist, Bristol Royal Infirmary
• Dr Claire Swarbrick SNAP-3 Fellow Specialty Registrar, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
• Dr Jude Partridge Consultant Anaesthetist, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
• Dr Patrick Thorburn Consultant in Anaesthetics and Intensive Care Medicine, Worthing Hospital

The Associate Principal Investigator (API) scheme is a new initiative from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) which aims to formalise research involvement for those not normally exposed to research in their day-to-day jobs.

The aim is to help develop health professionals to become the Principal Investigators (PIs) of the future. It is a six-month, in-work training opportunity providing practical research experience in order to learn what it is like to deliver an NIHR portfolio study at a local level guided by an enthusiastic PI.¹ It has endorsement from 16 Medical Royal Colleges, including the Royal College of Anaesthetists, and at present there are 330 studies eligible for the scheme, which can recruit one API per site every six months.

When I returned to my role as a CR&I/RCoA perioperative quality improvement programme (PQIP) fellow, I found this came with unique expectations and required planning. Hopefully by sharing what I learnt, it will help those who are returning to work after a period of leave, especially those returning to job roles that do not necessarily fit the norm.

Returning to work: general things to consider

When RTW there are key dates and tasks to consider. Table 1 details some of the things that need to be arranged and when these need to be done. There are also many resources to consult (see below ). Using these in conjunction with your hospital policy is a good starting point.

My first President’s View features edited highlights from a podcast I recorded with fellow Council Member and Bulletin Editor Dr Ramai Santhirapala. We discussed several topics including questions submitted by our membership engagement panel. 

You can listen to the full conversation on our Anaesthesia on Air podcast. I also recommend that you take a moment to watch or read the CEO update, in which Jono Brüün provides an update on recent decisions about Churchill House and finding a new home for the College.

They're the fresh faces of anaesthesia and the future of our specialty.

We introduce you to some of our newest anaesthetists in training. We hope all of them and the rest of our trainees have very long, rewarding, and fulfilling careers as anaesthetists.