Dr Marie Nixon, Consultant Anaesthetist and Dr Thom O'Dell, ST7 Trainee discuss their experiences of wellbeing and what it means to them.
What comes to mind when you think of the 1970s? Flared Jeans, David Bowie, Dallas? Well, it wasn’t all Happy Days (forgive the pun) – this decade was also very much about skyrocketing inflation and unemployment, the Winter of Discontent, strikes, power cuts, and states of emergency.
This is not to take away from the fact that winter within the UK National Health Service (NHS) is extremely challenging; some may say that this year, especially, is akin to walking a tight rope.
The urgent need for more doctors to be able to train as anaesthetists is always the first thing I raise in conversations I have with the government, NHS England and other decision makers around the country. Last month I wrote to the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to set out the need to address the current shortage of anaesthestists and to outline the impact this is having on the elective care backlog, among other things.
In the last year we have secured some incremental improvements on this front, but there is a long way to go, and we will do all we can to maintain momentum in the year ahead.
It has been a remarkable four years. Within a couple of months of my appointment COVID-19 hit. The challenges for our membership were enormous. The specialty was at the frontline, and anaesthetists and intensivists had to learn and adapt at pace to provide the best possible care for the patients who were most seriously ill under very challenging circumstances. The College too had to urgently adapt.
Exams, which had always been held in person, were rapidly moved to virtual platforms. It was a steep learning curve for so many of us and it didn’t all go as smoothly as we wanted, due in large part to the pressures put on so many by the pandemic. Nevertheless, I was proud of the College, its examiners and the exams team, who, along with candidates, contributed fully to the subsequent independent review of our assessment process. The review was published earlier this year. Lessons were learnt and changes have been made that have seen us continue to welcome almost 5,000 candidates per year to the College for their exams.
When the RCoA changed its branding in 2016, professional designers were called in and consulted on the changes. When creating clinical informatics however, it is often left to clinicians; but a complex series of decisions that combine aesthetics, psychology, and ergonomics are required to make presentation effective.
In this, the first of a series of articles, we will explore some of the issues relevant to presenting information, beginning with iconography.
In this recurring series, we’ll post event video clips, podcasts, and links to downloadable resources, some of them available exclusively to members, via the Bulletin. We’d love to know how you find this. Tell us what content you want to see here and what professional-development areas you’d benefit from.
In this issue we’re focusing on patient safety, looking at communication and simulation and featuring videos, audio, and downloadable resources drawn from across our website and beyond.
During 2023 we have received more than 950 applications for CPD accreditation. The numbers received by month were typically between 70–80 applications, but the months of March and September were particularly busy with 112 and 92 respectively received. This is an increase by more than 50 when compared against the same reporting period from last year.
