Special Interest- what are trainees doing in the West Midlands?

AimsThe aim of this survey was to find out how Speciality trainees used their special interest sessions, using multiple choice and open questionsBackgroundThe ST (Speciality Training) curriculum recognises that it is desirable that all higher trainees gain additional experiences that may not be available in their clinical placement. Two sessions every week must be devoted during each year of Speciality training for such personal development, which includes research or to pursue special interests. Special interest sessions are defined as “a clinical or clinically related area of service which cannot be provided within the training post but which is of direct relevance to the prospective career pathway of the trainee”. This experience must be appropriately managed, supervised and assessed.MethodWe conducted a survey of Speciality trainees in the West Midlands region across all psychiatric specialities using an online survey. The survey was open for one month period in January 2021 and reminders were sent intermittently. Following survey closure, quantitative data were analysed using Google Forms and Excel. Qualitative data were collated and reviewed to identify relevant themes.Result47 of the total 82 Speciality trainees in all psychiatric specialities including dual trainees responded. Maximum response rate was from General adult/Dual trainees who form the bulk of Speciality trainees. Most trainees discussed their special interest with their supervisors and included this in learning plans. 79% were able to have a weekly session. Most sessions were devoted to gaining additional clinical experience, medical education, gaining leadership competencies and completion of further post graduate qualifications. The majority of trainees chose special interest sessions in their own trust, however 45% had difficulty getting released from their clinical commitments. Trainees demonstrated evidence in their portfolio by reflection, WPBA and reflective notes. Trainees were positive about their experiences and requested more support to access sessions locally.ConclusionThe Future Doctor report (HEE 2020) recognised that our Future Doctors must have a broad range of generalist skills to meet the population needs, therefore it is essential that doctors in training are supported by trainers and trusts to access special interest sessions to ensure that they achieve a broad range of competencies. To signpost trainees we have developed a booklet advertising available opportunities for ST trainees and other services may wish to consider this.

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Effectiveness of Online Teaching During COVID-19 Pandemic for West Midlands Urology Trainees

Journal of Endoluminal Endourology ◽

10.22374/jeleu.v3i4.110 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. e25-e31

Author(s):

Anton Wong

Keyword(s):

Online Teaching ◽

Online Survey ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Postgraduate Education ◽

Learning Approach ◽

The West ◽

Face To Face ◽

West Midlands ◽

Virtual Presence ◽

The Impact

Background and Objective Urology trainees in the West Midlands are provided with protected compulsory teaching sessions by the deanery. These teaching sessions are usually held in a regional centre, on a face-to-face basis. However, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound impact not only on individuals, the healthcare system, but has affected medical education for trainees. All regional teaching sessions have been moved online for the safety of individuals and to comply with social distancing guidelines. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of online teaching during the pandemic. Material and Methods An online survey was sent out to all urology trainees in the West Midlands. The questionnaire, comprised of a mixture of open, closed and Likert-10-point scale questions was used to compare online teaching against face-to-face teaching. An independent t-test was carried out as the data was presumed to follow a normal distribution. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results 70% of trainees responded and participated in the survey. Attendance rates were higher when teaching was online compared to face-to-face sessions. 100% of trainees were able to attend at least 80% of online teaching sessions whilst 89% were able to attend face-to-face sessions. However, the quality of teaching were not statistically significant between face-to-face and online teaching sessions (mean = 7.95 and 8.11 respectively, p= 0.316). The study found that trainees benefited from the accessibility of online teaching sessions but lost out on social networking and interactivity of face-to-face sessions. Most participants recommended a hybrid or blended learning approach once the pandemic is over. Conclusion The impact of COVID-19 has almost forced all undergraduate and postgraduate education to have a form of virtual presence. All teaching sessions will remain online for the foreseeable future. Our study found no difference between the qualities of teaching for both approaches. However, benefits and drawbacks of online teaching have been identified. Hence, we recommend a mixed learning approach of face-to-face and online teaching for the future.

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How does the outcome of research training fellowships funded via the NHS compare with that from competitively funded fellowships from the MRC and other charities: a cross-sectional retrospective survey of trainees undertaking research training in the West Midlands

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019630 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. e019630

Author(s):

Charlotte Maybury ◽

Matthew David Morgan ◽

Russell Smith ◽

Lorraine Harper

Keyword(s):

Clinical Training ◽

Online Survey ◽

Research Training ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Clinical Work ◽

Research Experience ◽

The West ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

West Midlands ◽

The Impact

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the impact of research training funded via the National Health Service (NHS) on medical trainees compared with traditional clinical research training fellowships (CRTFs).Design, setting and participantsOnline survey of 221 clinical trainees who had completed a period of research during their clinical training between 2009 and 2015 in the West Midlands.Main outcome measuresResearch outcomes.ResultsOverall response rate was 59%, of whom 72 participants were funded by CRTFs and 51 funded by the NHS. Although participants with CRTFs were more likely to be awarded a higher degree compared with those on NHS-administered funding (66/72 CRTFs and 37/51 NHS, P=0.005), similar proportions of NHS-funded and CRTF-funded participants entered clinical lecturer posts on completing initial research training (8/51 NHS and 16/72 CRTF, P=0.37). 77% of participants had three or more publications (CRTF 57 and NHS 39, P=0.72). 57 participants had completed clinical training; similar proportions of CRTF-funded and NHS-funded trainees had research included in their consultant contract (12/22 NHS and 14/26 CRTF, P=0.96) or were appointed to academic posts (3 of 25 NHS funded and 6 of 32 CRTF, P>0.05). 95% of participants would recommend to colleagues and 82% of participants felt the research experience improved their provision of clinical care with no difference between CRTF-funded and NHS-funded participants (P=0.49). Continuing to participate in clinical work during the research reduced reports of trainee difficulty on returning to clinical work (23/108 continued clinical work vs 12/22 no clinical work, P=0.001).ConclusionResearch training funded by the NHS provides a quality experience and contributes to the clinical academic capacity within the UK. More needs to be done to support NHS participants to successfully achieve a higher degree.

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Developing psychiatric resources for the new foundation programme curriculum

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjo.2021.408 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (S1) ◽

pp. S144-S145

Author(s):

Drew Kinmond ◽

Fiona Hynes ◽

Aqib (Mohammad) Hussain

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Core Curriculum ◽

Training Programme ◽

Annual Review ◽

The West ◽

Training Requirements ◽

Foundation Programme ◽

Speciality Training ◽

West Midlands ◽

New Curriculum

AimsOur aim was to develop an easily accessible, relevant and deliverable resource to meet the training requirements of the new foundation curriculum for Foundation Trainees in the West Midlands. The virtual resource needed to provide information at the correct knowledge depth, whilst also being flexible enough to allow trainees to access the materials despite the challenges of remote working. The West Midlands currently holds approximately 1,300 places for foundation training with an increase in numbers planned for 2023 and 2024.MethodThe United Kingdom Foundation Programme (FP) is a two-year structured, supervised training programme of learning in the workplace developed to prepare medical graduates for speciality training. The Foundation Curriculum is currently being updated in line with the GMC Standards for Post Graduate Curricula to reflect the developing and contemporaneous training needs of doctors and is expected to go live in August 2021.Though the foundation curriculum is broad and does not usually include specific diseases, it is recognised that mental health disorders are common and are frequently missed. The new curriculum makes a specific statement regarding the importance of mental health and specifies a syllabus covering this important area of medical practiceAround 80% of doctors are expected to have exposure to a community medicine placement, with around 40% expected to have placement within a specific mental health setting. Though other community placements may provide some exposure to the acute challenges of mental health, this is not guaranteed.To assist in meeting the FP requirement for training in mental health we developed an online resource for all West Midlands trainees, with lectures and information available that covers all of the core curriculum requirements for the FP. These resources can be accessed at any time of the day, at any point of foundation training, with each module certificated to show evidence of the attainment of foundation competencies ready for students ARCP (Annual Review of Competency Progression).ResultA programme of evaluation and effectiveness will be undertaken when the new curriculum goes live.ConclusionThere is an expected expansion in the number of training Foundation doctors within the next 5 years; therefore the demand for this training is expected to increase over time. As the understanding and awareness of the interaction between physical health and mental health continues to develop, we expected the use of this resource grow into the future.

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