News

The 2014 GMC Trainee survey is now live until the 8th May.

It can be accessed through the GMC website. 

Please log in and complete the survey.

Thank you!

Applications are now open for the National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow Scheme, sponsored by Sir Bruce Keogh and managed by the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management.

The scheme offers doctors in training an outstanding and unique opportunity to develop leadership and management skills in a range of national healthcare organisations which have previously included NHS England, Health Education England, GMC, NICE, Public Health England, Royal Colleges, St Andrews Healthcare, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the Association of British Healthcare Industries, BMJ and BUPA.  Host organisations for 2014-15 have yet to be finalised. This work is complemented by the peer support offered by being in a cohort of trainees.

Clinical Fellows have the chance to work alongside influential leaders and meet key players in healthcare from the NHS and beyond. The scheme has complemented clinical practice with careers in medical management, clinical leadership, public health and policy. The posts are paid a clinical salary with banding as some work activities may occur outside normal working hours.

This year there will continue to be placements across England, including a number of opportunities in the North of England. For more information please visit: www.fmlm.ac.uk/clinical-fellow-scheme

Applications close on 14 February 2014 and will be followed by a shortlisting process. Interviews are expected to take place in London on 10 and 11 March 2014.

Developing people for health and healthcare

Specialty Selection Test (SST) pilot for CT1/ST1 Applicants

Health Education England (HEE) and the devolved nations are piloting a Specialty Selection Test (SST) as part of a wider programme (MDRS) to improve medical and dental recruitment and selection across the UK. We’re working with the Work Psychology Group, academics in the University College of London Medical

School and specialty leads to pilot the SST.

Participate and be in with a chance to win some fantastic prizes, including an iPad or Kindle!

The pilot will take place across a number of different medical specialties in the UK and includes a Clinical Problem Solving Test (CPS) and a Situational Judgement Test (SJT).

Participating is simple and will only require a few hours of your time.

What is the purpose of the pilot?

The purpose of this pilot is to evaluate whether these tests enhance the current methods of selection used for ST1/CT1 level recruitment. We will also continue to follow applicant progression for a number of years, to ensure a long-term robust evaluation.

Test results will not form part of the selection process, they will be anonymised and will not impact on your fitness to practise.

Ultimately, we are assessing whether the SST is a good predictor of a doctor’s performance throughout their training and aiming to ensure the selection process is reliable, valid, fair and cost-effective.

Why should I participate?

By participating in the SST pilot you will receive feedback on how well you performed in the national cohort and you will also be eligible to win one of five prizes. First prize is a 32GB iPad, second prize is a 32GB kindle fire HD, third prize is a kindle plus paperwhite, fourth prize is a kindle paperwhite and fifth prize is a kindle.

This pilot aims to improve the way doctors are selected in the future and this is your chance to give your views on this selection process and make your voice heard! Tell us your views on this method of selection and how valuable you found the test. Our main aim is to further improve the selection process by ensuring that it is fair, valid, just

and reliable.

How can I participate?

If you are eligible, you’ll receive an email invitation in December 2013 to take part in the Specialty Selection Test. The test will be delivered online between 13-25 January 2014 through Pearson VUE test centres. You will be asked to choose a time-slot and a venue from one of many Pearson VUE test centres across the UK and will need to book your

slot no later than 21 December 2013. The test centres are located within close proximity to hospitals across the UK and are available on Saturdays and after hours.

How will the test work?

The test itself will consist of a two hour and fifteen minute online test. It will be completely computer based and the questions will be developed by leading specialists according to specialty person specifications and foundation programme curriculum. If you are already doing the GP test or if you have applied to Broad Based Training, you will not be asked to do the additional test. If you are

applying to a number of different specialities you will only be required to sit the test once.

Why is a selection test being piloted across multiple specialties?

The pilot of the SST is designed to be broad-based due to the nature of the overlap of person specifications required by all specialties. A good example of this is the fact that all specialties require trained doctors not just to be clinically competent, but also empathic and sensitive with patients and colleagues, to behave with professional integrity, and to have the ability to prioritise and cope well under pressure and work effectively in a team. All doctors who have undertaken Foundation will be familiar with the Foundation Curriculum by which these skills, values and behaviours are embedded.

The SST does not seek to replace individual specialty specifications. Each speciality will still have its own speciality specific elements within the selection process.

Where can I go to find more information?

More information, including an applicant guide, is available on the Specialty Training website: www.specialtytraining.nhs.uk or you can email us at hee.mdrs@nhs.net if you have any questions about the SST pilot.

Pilot Timeline

Apply to ST1/CT1 Training (12 November-5 December 2013)

Receive an email invitation to sit the test (11 December 2013)

Book your slot and preferred Pearson VUE test centre (11-21 December 2013)

Participate in the SST pilot (13-25 January 2014)

www.specialtytraining.nhs.uk

The Postgraduate Dean of Severn Postgraduate Medical Education, Professor Davinder Sandhu, has been awarded the Bruce Medal in recognition of the contribution he has made to the advancement of surgical education.

The Bruce Medal was established by The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1966 in memory of a former President, the late Sir John Bruce. It is awarded from time to time to a Fellow of the College to recognise a major contribution to surgical knowledge or teaching.

Professor Davinder Sandhu (left) receives the Bruce Medal

Professor Sandhu received the award at a ceremony at the Edinburgh College on Friday 06 September 2013.

Commenting on receiving the honour, he said:

"I feel hugely honoured and humbled by this award. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is a leading College with a particular focus on surgical education and training, and to receive the Bruce Medal is the pinnacle of my career and I am absolutely delighted to receive it."

Professor Robert Woodwards from the College’s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Specialty Group said:

"Professor Sandhu has been Lead Dean for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for the last four years, as well as Lead Dean for the interface specialties. In these roles, he has been greatly involved in development of a new curriculum for the specialty, which has now had GMC approval, and has also guided the development and implementation of central recruitment to the specialty."

"He has also provided great support in the development of the interface specialties (cleft lip and palate; head and neck cancer care; cosmetic and reconstructive surgery and trauma) and has fought for funding and grants in these Fellowships to allow expanded training opportunities."

"He continues to contribute to postgraduate education nationally and internationally; has published over 40 original papers and is editor and reviewer of several journals."

"For many years Professor Sandhu has worked tirelessly to improve standards in medical education, and through that, patient care. I commend him as a worthy recipient of this honour.”

Notes to editors:

• Professor Davinder Sandhu MD, FRCS (Ed.Urol), FRCS (Eng & Glas), Cert.Med.Ed., FRCPE has been Postgraduate Dean of Severn Postgraduate Medical Education (formerly Severn Deanery) for 8 years and was previously a Consultant Urological Surgeon in Leicester for 13 years.
  He represents the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMeD) at the Joint Medical Consultative Council (JMCC) and is the South West Regional Surgical Advisor for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He is Chair of the Association of Medical Education Europe Postgraduate Committee.
• Severn Postgraduate Medical Education is part of Health Education South West which is a new organisation responsible for the planning, development, education and training of the healthcare and public health workforce in the region.
  More information at Health Education South West website
• Established in 1505 and with a worldwide membership, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is one of the world’s oldest and largest surgical establishments dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical and dental practice, through its activities in education, training and examinations. For more information go to The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh website 
• For interviews with Professor Sandhu please contact Jonathan Cramp, Communications Manager, Health Education South West on 01823 361125.