*Help the RCPsych Psychiatric Trainees’ Committee (PTC) make a difference by completing this survey*

Current demands within the NHS can be both physically and mentally exhausting. We know that moderate sleep deprivation can lead to impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally defined levels of alcohol intoxication. We also appreciate that in psychiatry, where trainees regularly drive whilst on-call during unsociable hours, this is a significant concern.

Staying safe – a trainee-led review into fatigue in psychiatry is led by the Royal College of Psychiatrists Psychiatric Trainees’ Committee (PTC) and we need your help by completing this survey to build the evidence to make improvements in our training and the working conditions in your local area.

We don’t want psychiatric trainees to suffer the same fate as our anaesthetic colleagues where 57% of trainees have reported having had an accident or a near-miss driving home after a night shift. We also don’t want the same concerns about the availability of breaks and rest facilities. We want to understand and improve working conditions within psychiatry and we need your help to do this.

The survey is designed to capture information that impacts on your level of fatigue and which affects your wellbeing whilst on-call.

We will publish our findings in the summer and we’d be very grateful if you could complete our survey before 5pm Monday 12 March.

Help make a difference by completing this survey.

Best Wishes,

The Psychiatric Trainees’ Committee

Psychiatry Summer School For 6th Formers

• Are you planning to apply for medicine in Autumn 2017?
• Would you like help with your application?
• Are you struggling to arrange work experience?

This week-long, non-residential event is based at Bristol University and clinical units within the Avon and Wiltshire NHS Trust area. It will include:

• Work experience with psychiatrists
• One-to-one help, including interview practice and personal statement advice
• Informative psychiatry-themed seminars
• Learning about 'Life as a Medical Student' from current Bristol medical students
• Ongoing support after the event.

Spaces are limited. Applicants need to complete the application form which can be found on the AWP Website and then email it to awp.summerschool@nhs.net.

Applications close at midnight on Sunday 7th May

Congratulations to the 13 Core Psychiatry Trainees in Severn PGME who sat their CASC exams and all passed. 

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has set up a scoping group to look at how we can support IMGs.  As part of this, they will be holding an induction day for IMGs on Tuesday 23rd September at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.  

This will be directed at IMGs new to the UK working in psychiatry, including Foundation trainees.  There will be no charge for the meeting but the College are unable to cover travel expenses.

The programme will be circulated to trainees through the School when it is finalised.

Dear psychiatry trainees and educational supervisors,

We are doing a survey about work-place based assessments in psychiatry (which includes any of those forms on the Portfolio). The Royal College are considering a redesign in the near future, and we want to hear your views. This will hopefully feed into a national debate!

We would be very grateful if you could fill in this one page (7 question only) survey to tell us what you think. We’re interested in not just the assessments and forms themselves, but the process of being assessed, doing the assessing or anything else related to the system of WPBAs, so think broadly.

Follow this link to get to the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JB6RLHS

There may be an opportunity to participate in a piece of research following up on this – if you are interested, please contact Emma Phillips (emma2.phillips@glos.nhs.uk) directly.

Your opinions could shape the future of WPBAs!

Thanks for your help!

Emma Phillips

Project lead

ST4 in Older Persons’ Psychiatry

Weavers Croft, Stroud

Amjad Uppal

Supervisor

DME 2gether Trust