News and opportunities

Training

• The next NET Training days are 12th November at Basildon (including anatomy, physiology and CPET – key topics for the SCE), and we expect the following day to be 20th January at Bart’s/Royal London on lung cancer, before 29th February at Princess Alexandra, Harlow . Ideas for themes we should cover? Let us know. The teams organising the days are trying to match up to gaps identified by our ongoing curriculum mapping (which you can download in all it’s glory, complete with traffic light system). Consultants are, however, very open to suggestions for topics.
• Remember, remember that there is also a GIM day coming up at the Royal Free Hospital on 5th November.
• Upcoming Teach-Ins at the Royal College of Physicians include: Neurology for the general physician on 3rd November, and Endocrinology of the bones on 1st December. These are free, and usually include high quality up-to-date speakers and presentations.  A good source of GIM CPD points and a bonus of living in London.
• Upcoming BTS short courses include: Running a Lung Cancer Service 6th November in Manchester and  Introduction to Service Improvement, and Assessment and Management of Pulmonary Hypertension, both on 1st December at QEII London.
• Don’t forget courses on occupational lung disease at the National Heart and Lung Institute
• Another source of reasonably priced and high quality GIM points are the Cambridge Medical Seminars so look out for the 2016 programme.
• Interested in Lung Cancer research? If so you may want to go to the ‘BIL TORCH’ workshop on November 13-14th. It is sponsored by Boehringer but is said to be educational and non-promotional. Some trainees may have concerns about the need for future disclaimers, so if you have any concerns about this aspect please speak to Neal Navani. The workshop is aimed at senior registrars and new consultants who want to learn more about the development of clinical research from initial research idea through trial design, funding, conduct, analysis and publication of your work. The hope is that mentoring continues after the workshop. Neal Navani is part of the faculty, so get in touch with him or his secretary for more information. You can also contact the BIL TORCH team directly.
• Another drug company sponsored educational event is ARENA 2016 (AstraZeneca Respiratory Education for the NHS and Academia) January 8-9th in Oxford. NET trainees who went this year were impressed and would encourage others to benefit from this free programme. Speakers are international experts in their field, this year including Profs Ian Pavord, Andrew Bush and David Halpin amongst others. The programme includes workshops on presentation skills and communicating science, as well as updates on CF, the eosinophil in COPD, and precision medicine. If you are interested, email arena@omegascientific.co.uk for more details. You will need to submit a covering letter and CV, describing your interest in airway disease and your professional development to date. Download the ARENA flyer for more information.
• The London Advanced TB Course is coming up on 26-27th November at Imperial, offering a comprehensive update on the clinical management of TB cases and incidents, evaluating new diagnostic techniques available for TB and providing an understanding of TB epidemiology and TB services in the UK. There is also an Essex TB Conference on 25th November at Basildon Hospital.
• UCLP are running several workshops on “Cultural Health Factors – learning from and communicating with diverse populations”. Dates include: 27th November, 3rd December, 22nd January, 29th January and 3rd February. 1-day workshops will include expertise from an Equality and Human Rights Lawyer, and the use of actors to apply communication skills. A focus on leadership skills is built-in to the programme, and 6 CPD points are on offer.
• Fingers crossed for all those who took the Respiratory SCE on October 21st. For those planning on subjecting yourselves to the pain next year, see the SCE page for some helpful resources, which have been recently updated.
• New ‘clinic aide-memoires’ have been added to the Resources page on lung cancer and Bronchiectasis. More to come.
• New ‘favourite papers‘ have been added to the resources section. Thanks to Prof Jerry Brown and Dr Simon Quantrill for their excellent suggestions.

Jobs/Research opportunities

• No new job or research opportunities this month. We are still waiting for National guidance on OOP is expected imminently and is likely to be much more prescriptive than in days gone by. It should be a step forward towards fairness for all specialities and training programmes to follow the same rules, but this is likely to be at the cost of flexibility and consideration of personal circumstances. If you are planning for OOP time, please plan ahead and remember to factor in the rules around OOPRs and the necessary permissions and notice to the TPD and LETB. Trainees will not normally be allowed to take time OOP in the final year of training other than in exceptional circumstances.
• Also remember that even if specific research jobs are not advertised, Consultants with academic positions are always looking for enthusiastic SpRs to join them. They may have pots of money for projects, or may have ideas that could become an MD/PhD. You’ll never know if you don’t ask. Ask around, and get in touch with anyone on the research pages for more info.

Committees

• TPMC
  • The next meeting is on 9th November, so please get in touch to raise issues you want brought up. Please let us know what concerns you so we can be an effective trainee voice on the committee. Hot topics include:
    • gaps on the rotation and falling national numbers
    • ICU experience – location, duration, timing
    • Practical procedure experience – USS, Bronchoscopy, EBUS, thoracoscopy
    • OOP rules and guidelines
    • travel and relocation costs
    • parent doctors and LTFT trainees
• BTS STAG
  • The BTS STAG is currently collecting information and concerns from trainees to collate and present at the BTS. A real chance to get your concerns, ideas and suggestions for training heard at a national level. Please let us know what we should feedback.

Other

• The Royal College of Physicians are looking for 2 speakers for their Careers Conference on Saturday 27th February 2016. The areas they are looking to cover are: “Taking time out to study” (PhD or Masters) and “Working abroad”. This is a great way to get involved with the RCP and usually leads to invitations to speak at other events and contribute in other ways. If anyone is interested in running a session on their experiences let Abi Moore know and she will put you in touch with the RCP conferences team.
• Do please try to find time to complete the questionnaire on Ultrasound Training being conducted by our colleagues in South London. Although there are pockets of excellent practice, this is not so universally. Highlighting best practice is as important as identifying areas where trainees are still struggling to get signed off. A Nationally co-ordinated approach would enhance training for all. As ever, data is power….
• We hope to see some of you at the Breathing Matters Charity Christmas Concert on 11th December, raising money for research into ILD, Bronchiectasis and other respiratory infections.
• We hope you are not feeling too despondent in the midst of the contract non-negotiations. Be nice to each other, as there may be tough times ahead.