News and opportunities

Breaking news

• Welcome to autumn, the season of falling leaves and rising flu rates! Get your (quadrivalent) flu jab ASAP, and read up on the impact of healthcare worker vaccination:
  • Ahmed, Faruque, et al. “Effect of influenza vaccination of healthcare personnel on morbidity and mortality among patients: systematic review and grading of evidence.” Clinical infectious diseases 58.1 (2013): 50-57.
  • Pereira, Miguel, et al. “Healthcare worker influenza vaccination and sickness absence–an ecological study.” Clinical Medicine 17.6 (2017): 484-489.
  • National flu immunisation programme plan 2018-19. Public Health England.
• We are currently looking for a new trainee Rep as LJ is (hopefully) CCT-ing in February. Could this be you? Get in touch with Angshu to express an interest and email LJ to learn more about the role.
• Our next NET Training Day will be at Homerton University Hospital on 26th October, theme to be confirmed. See below for other confirmed training days.
• Please remember that if you need to contact HEE, there is now a PGMDE support portal. They are quick to reply to messages on the portal and you can track your ‘tickets’. Please use this for any ‘deanery’ type queries (including ensuring they have the correct CCT date etc).
• Don’t forget to book your Early Bird BTS Winter meeting tickets. Deadline is 8th October.

Respiratory Training Programme

• We are sadly still far from a pre-planned annual training programme, and disappointingly have no confirmed pan-London training days. Why don’t you ask your clinical lead to confirm the date for the training day at your hospital? Why not offer to help find a speaker or two, or suggest a topic to help make it relevant to your training needs?
  • Oct 26th: Homerton University Hospital
    • (plus Bronch training at Royal Free for new ST3s on 30th Oct)
  • Nov ?Pan-London training day?
  • Dec no training day (Winter BTS)
  • Jan Barts Health (Barts and the London) – date tbc
  • Feb: Royal Free/partners?
  • March: UCLH – date tbc 
  • April: Barking and Havering (Queens/King George)?
  • May: North Mid?
  • June: Whittington Health – date tbc

All these dates will be on synapse, and you should to sign up for them in the same way as GIM days. Please do check for active links: NENC Regional Training days, but if there is no information do please still turn up!

GIM Training Programme

• Please remember to look on synapse, on this page, under NENC GIM Regional Training Day for info on GIM days.  Check the FAQs for a reminder of how to find the page with info on.
• There continue to be monthly acute medicine teaching sessions, run by registrars for registrars at UCLP on Tottenham Court Road on the 2nd Thursday of every month 4-6pm, Tottenham Court Road. Book via Eventbrite – info on the GIM Synapse page.

External/Additional Training

• Immunology for chest Physicians Masterclass, run by Dr David Jackson (GSTT), will be on 11th November at the Royal College of Physicians. This is a drug company sponsored meeting, so has no financial cost to you. Register at:  https://fuelled.cvent.com/TEVAUK 
• London Advanced TB course and the European Advanced Clinical Tuberculosis Course 2018 takes place 12-14th November at the Royal College of Physicians. Find out more and register at https://www.regonline.co.uk/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=2394814 
• The Interventional Bronchoscopy Course, run by Prof Pallav Shah, is running for the 17th year. It now consists of three modules; basic bronchoscopy; advanced diagnostic bronchoscopy; and advanced interventional bronchoscopy. You can choose to do any combination of modules, priced differently (from £350). More details at http://interventionalbronchoscopy.co.uk/Home.html
• Upcoming Teach-Ins at the Royal College of Physicians include:Infectious Disease and HIV on 6th November;and Rheumatology on 4th December.  The RCP are streaming some events, including Teach-ins, and has an archive so you can catch up with events you missed.
• Sign up to the PLAN (Pan-London Airways Network) newsletter to hear of free educational events open to the entire Respiratory MDT. A great opportunity to learn alongside MDT colleagues and sign-off curriculum competencies.
• A number of UCLP training sessions are available, focused on professional development. These include sessions on quality improvement, leadership, self-care and resilience, and cultural health factors.  Find details, dates and links to book via Eventbrite on the UCLP pages.
• Follow @resptrainees and take a look at the Respiratory Futures Trainees website. Resources are being added all the time.
• HEE (what was The London Deanery eons ago) provide some funded courses, free career advice and individual support. Make the most of these great opportunities by having a look at the website and booking yourself onto something.

Jobs/OOP/Opportunities

• There is a research opportunity at UCL Institute for Global Health. Ibrahim Abubakar and Marc Lipman are likely to have funding available from early next year for a Clinical Research Fellow position. The primary aims of this would be to develop a project idea, and hopefully secure further funding for a higher research degree (MD / PhD), while also working on some other departmental projects (and therefore getting some high-impact publications along the way). There are some fantastic project opportunities particularly in TB and NTM research – spanning epidemiology, clinical and translational basic science research. Interested? Talk to Rishi Gupta, who is a current research fellow in this group and is very happy to talk more about the projects and the department.
• Coming up to CCT? All Consultant jobs are advertised on the NHS jobs site, which will send you updates if you set up your preferences. Remember that can interview within 6 months of your CCT date.
• The ERS has a number of fellowships on offer. Keep an eye out for interesting opportunities.
• The BTS highlights a number of funding opportunities relevant to Respiratory trainees on its’ pages.
• 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. Wondering whether you want to pursue a future in academic Respiratory medicine? Why not watch the BTS video featuring Dr John Hurst?

Pan-London STC

• Please get in touch to raise issues you want us to bring up at the next STC meeting. In the new model, with HEE at the helm, we are meeting with all London TPDs.  Let us know what concerns you so we can be an effective trainee voice on the committee.

Conferences

• BTS Winter 5-7th Dec (London) – book now to get early bird rates!

Other

• Please send us info on your current or previous jobs directly by email, or through the updated and short anonymous update form. If you are currently out of programme please send information on your most recent, most liked or most hated post!
• We have updated some sections including FAQs. Are you having problems with your Educational Supervisor not fulfilling the essential duties of their role? Read HEE’s guidance on how to escalate. Need to know who your Responsible officer is for revalidation? It’s all in the FAQs.
• Please make sure you arrange your placements in Pulmonary HTN, CF, OcLD, and your management course so that they are spread out throughout your training. They should not all be done in the last year, and there are advantages to taking some earlier, pre-SCE. Have a look at FAQs on tips on how to arrange.