Information for Trainees in Respiratory Medicine

Organised training

There are two dedicated weeks (one in spring and one in autumn) set aside each year for specific training in respiratory medicine. The spring meeting takes place in Swansea and has a clinical focus, whereas the autumn meeting is held in Cardiff and is orientated toward basic science. Both of these well-supported and organised meetings attract national and international expert speakers. Attendance at both of these events is considered compulsory, and a certificate documenting actual attendance is issued to each trainee at the end of the week.

The individual training sessions vary in format but usually consist of a series of lectures, tutorials and occasional practical demonstrations. Active participation is encouraged and at least one session will be devoted to presentations skills. For the spring week (in Swansea) all attendees are expected to prepare a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation on a topic of their choice.

For the autumn week (in Cardiff) a fixed number of trainees are selected to give a presentation, and will be contacted before the meeting by the organiser. This would ordinarily involve critical appraisal of a recent scientific paper, which should then be summarised. If you are in doubt about whether a presentation is required or have questions about the content, you are strongly advised to contact the course organiser before attendance.

Of note, there is a prize for the best presentation at each training week.

For further information about these events you can contact:

Dr Ben Hope-Gill (Cardiff/autumn meeting) Ben.Hope-gill@CardiffandVale.wales.nhs.uk

Dr Keir Lewis (Swansea/spring meeting) K.E.Lewis@swan.ac.uk

A summary of the trainee feedback from the latest training week is available here

Next Training Week for Respiratory Medicne Trainees will be in the Summer 2012 and will take a place at the Swansea University.More information will be available later on.

Specialist Registrar and Specialist Trainee Representatives

The views and opinions of Welsh trainees can be articulated at each training committee meeting via the nominated trainee representatives. Any concerns, comments or suggestions about training can be directed to either of these people. The current representatives are:

Richard Robinson drmenaus@orange.net

Claire Kilduff drclairekilduff@hotmail.com

ARCP decision aids

It is recommended that trainees visit the JRCPTB website (accessible via the links page) frequently for updates in training restructure.

ARCP decision aids for Respiratory Medicine: 2007, 2010; General Medicine: 2009

SCE Respiratory Medicine

From 2013 exam will take place in November/October and will be run once a year. More information is available for download.

Out-of-programme training and research

Many trainees elect to undertake time out of programme to pursue research or additional training in a specialist area. This requires considerable organisation beforehand, and as such, trainees are strongly encouraged to plan as far in advance as possible. With this caveat, the Specialist Training Committee and the respiratory community in Wales have generally been very supportive of people that have wished to pursue either research or additional clinical training in this context. Detailed guidance about how to go about organising time out-of-programme, along with a flow-chart and form is now available on the JRCPTB website here.

In addition to this you will need the generic guidance from the Cardiff Deanery which can be downloaded here and the Cardiff Deanery application form which can be downloaded here.

In general, it is advantageous to discuss your plans as early as possible with the programme director on an informal basis with regard to implications for CCT date, your forward rotation and your colleagues (both consultant and trainee). You may also find it advantageous to speak to others who have undertaken similar OOP time in the past (the trainee reps can point you in the right direction), and to work out how you are going to finance your time away (remember you will not receive a salary from Wales while out of programme). Also, please be aware that the process for obtaining OOP time appears to be changing both rapidly and unpredictably, so it is worth confirmimg at the outset with all the relevant parties (JRCPTB, Deanery, Programme Director/Specialist Training Committee, and Specialist Advisory Committee) that they haven't updated their procedures or forms. For example, at the present time (November 2010) the Cardiff forms still ask for SAC approval, but this now comes at a later stage and is organised by the JRCPTB!! Confused - you will be. If in doubt, your best bet is either the Programme Director, or someone who has recently been through the process.

Good luck!

Thoracic Ultrasound

It is now a pre-requisite to gain training in thoracic ultrasound. There are courses in both North and South Wales. Details of thee will be posted here as the dates become available.

The next course is in Abergavenny on Tuesday 11th October. For further information contact Dr Jose Thomas at Abergavenny

Training logs can be downloaded below (courtesy of Dr McAndrew, Wrexham) :