The next BAPS National Training Day is to be held in Leicester
Thursday the 12th and Friday the 13th of March 2009.

Download details and programme.

Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. Australia
Read more about it and how to apply in the OOPE section.

The Secretary of State for Health's response to Aspiring to Excellence: Final report of the Independent Inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers- Feb 2008

“This booklet is an important resource for trainees and anyone who is interested in the postgraduate medical education and training debate. It answers specific questions about PMETB’s role, responsibilities and remit.

February 26th
Birmingham Children's Hospital

Registration: Kate Billington, British Association of Paediatric Surgeons. adminsec@baps.org.uk
Cost: £40 (advance registration) £50 (on the day)

Timetable
9.00-9.30
Registration, Coffee and Doughnuts

9.30- 10.15
Emergency Interventional Radiology for Trauma

10.15-11.00
Contemporary Head Injury Management

11.00- 11.15
Coffee

11.15- 11.35
Witness Resuscitation

11.35- 12.20
Evidence based Emergency Room Investigations

12.20- 13.00
Lunch

13.00-14.00
Penetrating injuries: Learning Lessons from War Surgery

14.00- 14.20
Record Keeping in the Emergency Room

14.20-15.05
Resuscitation And Emergency measures for Burns

15.05- 15.15
Coffee

15.15- 16.00
Damage Control / Stat Laparotomy and Thoracotomy

16.00-16.30
Panel Discussion/ Any Questions

16.30
Close

Specialty Training Recruitment in 2008

On 7th December we wrote to you to describe the process for recruitment to specialty training posts in 2008. We promised to write to you again with further details and the final forecast of posts which will be available across England.

1. ‘Uncoupling’ in 2008

In 2007 a large proportion of specialist training places were offered on a ‘run-through’ basis which meant that, providing they were judged to have made adequate clinical and professional progress at the Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP), doctors would not need to re-apply for posts as they moved through their training years, up to the award of a CCT. However, alongside arguments that run-through training offers security and a clear career pathway for trainees, there is a clear case that it disadvantages some of them by making them make too early a choice about their chosen specialty; something which is also an important feature of the interim report of the Tooke Review, and an integral principle of the original MMC review.

The MMC Programme Board have agreed that run-through training should be applied to selected specialties in 2008. Those specialties who feel it is of benefit to them can retain it, while those specialties who feel their trainees would benefit from greater flexibility can choose to ‘uncouple’. In other words if you apply for a post in an ‘uncoupled’ specialty, you will get the benefit of greater freedom to reconsider your chosen specialty, but at the cost of having to re-apply for a training post in the future.

This means that in 2008 some specialties will offer run-through training and other specialties will ‘uncouple’ by offering specialty training entrants two or three years of specialty core training followed by open competition for ST3 or ST4.

Following consultation with Royal Colleges and others, the change for specialty training in England in 2008 is that there wil be different training offers for different specialties, to fit the particular needs of that specialty. Some specialties will continue to offer run-through training, while others will ‘uncouple’ and offer a two-year core training programme (three years for psychiatry and emergency medicine), followed by an open competition to enter specialty training at ST3 onwards (ST4 for psychiatry and emergency medicine).

For those specialties uncoupling and making core training offers to a larger pool of trainees at ST1 in 2008, the terminology for core training is CT1, CT2 (and CT3 for psychiatry and emergency medicine), as agreed with the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB). These terms refer to one of the following approved training programmes:

• Core medical training
• Acute care common stem
• Core surgical training
• Core psychiatric training

The table below sets out those specialties offering run-through training and which will be uncoupled.



Please note that part of the eligibility criteria for application to ST1 posts is that applicants should have 12 months or less whole time equivalent training, not including Foundation modules, in the specialty they are applying for. However, this does not rule out those with a greater degree of experience in other specialties from applying for these posts.

2. Post advertising and acceptance

The MMC Programme Board has agreed that the minimum period for the advertisement of specialty training posts will be 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. This will mean that applicants should keep a careful eye on Deanery websites for advertisements throughout the application timetable.

On the period of time that applicants will have to accept or reject the offer of a post, trainees’ representatives on the Programme Board strongly urged that the minimum period should also be 72 hours. However, after recruitment for most ST1 and ST2 level posts ends on 16th May for the August start date, NHS Trusts also need to carry out normal pre-employment checks on their new appointments for patient safety reasons, which places a restriction on the timetable. For this reason, and to maximise the number of offers that can be made to junior doctors before 16th May, the Programme Board has agreed that applicants will have a minimum of 48 hours (excepting weekends and public holidays) to accept or decline the offer of a post.

3. The number of available places

In our 7th December letter to you, we set out indicative figures for the number of posts ST1, 2, and 3 equivalent levels.

Below are the latest forecast numbers of training places which will be available for specialty training in 2008. We must stress that these numbers will change as Deaneries agree changes in training posts. It is crucial that potential applicants keep looking at individual Deanery websites for the latest information.

When considering which posts and specialties to apply for, we urge all applicants to consider carefully the likely levels of competition involved. For example, at the end of Round One recruitment in 2007, there were over 15 applicants for every general surgical ST2 post in Mersey Deanery, but just over 3 applicants for every ST2 oral and maxillofacial surgery post in the same deanery. Considering a different location to train also makes a difference to competition ratios. At the end of Round One recruitment in 2007, for example, there was just one applicant per training post for ST2 oral and maxillofacial surgery in Northern Deanery.

You can access the most recent available competition ratios via the MMC website:
Competition ratios

The latest forecast of the total number of available posts in 2008 will be in the range of 8,900 to 9,100. This has increased from the indicative 8,400 to 8,700 range originally reported to the MMC Programme Board four weeks ago.

ST1 level
Table 1 shows the latest forecast number of ST1 equivalent level posts. The total number of available posts has increased from an indicative 5,800 to the latest forecast of 6,100.



ST2 level

Table 2 shows the latest forecast posts planned at ST2 level. The number of posts has risen from an indicative 2,000 to the latest forecast of 2,070.



ST3 level range
The indicative figures included in our letter last week indicated a range of 600 to 900 available ST3 posts over the course of 2008.

The latest forecast is that over 380 ST3 posts will be advertised in early January, with a further 165 towards the end of January. Therefore the total number of ST3 posts likely to be advertised in the January to May recruitment period is likely to be about 550.

There will be two further recruitment exercises in June and September. The Department of Health forecasts that between 200 and 400 ST3 posts may be advertised in these two later recruitment exercises in 2008, depending on the rate at which current holders of NTNs obtain their CCTs and then consultant posts, so releasing their NTN.

Therefore the latest forecast of the total number of ST3 posts likely to be advertised during the whole of the year 2008 is between 750 and 950.

The Department of Health is about to publish the MMC 2008 Applicant Guide, as well as a new national website for the 2008 process (www.mmc.nhs.uk). Once the switch has been made from the 2007 website to the 2008 website, there may be a delay of up to 24 hours whilst your particular server adjusts to the new technical location (www.mmc.nhs.uk will remain the URL address). If you receive an error message, please be patient for a few hours or try again the next day.

These will be able to provide greater detail on the numbers of available posts by specialty and deanery, as well as detailed competition ratios on the 2008 website. We would urge you to study them carefully.


Thank you.

Yours faithfully,




On behalf of the MMC England Programme Board.

Download the latest newsletter from MMC about the Specialty Training Recruitment 2008 process.

Following a discussion document and feedback from stakeholders, the new MMC Programme Board, whose members include the BMA, the Academy of Royal Colleges and NHS Employers, has recommended changes to junior doctor training and recruitment for 2008. Download the full report here.

BAPS Training Meeting
Paediatric Colorectal Surgery
October 1st and 2nd 2007
The Postgraduate Centre,
Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham


Invited Speakers

Dr Marc Levitt
Associate Director, Colorectal Center for Children
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Tracy Ashworth
Colorectal Nurse Specialist
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Professor John Scholefield
Professor of Surgery
University of Nottingham
Download the brochure.

The refreshed ISCP website is ready for you to link to!
Visit www.iscp.ac.uk to see Nick Ross launch the ISCP, access your Getting Started Hospital Doctor booklet, a Step-by-Step Guide and all the guidance you need, whether a trainee, consultant trainer, assigned educational supervisor or programme director.

The four UK Health Departments have published  'A Guide to Postgraduate Specialty Training in the UK' (also known as “Gold Guide” ). Read more at PMETB. The Gold Guide is applicable to StR training which commences after 1 August 2007.

Download the provisional programme.

Medical Training Application Service

Specialty registrar training programmes 2007
Applications to specialty training will open at MTAS site from 9 am (GMT) on Monday 22 January and close at 12 noon (GMT) on 4 February 2007. Those intending to apply should read the "How does it work" guidance in the updated Applicant's Guide and register an account with MTAS as soon as possible. Following registration, you will need to enrol into the application round for ST training 2007 to begin your application. It will not be possible to enrol in the round or to start making your application before the opening date of this application round.

MMC has produced a presentation for applicants to the new specialty training programmes.  This new updated guidance includes:
• Routes to and through the new programmes 
• Transition arrangements for different groups of applicants
• Entry levels for specialty groups  
Please click here to dowload this presentation

Published 30th November 2006
This Applicant’s Guide provides information on the new application process to specialty training for England & Wales, and how applicants can best prepare for this. Scotland and Northern Ireland will be producing similar guides of their own.

• Download>>

   
Monday, 13 November, 2006
Royal Horticultural Halls, London
 The four UK health departments are collaborating to run a major UK conference on the changes to medical training on 13 November 2006 at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London. In order to accommodate as many people as possible to what we believe will be a very popular event, we are running two identical ½ day sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
MMC is issuing an open invitation for this half-day conference to all those with an interest in the changes to specialty and GP training; including doctors at all levels, SHA & Trust directors, medical managers, clinical & specialty tutors, royal college representatives and medical staffing personnel. Please pass this invitation on to anyone else you think may be interested.
Go to http://www.mmc.nhs.uk/pages/events  for more information and to register. The conference is free of charge, but will be available strictly on a first come, first served basis and delegates must be registered prior to attending. We will not accept unregistered attendees at the conference.
We look forward to seeing you there.
 
Regards
The MMC Team

Published: 4 September 2006
The recrutiment selection process for specialty training programmes has been confirmed. Please click here for further details.

1. Following discussion in the UK Strategy Group, the four UK Health Departments have agreed a joint statement setting out the principles of recruitment to the specialty registrar programme. A timeline is attached at Annex A.
2. The principle of run-through specialist training to follow the Post Graduate Medical Education and Training Board approved curricula has already been agreed.
3. It has also been agreed that the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) will be used by all four UK countries for recruitment into specialist training programmes and Fixed Term Specialist Training Appointments (FTSTAs). MTAS will have significant benefits to both doctors and recruiters – doctors will only need to submit one application, which will mean that recruiters will no longer have to deal with multiple applications.
4. These principles refer to the selection into specialist and general practice training programmes and into FTSTAs. They do not refer to selection into foundation programmes or locum posts. National documentation
5. There will be nationally agreed person specifications for each specialty or specialty group (where there are core years), and for each entry level to each specialty (For example: ST1, ST2, ST3, etc)
6. There will be a nationally agreed generic application form, together with nationally agreed specialty-specific sections.
7. There will be nationally agreed structured reference forms for each specialty or specialty group. Recruitment & selection rounds
8. For each level of recruitment (For example: ST1, ST2, ST3, etc) there will be an agreed number of national recruitment rounds, each having two stages. The two stages will maximise the chance of a doctor securing a post.
9. Doctors will be able to apply to training programmes and FTSTAs as part of the same process.
10. There will be nationally agreed dates (see attached timeline) for:

• advertising vacancies accepting applications
• starting and completing stage 1 recruitment
• communicating stage 1 short-listing and selection results
• starting and completing stage 2 recruitment
• communicating stage 2 short-listing and selection results

Advertising vacancies
11. All vacancies will be advertised on the MTAS website, with more detailed information available on Deanery websites.
Applications
12. All applications will be submitted electronically via MTAS.
13. Applicants will be invited to apply to two specialties or specialty groups, and two units of application (UoA) for each specialty or group. If one of the specialties selected is general practice, they need only apply to one UoA, but will be considered for posts in other UoAs if they remain unplaced after the first stage of selection.
14. Applicants will be asked to submit an application for vacancies at only the most appropriate level of training for them within a specialty (ST1 or ST2 or ST3) as defined by the person specifications.
References
15. Applicants will be required to submit the names of two referees, both of whom must have supervised the applicant in the past 2 years.
16. Structured references will be requested for short-listed candidates only.
Short-listing
17. Short-listing will be undertaken locally by selection panels which include trained assessors in the specialty against national, specialty specific criteria.
18. Short-listing results will be communicated to applicants via MTAS
19. Applicants will have a minimum specified period to confirm attendance at any selection events they are invited to attend.
Selection
20. As an absolute minimum, selection will consist of a structured interview.
21. Selection will be undertaken locally by a selection panel which includes trained assessors in the specialty, against national, specialty specific criteria.
22. Selection results will be communicated to applicants via MTAS in accordance with the agreed national timetable.
23. Candidates will have a minimum specified period to confirm acceptance or rejection of any offers made to them.
Employment
24. Pre-employment checks such as criminal record or enhanced disclosure checks will be carried out by the employing organisation or lead NHS employer after selection but prior to the offer of any posts.
25. Contracts of employment will remain the responsibility of the employing organisation or lead NHS employer as is now the case for Specialist Registrars.
ANNEX A
Selection into Specialty Registrar Training Programmes commencing August 2007
 
November  2006 Articles explaining the new process published in medical press and on relevant websites

December 2006 Details of specialty registrar training programmes, posts and job descriptions available on deanery websites

22 January 2007  - 4 February 2007 Applications to specialty training programmes submitted

February 2007 Outcome of short-listing communicated to applicants

March-April 2007 Local selection activities take place (Example: structured interviews)

End April 2007 Offers made to successful applicants

End April 2007 Unfilled vacancies identified and re-advertised

May 2007 Stage 2 recruitment commences

End May 2007 Outcome of stage 2 short-listing communicated to applicants

June 2007 Local, stage 2 selection activites take place(For example: structured interviews)

End June 2007 Offers made to successful applicant

August 2007 Specialty training and FTSTA posts commence

Please note this timeline will be updated with precise dates as soon as they become available.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF PAEDIATRIC ENDOSCOPIC SURGEONS
SpR / Registrars/ Trainees Day
Monday 6th November 2006
(Pre- AGM Conference and Workshop)
Norwich, ENGLAND

Information pack and Registration forms can be downloaded from the resources section.

5th and 6th October 2006
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
Contact : Louise Stabler
Download flyer

Scheduled for the 14th of July 2006 at PGMEC, QMC, Nottingham. For a complete programme guide - download