In the Oxford Deanery, an Associate
Postgraduate Dean, Mr. John Lourie has
overall responsibility for the delivery of career and professional
support for the nearly 500 SASGs working in the 12 Trusts within
the Deanery.
The actual provision of this support,
together with funding on a basis proportional to the number of SAS
doctors in each Trust, has been devolved to six SAS Tutors, who
work in the major Trusts in the Deanery.
Three of the Tutors are consultants and three are Associate
Specialists, and all have complete autonomy in delivering
educational and professional support in whatever way is locally
considered most appropriate. Within each Trust, the Tutor has
formed a small sub-committee to assist with day-to-day
decision-making, and dealing with applications for funding from SAS
doctors.
For administrative purposes the smaller Trusts in the Deanery
(mainly PCTs) are amalgamated with the larger nearby Trusts, who
receive a proportional per capita increase in funding allocation
(including a nominal amount for administrative support). It is
anticipated that a seventh SAS Tutor will be appointed for
Berkshire Healthcare Trust by 1 April 2010.
A database of all SAS doctors in the Deanery is maintained and
regularly updated by the SAS Project Officer, Linda Day who is
based in Milton Keynes. The target grades included in the listing
of 'SAS doctors' are Associate Specialists, Staff Grades, Clinical
Assistants, Hospital Practitioners and Specialty Doctors (under the
new contract).
Our aims
The goal of the Oxford Deanery SAS Doctors' Support Project is
to facilitate the continuing medical education and professional
development of these doctors in the way most appropriate to their
individual needs and aspirations. This will always include support
to ensure SAS doctors get regular annual appraisals, which to date
is by no means universal practice.
Some senior SASGs will themselves develop the skills to become
appraisers (as a number already have) and so contribute
significantly to the educational process. We also wish to offer
strong encouragement to SAS doctors to become involved at an
appropriate level with management issues, and to gain the
appropriate training and skills for this by attending courses, some
of which are offered within the Deanery.
SAS doctors should be encouraged to participate in
decision-making processes in their department, specialty group and
employing organisation. They should look to develop leadership and
management skills to enable them to contribute in this way at the
most appropriate level.
All SAS doctors should develop a personal portfolio containing
information on their activity and experience. The preparation of a
portfolio and its use at the appraisal will help support the
requirement of the Personal Development Plan for the next period,
an important outcome of the appraisal process. Specific contents
will differ with specialty. Clinics attended, procedures completed,
solo and work with a consultant, teaching experience, study leave
courses certificates and audits are valuable information to keep.
Most Colleges will have specialty specific logbooks that could be
used for part of this purpose.
We also wish to provide support to those doctors wishing to
obtain the Certificate of Equivalence of Specialist Registration
(CESR) or Certificate of Equivalence of General Practice
Registration (CEGPR) via the Article 14 or Article 11 routes
respectively.
What's available in the Oxford Deanery?
Support
Your first contact if you are an SAS doctor seeking professional
or career support or advice should be with your SAS Tutor. Regular
meetings of the SAS Tutors and SAS Trust representatives are held
in Oxford at which plans are discussed to utilise the funding to
help the professional development of SAS doctors and dentists in
the Deanery.
A significant number of SAS doctors around the Deanery have
already received funding for various educational projects including
courses and further training. Remember - the funding is there -
come and get it!
Courses and meetings
Educational courses have already been held and more are planned,
both at a Deanery level, and in individual Trusts. In the latter
case doctors from other Trusts will usually be very welcome to
attend where space is available.
The first Oxford Deanery SAS Doctors' Development Day was held
in September 2009 at Milton Hill Conference Centre, near Abingdon.
The themes of the meeting were Appraisals, Portfolios and
Revalidation. The meeting was very well attended and attracted many
positive comments. A second Development Day in February 2010 was on
the themes of gaining the CESR via Article 14, and credentialing
for SAS doctors.
Other courses already held include:
- Two Mentoring Skills Workshops at Wycombe General Hospital
- SAS Doctors Convention at Milton Keynes Hospital
- Career Progression Workshop at Wexham Park Hospital.
More meetings and courses are planned, including:
- 3-day Leadership Course in Milton Keynes
- Blended Learning Leadership Course at the John Radcliffe
Hospital, Oxford
- Mentoring Course, John Radcliffe Hospital
- Educational Supervisors' Courses, and Team-Building Away-Days,
at both Milton Keynes and Wycombe General Hospitals
- Effective Appraisal Workshop at Wycombe General Hospital
- Communication Workshop at Wycombe General Hospital
- Human Factors Awareness Training Course in all Trusts.
The third Deanery Development Day will be on 1 October 2010, and
will be themed on "Management for SAS Doctors - Where Do We Fit
In?"
"What's On" and the OXSAS newsletter
All the above meetings and courses will be detailed in the
"What's On" information sheet which is sent out regularly to all
the SAS doctors on the database. Our other means of communication
is the OXSAS Newsletter. Two issues of this newsletter have come
out so far, and Issue No. 3 will be out in April 2010.
If you are and SAS doctor in the Oxford Deanery and aren't
receiving this, or "What's On", it means we haven't got a
functioning current e-mail address for you, so please contact Linda
Day about this today, and tell your friends.
Other courses and meetings
The Oxford Deanery SAS Development Project has also contributed
to several national meetings, including two meetings of the
National Association of Clinical Tutors, the Inaugural Joint Royal
Colleges SAS Conference, and meetings at the London and Wessex
Deaneries.
Career and personal support
Of course, careers don't always proceed smoothly, or according
to plan, and a wide range of personal and professional factors can
adversely affect anyone's progress.
These can include periods of mental or physical ill-health,
workplace problems such as bullying or intimidation, or simply
uncertainty about career progression or choice of specialty. In the
Oxford Deanery we have a strong tradition of providing practical
pastoral care and support through a variety of mentoring schemes,
as well as career guidance and help for "doctors in difficulty" -
of whatever nature.
These can be accessed by SAS doctors through the Career
Development Unit (CDU) based at the Triangle, Headington, Oxford.
Further information is also available from the Director of the CDU,
Dr. Sheena Dykes.