BGS Newsletter Online
Index | Home
Trainees Column

As usual, the trainees met during the BGS Spring Meeting, this time at the Sage Centre in Gateshead.

Trainee Academic Survey to be published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal

In January 2004 we performed a survey of academic activities and perceived barriers to research among trainees in geriatric medicine, in and published our findings in September 2004 issue of BGS Newsletter. We felt that the findings of our survey and the BGS’s subsequent attempts to remove the barriers to research would provide a potentially useful model for a wider audience and therefore we wrote an article titled “The role of research training during Higher Medical Education in the promotion of academic medicine in the UK”. The article has been accepted by the Postgraduate Medical Journal and will be published in near future.

We again would like to thank the participants of the survey for contributing to our understanding of the difficulties trainees encounter in doing research.

Phyo K Myint, Miles D Witham
and Alasdair M J MacLullich

The key points raised at the meeting were:

  • A trainee representative will be working together with SAC in updating curriculum to meet the new standards set by PMETB.
  • Information on currently updated guidelines/policy documents
  • Various grants currently available to BGS trainees
  • Knowledge Based Assessment Exam: 11 May in Scotland and Northern Ireland, 18 May in England and Wales
  • It is important that we know whether your post is balanced between clinical training and non-clinical training. It is also important that heavy clinical commitments do not disadvantage you from adequate speciality training. Both the Hospital at Night survey and non-clinical sessions survey are very important means by which we will be able to overview the training programmes (do the surveys online)
  • Trainees are also reminded about the trainees’ weekend programme in Manchester which will be held in June 2006. Places are limited to 50.
  • PD SIG is looking for a trainee representative. Anyone interested should get in touch with PD SIG secretary directly or via Ed Jones, Finance Cme Rep who is also a PD SIG member.
  • Update from Dr Chris Turnbull, RCP Specialist Advisory Committee Secretary on the SAC’s intention to provide sub-speciality training grids for those who would like to obtain acknowledgement from JCHMT for sub-speciality training e.g. Parkinson’s Disease. This training is optional rather than mandatory.

Phyo Myint
Chairman