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As a committee, we take leave of David Hargroves (no longer a trainee) and Shakeel Ahmed (due to other commitments.

I would like to express our gratitude for their valuable contribution as trainee representatives in the Education and Training Committee and the Policy Committee.

We are lucky to find an enthusiastic newcomer to the committee in Jonathan Birns (new Trainees’ representative on the Policy Committee) who was elected at the Trainees meeting in Brighton.

A lot of changes have occurred recently at various levels. The immediate concerns for all of us are the trend towards reducing numbers of new consultant appointments, the uncertainty surrounding MMC and the MTAS problems. We must however, actively engage with every change imposed on us to try and get the best result from often difficult circumstances.

As a committee, we were recently able to contribute in many areas which are relevant to future trainees. David and I had opportunity to get involved with the new curriculum for higher trainees which will be published soon.

Recognising the different specialties’ potential contribution, the BMA Junior Doctors Committee on Education and Training subcommittee invited specialty representatives to attend a meeting on 23rd March, which I attended. The meeting was mutually beneficial and we produced a joint statement on MTAS. For details please check the website.

I do hope this statement reflects our views. Subsequently we were invited to attend the JDC Executive meeting held on 2 April as guests. From these experiences, I can assure you all that BMA JDC really is working hard to get the best deal out of the disaster surrounding MTAS.

On a more positive note, we have seen growing numbers of stroke training (NTN) posts across the country recently. The knowledge based assessment pilot for geriatrics was also a success. The BGS welcomes a fresh outlook from younger geriatricians in shaping the future of the society. I urge you all to get involved and contribute.

Phyo Myint
Chair, Trainees’ Committee