Time to vote for the next trainee rep

Dear all

We have had statements from two of trainees hoping to take on the trainee rep position; Tom Gilpin and Michael Pope. Please have a read of their statements below and then email me to vote - jonathan.hinton@uhs.nhs.uk. Please email me from a trust or NHS email account only. Voting will close at 1800 on Sunday 2nd of June so that the new rep can be in place for BCS.


Tom Gilipin:

Why I would make a good trainee representative.

I am a highly driven, approachable and supportive individual. As a former Royal College of Physicians Associate Tutor and Mess president I have invaluable experience at local and national level of providing peer representation. I organised a successful education programme and secured funding to improve local and regional training. I will represent Wessex Cardiology trainees as a group and on an individual level with determination to improve working within this dynamic speciality.

Having listened to issues raised by trainees in the deanery the balance between training opportunities and service provision needs to be addressed. I will provide accessible and approachable peer representation to facilitate teamwork, addressing this imbalance and improving education for current and future cardiology trainees.

I have always organised great social events. I believe they promote cohesion and strengthen friendships. I will ensure our calendar is always full of fun (and educational) meetings, possibly even a trip away.

What I want to do to improve training experience in Wessex.

Should I be elected as trainee representative I will address the following as a priority:

·         Rota gaps are becoming a frequent occurrence across the deanery impacting heavily on training. I will work with senior cardiologists to improve recruitment and staffing across the board to ensure more training time.

·         There is significant regional variation in access to ECHO training. Improvement in ECHO training via regular, protected slots standardised across the deanery is needed.

·         I will review the need for level 3 sign off in a variety of procedures that may not be linked to ones intended sub-specialty of choice and strive to increase the time in catheter laboratories for trainees.

·         The discrepancy in study leave funding for senior trainees on fellowships in comparison to junior trainees on rotation is not justified, especially with the lack of income progression with the new contract. This needs to change.

Michael Pope:

In light of current work to re-write the curriculum for cardiology training good trainee representation is crucial to ensure an outcome that is fit for all future trainees and fully recognizes the skills and knowledge required to provide expert specialist cardiology care. I have the commitment and enthusiasm to take on this role and have valuable experience of trainee representation. I am currently the cardiology trainee representative on the Royal College of Physicians PACES Scenario Writing Group, responsible for PACES examination setting. I previously spent 3 years as BMA Medical Students Committee Representative and successfully secured student representation on the Medical School Undergraduate Education Management Committee where I worked to achieve significant changes to the curriculum.

One particular area of weakness in Wessex is the training of key theoretical knowledge and skills involved in core practical procedures. Although simulation training for procedural skills has become mandatory for new trainees, widespread training in skills of device programming and troubleshooting particularly is lacking. This is a vital skill for all cardiologists but is poorly taught. I would aim to develop a regional programme of training to develop these skills for all cardiology trainees, but particularly including a course aimed at all new trainees covering the basic theoretical knowledge required for both pacemaker implantation and general cardiology procedures. In addition, although there has been significant progress in organization of regional training days in recent years, there is significant variation in quality. I would aim to build on the successes in this area to create a consistent programme of excellent regional teaching.