Person Specification for an SAS Tutor

British Medical Association (BMA) has published recently a report about the specifications for the SAS Tutors.

Introduction

One of the recommendations in the SASC Statement of Funding Principles for the use of the development funding in England is that an Associate Dean should be appointed with the role of supporting the SAS grades through their career development. The majority of regions have already appointed Associate Deans (some of whom are from the SAS grades). The SASC hopes that this approach will be adopted throughout the UK.

To support the Associate Dean and to liaise with local SAS doctors many areas have appointed other roles with a variety of terminology. SASC has attempted to simplify the variety of other roles into two:

1. SAS Representative (Otherwise known as SAS Lead): Every Trust should have an SAS Representative. This is a Trade Union role, normally be held by the Chair of the local SAS Committee. This representative is elected by the body of SAS doctors and dentists to represent them on the LNC/local SASC/ etc. This representative should be a BMA member in order to draw on the local BMA support and for accreditation purposes. This role should be funded by the Trust (through DCC and time off for Trade Union Duties) rather than from SAS development funding monies.

2. SAS Tutor (Otherwise know as an SAS Educational Advisor): This is an educational role for a SAS doctor who oversees educational placements, arranges tutorials, lectures etc. They could be known as an SAS Lead for Professional Development, Professional Development manager for SAS etc. This person should independently manage the local SAS development budget and usually have an educational background with line management through the DME or Post-Graduate Director. The SAS Educational Advisor should liaise closely with the SAS Representative and Associate Dean (where appropriate) but where possible should not be the same person. The SAS Educational Advisor should be funded (typically, one PA/week) by the Trust (in job plan or additional contract), or through the SAS development funds where local Trusts are unwilling to fund the role. This must be an appointed role through open competition (and interview).

Some smaller trusts may of course need to make different arrangements (for example, an SAS tutor may not be feasible everywhere and some Educational Advisers do perform the role of SAS Representative) but the above is an indication of what the SAS Committee would suggest for the majority of trusts. All trusts employing SAS doctors should have a SAS representative.

Person Specification for SAS Tutor (Educational Advisor)

The SASC have compiled the following list as guidance for each employer to consider. We suggest that the following are included in the person specification when appointing a SAS Educational Advisor. These requirements are not prescriptive but we hope they will be of use.

Suggested requirements:

• Substantive Appointment as Associate Specialist, Specialty Doctor, Clinical Assistant, Hospital Practitioner or Staff Grade doctor
• Sufficient experience in the SAS grades
• GMC Full registration
• Experience in PMETB matters
• Evidence of commitment to postgraduate education and ongoing engagement with current developments in education
• Good knowledge of management structures
• Experience of assessment methods
• Good team skills
• Leadership skills
• Communication skills
• Good teaching skills
• Personal development in education
• IT skills
• Able to identify SAS development needs
• Good knowledge of SAS and Specialty doctor contracts & issues
• Along with local mechanisms be able to ensure fair distribution, monitoring, reporting and policing of available funding
• Ability to integrate with local postgraduate medical deanery in advisory capacity to the SHA to identify and recommend priorities for SAS development
• Able to oversee development of SAS doctors and work closely with the local Director of Medical Education and Medical Director thus providing visible benefit to SAS doctors
• Very approachable
• Able to demonstrate good negotiating skills
• Good knowledge of developments in Medical Education
• Aware of all recent developments at national level regards contract and other developmental SAS programmes

SAS Doctors in Research

Continuing investment in medical research should be one of the goals to improving the quality of healthcare, as stated by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in its policy programme Leading for Quality: the foundation for healthcare over the next decade (March 2010).1
In these challenging times, it is important that physicians have the right conditions and the appropriate environment in which to participate in research in addition to their clinical service. When doctors graduate from university they are expected to have the theoretical and practical knowledge to do their job – treating patients and improving their quality of life. Research is a key part of this process and should continue to play an active role throughout a physician’s career. The value of research Research is ‘a process that demands planning, forethought, commitment, and persistence. In fact, research is more of a journey than a task; and like any journey, it needs to be managed, navigated, and negotiated from early conception to final destination’.2 Physicians who are able to actively participate in research activities will be better able to provide a high quality service for their community in many different areas. Leading for Quality stated: ‘The translation of scientific progress into more effective practice depends on creating the conditions in which a larger number of research-active doctors can confidently develop and lead the clinical research projects that underpin improved treatment and practices’.1Asking questions and proposing hypotheses leading to the submission of research proposals and applications for funding and publications is only one way in which to get involved with research. Physicians can be researchers in many ways: organising seminars, workshops or conferences, belonging to the editorial board of a journal or being a member of a clinical trial team. It is a fact that almost 60% of specialty and associate specialist (SAS) doctors in the NHS participate in teaching and supervising doctors-in-training in addition to their involvement in teaching undergraduate medical students.
SAS doctors in research
The Anuerin Bevan Health Board in Gwent, Wales has formed a group of SAS physicians from south-east Wales to participate in audits and research. As a clinical teacher for the local university, I actively participate in research for the stroke research interest group in Wales. I have a research fund in the hospital and regularly lecture about topics related to research activity, in addition to being involved with a few publications.My hospital’s research team has also recently completed recruitment and follow-up of patients for an international medical trial. All these fields of activity demonstrate the opportunities that exist for SAS doctors to get active in research, within their trust or health board.It is also important not to forget the role of the research and development departments in hospitals and the importance of the engagement of SAS doctors in research schemes that are made available locally. An outcome of the new contract for SAS doctors in the UK is the need to participate in audits and research in order to pass the threshold to the top of the pay scale. Accordingly, it has been agreed that one supported professional activity will be paid for in the new contract. Continuing medical research benefits both the physician in his or her ability to do their job and the patient in improving the quality of care.Do you want to be a researcher? If you are interested in opportunities for research contact your research and development officer in your local hospital. For funding opportunities, the Medical Research Council offers grants, studentships and fellowships (http://www.mrc.ac.uk/). There are other funding bodies and charitable organisations in the UK that offer researchers different grants related to the type of project.

References
1 Royal College of Physicians. Leading for quality. The foundation for healthcare over the next decade. London: RCP, 2010.2 Brian Roberts. Getting the most out of the research experience. London: Sage 2007.
Further reading
1 Royal College of Physicians. Innovating for health: Patients, physicians, the pharmaceutical industryand the NHS. London: RCP, 2009.2 Royal College of Physicians. Guidelines on the practice of ethics committees in medical research with human participants. London: RCP, 2007. 3 General Medical Council. ‘Research: the role and responsibility of doctors’. www.gmc-uk.org/ guidance/ethical_guidance/research.asp.

CESR application fee was reduced by £305

The GMC decided today to reduce the fee for the CESR application (Certificate Confirming Eligibility for Specialist Registration) by £305 to become £1,600 from 9/12/2010). In his letter to members the GMC chair, Sir Professor Peter Rubin mentioned that this has been possible because ' we have made some significant efficiency savings this year'.