South West Anaesthesia Research Matrix

  SWARM

South West Peninsula Postgraduate Medical Education

HESW/ SWARM RESEARCH FELLOW

**This post is open to trainees on the South West Peninsula Anaesthesia Rotation Only**

Applications are invited for the SWARM Research Fellow post, a 12 month post to commence in August 2019.

The research part of this post (one day per week , pro rata) is embedded within the South West Anaesthesia Research Matrix and will provide the fellow with opportunities to meet Higher and Advanced Academic and Research competencies detailed in Annexe G of the Syllabus of the Royal College of Anaesthetist. Clinical commitments for the remainder of the week (split between clinical anaesthesia, and full on call rota) will be hosted at Torbay Hospital. See job description for details, including objectives.

Further information on the research component is available from the academic supervisors

For information on the clinical component contact Dr Andy McEwen (College Tutor, Torbay Hospital ) andrew.mcewen@nhs.net

Trainees must have FRCA by the date of interview, and must be in StR year 4-7 by commencement of post.

To apply please email your CV and a short summary of your suitability for the post

( limit 250 words) to:

Mr Joe Campbell, Education Programme Manager, at joseph.campbell@hee.nhs.uk

Applications will be accepted by email only; late and/or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Application Window is open

Application Window closes: Friday 19th April 2019

Interviews: Will take place in mid May 2019 at Torbay Hospital.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, race, disability, sexuality or age.


Job Description

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Aim

  • To provide an optional module for ST5-7 trainees to develop an interest in academic anaesthesia. Postholder will focus on objectives specified in the RCoA’s ARCP Academic Progress document.
  • In the same manner as for trainees undertaking advanced clinical modules, modular training time in Advanced Research will count towards the CCT in Anaesthesia
  • This Module can be undertaken either within the training program of the Peninsula School of Anaesthesia, or as a period of Out of Program Training (OOPT); or a combination of both

Target learner

  • Post FRCA trainee with an interest in furthering research and QI skills
  • Trainee who aims to be a departmental research lead/ NIAA QuARC on consultant appointment
  • Provide skills and experience to become a principal investigator for multicentre studies
  • May be an introductory route to a postgraduate degree
  • May be an introductory route to becoming a chief investigator
  • This structure is also potentially transferable to people in staff grade/ associate specialist positions

 

Assessment Criteria

  • Postholder should meet most of the academic competencies contained in the ARCP Academic Progress document from the RCoA (actual form and guidance for ARCPs attached)
  • It is not necessary for all objectives to be met – these will vary depending on the nature of the post
  • Competencies can be met outside of the time window of the fellowship itself (either before or after)
  • Individual Competencies can be signed off by any academically credible consultant (with research, QI or governance credentials)
  • Appropriate evidence should be maintained by the fellow
  • Academic Supervisor(s) for the post will meet with the fellow to review progress against the objectives.
  • ARCP panel will record satisfactory progression (or not) against these
  • Selected Learning objectives may be mapped to Academic and research [including Audit], Higher and Advanced curricula, Annex G, Aug 2010 e2; RCoA
  • Learning objectives may be mapped to the Improvement Science, Safe and Reliable Systems and Management modules also described in Annex G.
  • Concurrently the trainee will complete their anaesthetic competencies relevant to other clinical modules.

 Module Structure

The module is embedded over a total of 12 months where the trainee will participate in a full on call rota and undertake additional clinical units of training in addition to Academic / Research.

One day a week (pro rata) will be dedicated to research. Exact nature of those days (regular or variable day/ block of days) is negotiable to suit needs of the fellow and the host department.

SWARM fellowship for the period August 2019 – August 2020 will be at Torbay Hospital, Torquay.

This will enable the trainee to plan, execute and conclude their involvement in the project, with close academic supervision while based in one location. It would be expected that projects are handed over to the incoming research trainee at the end of the tenure.

 Within a 12-month window it may not be possible to take a single project all the way from initiation to completion. However the required research experiences and objectives can be met by involvement in more than one project, at different stages of development. The model is of consecutive postholders working in series — whereby the first trainee contributes to the initiation of a project with literature search, protocol writing, funding and ethics application, whilst the next trainee would pick it up with actual conduct of study, while, at the same time doing the ground work for the next project. Completion of a whole project will not be an objective of the module. The nature of the project, alongside the preferences of the trainee and supervisor, will necessarily mean that these objectives will be achieved in different ways. Objectives may dove-tail in different ways for example: the review may provide the basis of an oral presentation, ethics submission or original article. While the actual project may not be “publishable” within a 12-month period, the trainee should look to contributing to an original article—this will not be a specific objective of the module in view of time constraints, but would clearly be a suitable output in terms of the postholder’s cv and future career aspirations.

Nature of Project

The Research component sits within the Peninsula School of Anaesthesia, Health Education SW, through SWARM: a trainee led collaborative research network, which links the NHS hospitals across the SW region. The postholder provides project development and leadership across all sites to deliver multicentre recruitment.

The projects are based in perioperative medicine. These are high quality projects that will enable the trainee to meet the objectives (i.e. a generic set of skills required for future clinical research).

Projects for this post are:

  1. Lead, coordinate and collate ongoing recruitment and data collection for COMPASS, SWARM`s NIHR funded and “portfolio badged” project in remote monitoring of cognitive function during planned arthroplasty surgery. This involves coordination with the primary care fellow (the control part of the project is run separately in primary care)
  2. Develop the next large SWARM project(s); potentially a definitive multicentre project based on COMPASS.
  3. Regional lead for trainee-led multicentre projects run by SWARM on behalf of RAFT, the national trainee federation. ATOMIC – an evaluation of practice for percutaneous tracheostomies in ICU is on the horizon

 

Terms:

  • Protected Research component comprising a day a week over a year at senior trainee grade
  • 0.8 wte devoted to anaesthesia modular training, on call rota & service – aligned with requirements of Anaesthesia ARCP for senior training grade at appropriate level.

Educational Supervision:

Direct academic supervision by Dr Tom Clark, SWARM mentor at Torbay Hospital

Research project supervision by Dr Gary Minto, Consultant in Anaesthesia, PHNT and Hon Senior Lecturer in Anaesthesia, Plymouth University Peninsula School of Medicine & Dentistry, PUPSMD . Additional Mentoring by Prof Rob Sneyd, Dean and Professor of Anaesthesia, PUPSMD & Hon Consultant in Anaesthesia, PHNT

University Support

Supervision as above, Access to training, library and IT facilities at PUPSMD

Location:

Anaesthesia Modular Training / Service component of the job is hosted by Department of Anaesthesia, Torbay Hospital, Devon

Research component sits within the Peninsula School of Anaesthesia, Health Education SW – through SWARM

Commences August 2019

Funding

0.2 wte - Research component

0.8 wte - clinical & on call commitments funding shared between Department of Anaesthesia, Torbay Hospital & Peninsula School of Anaesthesia, HESW.

Objectives

Research Component

These are aligned with the requirements to complete an Advanced Module of training in Research, as defined in Annex G of the CCT in Anaesthetics, Teaching and training, academic and research (including audit), quality improvement, and management for anaesthesia, critical care and pain medicine sections Higher and Advanced – current versions of which are provided as appendices to this document.

The learner should aim to meet the following objectives: (mapped to Annex G)

  • Undertake training in research methodology (this includes scientific writing and statistics; a combination of short courses[i], workplace based training in conjunction with academic supervisor , specific research training provided by Plymouth University Peninsula School of Medicine & on-line learning modules[ii])
  • Contribute to a review related to the project 
  • Involvement in research ethics committee submission & R&D approval (IRAS process)
  • Involvement in funding application
  • Develop skills in project management
  • Applied skills in confidential centralisation of data
  • Develop specific skills related to the project (e.g. a project investigating hospital acquired pneumonia requires proficiency in diagnosis of pneumonia )
  • Complete Good Clinical Practice certification
  • Oral presentation
  • Attendance at a national or international scientific meeting
  • Contribute to an original article
  • Organise a local audit meeting
  • Organise a regional meeting (E.g. SWARM Introduction to QI and research)

Anaesthesia modular training, on call rota & service component

Some service lists, generally solo with on-site immediate available supervision, as required by host department.

On call component spread between senior registrar for emergency surgery, intensive care and obstetric anaesthesia rotas as required by host department. Day time clinical work will alter pro-rata to compensate for on call work done.

Detail on SWARM

SWARM is the pre-eminent anaesthetic/ ICU trainee led research and audit collaborative in the UK. Established in 2012, SWARM links the 6 NHS hospitals comprising the Peninsula School of Anaesthesia, has over 200 members including over 50 medical students & has delivered ~20 completed projects. See www.ukswarm.com for specifics. As per the constitution, the aims of SWARM are:

1. To establish a regional network of anaesthetic trainees who conduct multi-centre research and audit with a high potential for making an impact.
2. To allow trainees to continue their involvement in research and audit projects as they migrate around the deanery.
3. To provide training in research for the educational benefit of SWARM members.
4. To attract national funding for research and audit work

Successes include:

  • RCoA –NIHR 2017 prize for trainee network
  • BMJ 2016 Prize for Anaesthesia Team of the Year
  • NIAA grants 2014 ( CUPPA) and 2017 (COMPASS)

HOW TO APPLY

Email a current cv and a short motivation for why you would like to do the fellowship and what you would bring to the post (word limit 250 words) to: joseph.campbell@southwest.hee.nhs.net copied to Charlesgibson@nhs.net, gary.minto@nhs.net, and thomasclark1@nhs.net

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS

Friday 19th April 2019.