Your Representatives on Council
Andrew Thomson MRCGP
Andrew qualified from Dundee in 1996 and
undertook a variety of both clinical and managerial posts prior to
entering an innovative GP training scheme in Angus, Scotland.
Following completion of his training he has been working as a
sessional practitioner mainly in the East of Scotland.
Andrew is also a member of the college’s
postgraduate training committee and represents GP trainees at the
Academy of Medical Royal colleges’ trainees committee. Andrew also
has an active role representing GP trainees within the
BMA.
The college is here to protect and enhance the
quality of UK general practice, support the educational interests
of members and not as some trainees see it, just purely to provide
the examination, for which you will all have to pay.
In conjunction with PMETB, the college is
focused on setting and developing the quality and standards for GP
training to ensure that as you qualify and start on your journey
into a life as a GP, you can be confident that you will have had as
good or better grounding as those before you. The most important
step recently has been the development and implementation of the
new training curriculum. But becoming a GP is just the start of a
lifelong education that is supported by your college, both locally
and nationally.
I have been active as a trainee representing
my peers for several years. Being elected as the observer on RCGP
council was an important moment for me. It has allowed me to better
understand the inner workings of the college and to have some say
and input into the future direction the college takes, especially
with regard to the benefits and representation of you, its newest
members. The college is responsive to its expanding number of
associate members and is keen to develop and expand support and
representational structures for you but importantly is keen to
listen to your views.
In my remaining time as your representative I
will continue to input to the colleges work and am keen to hear
from you, as it is your views that will drive forward the future
for the college. Get involved in college activities can be
stimulating and rewarding; your college welcomes associate members
wanting to become more involved.
Clare Taylor MRCP
Clare graduated from Cambridge in 2002 and
did a 4 month GP house job in a rural practice near Huntingdon. She
spent 6 months as an A+E SHO then went on to complete a medical
rotation at Addenbrookes in Cambridge and gained membership of the
Royal College of Physicians. Realising her destiny was in General
Practice, she did a year of Paediatrics in Kent then moved up to
Birmingham where she now works as an Academic GP Registrar. She is
newly appointed to College Council and sits on the new Associates
in Training committee.
First of all, a big thank you to everyone who
voted for me in the recent ballot for the job of GP Registrar on
College Council. I’m thrilled to be able to represent Associates in
Training from across the UK at a time of such change.
Most of us are still reeling from the Medical
Training Application Service debacle that shook the whole
profession. We as GP trainees faired better than most of our
colleagues in hospital medicine but I am sure no one would dispute
the collective anger and upset felt by all junior doctors across
the UK over the past year. The Tooke Report, “Aspiring to
Excellence”, has helped to address some of the fundamental failings
of MTAS and the broader issue of Modernising Medical Careers. RCGP
Council considered the recommendations made by Sir John Tooke in
great detail and has sent a formal response. As GP registrars on
Council we were able to contribute to this debate and ensure the
views of juniors were heard at the heart of the College.
Despite the problems of the recent past, I
feel it is important now to look forward to our future as the next
generation of family doctors. General Practice is finally being
acknowledged as a specialty in its own right and rightly so. The
work of GPs day in, day out is vital to the effective running of
the NHS and has in the past been unrecognised. Recently, the
introduction of the new curriculum has aimed to provide a clear
guide to the huge amount of knowledge and clinical skills we need
to be excellent generalists. The new MRCGP examination has replaced
the old system of summative assessment +/- old MRCGP with a new
clinically focused competence based exam. The number of acronyms
(AKT, CSA, COT, CBD, DOPs) seems endless but I hope once trainees
and trainers alike get used to the new style it will prove to be a
far better way of ensuring we are well trained.
The College is very keen to involve the large
number of new Associates in Training AiT). There is a newly
appointed board of AiTs which includes representatives from all
regions of the UK to ensure local issues can be addressed at a
national level. We are keen to hear any views you have on life as
an AiT, good or bad, so please get in touch by e-mail. I look
forward to representing you over the next two years.
Email Andrew and Clare at ait@rcgp.org.uk