Message to the Lost Tribe -- Get Lost. PDF Print E-mail
Sunday, 18 April 2010
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  • Message to the Lost Tribe – Get Lost!!!
  • Foundation Programme – tell them what you think.
  • Deaneries, Employment Agencies and the Letter of the Law

Message to the Lost Tribe – Get Lost!!!

The ‘Lost Tribe’ – the cohort of doctors who are stuck midway through their training – has received yet another kick in the face.

Northern Deanery (motto ‘Live and Train’) has introduced a depersonalised self-scoring form for applicants to orthopaedics at ST3. Applicants score points (based on how many PhDs, papers and log-book cases they have); the total number of points is then divided by the number of months that they have worked full-time since qualification from medical school.

Those who have come straight through the MMC system will be dividing by a significantly lower number of months (around 42) than the ‘lost tribe’ (>66 months). This almost amounts to ageism. And it takes no account of experience or time spent in other specialties; in fact it amounts to discrimination against such candidates. One Remedy member told us they could have scored more highly if they had been unemployed for the past year, rather than gaining experience by working as a LAT ST3!

There have also been recent changes to the way exam passes are recognised. Those doctors who sit exams when not in a training post will find in future that they are ineligible for a CCT and would need to get onto the specialist register via the equivalence route.

Foundation Programme – tell them what you think.

This week Remedy gave verbal evidence to the MEE Foundation Programme Evaluation. There are further sessions at which trainees are invited to give their opinions on the Foundation Programme. These sessions are open to Foundation Programme Trainees and those in ST1 or CT1, and are being held across the country in May. Numbers are very limited.

There is more information here.

Deaneries, Employment Agencies and the Letter of the Law

Remedy recently wrote to BERR, the body who regulates Employment Agencies, who affirmed once again that the services of Postgraduate Deaneries may fall in scope of the Employment Agencies Act. They were quite clear that the letter of the law requires that “every advertisement issued or caused to be issued by an agency or employment business shall mention in either audibly spoken words or easily legible characters the full name of the agency or employment business, and whether the services it advertises are those of an agency or an employment business, as the case may be”.

So far we have yet to see a Deanery advert that contains this information. But we live in hope.

Remedy -vs- GMC Poster

The Remedy vs GMC judicial review will be a significant day in the annals of British Medical History. Make sure your mess, canteen, and coffee room is aware of this.

We have designed a special poster for you to print out and stick up to raise awareness of this.

You can download a full-size copy here.

We have also started a Facebook group for supporters of our campaign, and will be posting updates there from time to time. You can also find details of how you can attend the event.