It gives me great pleasure to introduce the team working with me in recruitment. They are such a talented group, and an absolute pleasure to work with. COVID times have been a challenging time for recruitment and this great team have dealt with the frequent curve balls thrown at us, always putting trainees first!
Emma is our Trainee Representative and strongly advocates for trainees in all aspects of recruitment and College business.
Kay is our newly appointed lead for Sub-specialty recruitment. She is incredibly wise and experienced, helping to continuously improve the Sub-specialty application process.
Alok works tirelessly on the MTI and overseas applicant process. He has helped to develop and grow the MTI programme, such that it is now a smooth process that welcomes overseas doctors into the NHS for two years, makes them feel valued and helps to ensure that they have a great training and educational experience.
Lastly, but not least! James Clark is the College’s Recruitment and Careers Manager, and keeps us all sane. He supervises James, Eloise, Monika and Henna.
Together we are the recruitment team and are committed to working together to always put trainees first.
From Emma
The good news is that you and your local team are the shop window to paediatrics!
I’m Emma an ST6 based in Bristol, training to be a General Paediatrician and I’ve been the Representative for Recruitment on the Trainees Committee for around 16 months. Fed up with working on rotas plagued by rota gaps, I thought I’d try and do something about it.
Despite the challenges, paediatrics still has huge amounts to offer as a career and I still think we could sell ourselves better to potential paediatricians. I and the Recruitment and Careers team have been working hard to reach out to students and foundation doctors, from face to face careers days at the College pre-COVID, to developing a webinar series for the new virtual era. We also support UKAPS (UK Aspiring Paediatricians Society) which connects all of the undergraduate paediatric societies in the country.
We know medical students and foundation doctors get relatively little exposure to paediatrics but those who do get more experience can be readily captivated by the magic of our specialty. The good news is that you and your local team are the shop window to paediatrics! Nothing can replace your local networks with medical schools and foundation doctors.
Has your hospital or medical school got any careers events planned where you could represent paediatrics? Could you offer a teaching session to your undergraduate paediatric society? Could you invite foundation doctors for some taster days in paediatrics? We can all be part of throwing open the door to a career in paediatrics.
From Kay
Successful candidates usually draw on memorable encounters with patients and colleagues throughout their training
Hello, I’m Kay, a Paediatric Nephrology Consultant based In Leeds Children’s Hospital. I was recently appointed as Assistant Officer for Recruitment with a specific remit for sub-specialty training. I am also a local TPD (Training Programme Director) in Yorkshire and Humber and was previous Paediatric Nephrology CSAC Chair. I hope to use this combined experience in my current role.
As we all Reset, Restore and Recover ,the Sub-specialty Recruitment Team have been busy preparing the next round of sub-specialty (NTN Grid recruitment) and the challenge of delivering all interviews remotely. The team with the help of current sub-specialty trainees have already hosted two webinars over the summer to update applicants, provide an overview of the Practique platform that will be used to deliver remote interviews and hopefully give some top tips for preparing for success at interview. Questions flooded in on the webinar chat and we aim to host a further webinar for trainees prior to the interviews to demonstrate the virtual platform ‘real-time’ and calm any last-minute technology nerves.
There are 17 paediatric sub-specialties and associated CSAC (College Specialty Advisory Committee) teams who give their time voluntarily to oversee the selection and progress review. Prior experience in a specific sub-specialty post, apart from neonates and community child health is not necessary and successful candidates usually draw on memorable encounters with patients and colleagues throughout their training to both inform their decision and demonstrate their enthusiasm for their chosen career. The key to success at application is to research your chosen sub-specialty thoroughly and ensure that you are both the right fit for that specialty and that the specialty is right for you.
Sub-specialty training is a fantastic opportunity for those wanting to pursue this path, but we need to remember that we have all actually already chosen to become specialists in choosing a career looking after children and young people - #ChoosePaediatrics.
From Alok
We are extremely proud that the scheme has been described as the gold standard
Hi, I’m Alok, Medical Training Initiative (MTI) Lead. The scheme enables overseas trainees to come and train in the UK. The scheme is run under the auspices of the Department of Health and Academy of Royal Medical Colleges administered through a four-member team consisting of two clinicians - Dr Hamudi Kisat and I - supported by College staff Monika Ma and James Clayton Stickley.
The MTI Team works tirelessly to help with post approval, matching, and placement of candidates interviewed by trusts or the College. We also ensure that overseas trainees enjoy the same training conditions that local postgraduate trainees do. The scheme is extremely popular and has expanded from providing 30 posts in 2017 to supporting 200 candidates to come and train in the UK in 2020.
Besides facilitating sponsorship, the College provides pastoral support and aftercare to eligible candidates. It also runs a national induction programme twice a year rotating between different deaneries in the UK. We are extremely proud that the scheme has been described as the gold standard by the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges for running the MTI nationally, and that we have continued to facilitate the scheme during the pandemic.