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SAS Doctors

Staff Grade, Associate Specialist and Specialty Doctors

Dr Hilary Cooling is Associate Postgraduate Dean for SAS doctors for Severn Deanery. She is Associate Specialist in Sexual and Reproductive Health in University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) and UK lead Associate Dean for SAS doctors (appointed by COPMeD).

The SAS (Staff and Associate Specialists) group of doctors are an important and indispensible group within most NHS Trusts, including many community trusts in primary care. They include speciality doctors, associate specialists, staff grades, and sometimes other non-consultant non-training grades.

The Severn Deanery is supportive of the continuing education and development of all doctors within its footprint.

In the area covered by Severn Deanery there are more than 600 SAS doctors and dentists. Are you one of them? Is there a SAS clinical tutor or educational adviser in your Trust? Do you know who they are?

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

SAS doctors need time in their job plans for Supporting Professional Activity (SPA) to include time for CPD. They should be able to attend department educational meetings on an equal footing with consultants and trainees.

SAS tutors can support SAS doctors in achieving this where needed.

Development Funding

In 2012-13 funding for SAS doctors’ professional development is again available; you can contact your SAS clinical tutor about this. This development funding is in addition to study leave funding.

• Do you want to develop your career?
• Do you need training in leadership and management, interview skills, teaching skills, etc….
• Do you need top-up training in a specialty skill for which locum “backfill funding” is necessary?
• Are you using your annual NHS appraisal and Personal Development Plan to identify your development needs?
• Would mentoring help you in achieving your goals?
• Is there a postgraduate certificate or diploma (eg medical education) that you’ve always wanted to do?

Click here to read how SAS doctors in Severn Deanery footprint have used funding.

The British Medical Association says this funding should be used for “innovation and opportunities not normally funded by Trust study leave budgets (which should normally fund the CPD needs of SAS doctors)”. It is there for you to access, just discuss it with your SAS tutor.

• Don’t know who that is? Contact your Trust Director of Medical Education.
• Still not sure who to contact? Email Hannah Parnell, giving the name of your employing Trust within the Severn Deanery.

Educational and Clinical Supervisors

Are you an educational or clinical supervisor for trainees?

Many SAS grades are taking on these roles as part of their career development. Read one SAS doctor’s experience as an educational supervisor for Foundation year 1 doctors here.

The Director of Medical Education in your Trust can provide more details. There are core training requirements for this role.

The Medical Education Manager in your Trust can advise, and will make sure your details are recorded on the Intrepid database (Severn Deanery’s Supervisor Accreditation System)

Applying for Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) (formerly Article 14 of PMETB)

As a national policy, Associate Deans for SAS doctors agreed to identify doctors within their Deanery patch who have obtained CESR or are actively going down that route, so as to facilitate sharing of experience.

Does this apply to you? If you are a SAS doctor in Severn Deanery patch please contact us if you are happy to be included in a Severn Deanery database and are willing to share your experience with others.

You will find it helpful also to make your plans known to the SAS Clinical Tutor (or equivalent) in your Trust.

Click here to read one SAS doctor’s experience

Useful information is available from the organisations listed below.

GMC: Essential generic and specialty-specific guidance

Medical careers: Career Progression for Specialty Doctors (actually includes all SAS grades):

Royal colleges and faculties: The format and range of the information provided varies. A useful example is the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians' Training Board (JRCPTB):

BMA: The BMA runs seminars on applying for CESR (for members and non-members) from time to time, as well as other information.

SAS Clinical Tutors and Educational Advisers

Are you a SAS clinical tutor or educational adviser with a meeting or educational event to publicise? Do you want to announce an advance date of an event in order to avoid a clash in the region? Send the details to Hannah Parnell.

Links

The BMA has extensive information about SAS doctor development and the use of the Development Funding, some of which is available without a log-in at the BMA SAS Development Fund website.

Similarly a page brings together all info relating to SAS job planning on the BMA website.

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) 

The Academy Staff and Associate Specialist Doctors Committee was formed from the Joint Royal Colleges SAS committee, which has met regularly since 2007.

Medical leadership. LeAD is a free and engaging e-learning resource to help doctors develop their understanding of how their role contributes to managing and leading health services.  Click here and register using your GMC number.

The e-learning has been created by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (click here) in partnership with e-Learning for Healthcare. It is based on the Medical Leadership Competency Framework.