Welcome

Thinking of applying?

The  hospitals

The training programme

Education programme

Teaching, learning and the Bristol Medical Simulation Centre

Advanced (subspecialty) training and out of programme training

Less than full-time training

Assessment

Who administers the School?

How can we ensure that we run a high quality training programme?

Welcome 

 Welcome to the official website of the Severn Postgraduate School of Anaesthesia & ICM, also known as the Bristol School of Anaesthesia.

The Bristol School of Anaesthesia was established in 1996 originally to co-ordinate anaeesthetic training for specialist registrars in Severn PGME.  Since then the geographical boundaries have been extended and it now includes Core Anaesthesia trainees and Specialty trainees in both Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine.

 

Thinking of applying? 

If you are thinking of applying to the School please explore the website and if you have any unanswered questions contact either Joseph Campbell, Education Programme Manager, or Emma White, Education Programme Co-ordinator who will direct your query to the relevant person.

We normally hold an informal virtual open evening in Bristol for potential applicants before the CT1 application window usually in November.  It is an opportunity to find out more about the School and have your questions answered.  During the application window the PGMDE recruitment page will direct you to the national recruitment portal run by ANRO, West Midlands.  Entry at CT1 is either via Core Anaesthesia (3 years) or ACCS-Anaesthesia (4 years).

The Hospitals 

The School is based in seven acute hospital Trusts within the Severn region in Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Swindon, Weston and Yeovil.  For more details see our Hospitals.

The training programmes 

Together we provide training for over 180 anaesthetists in addition to approximately 50 on the Intensive Care medicine programme.  For more details see the Anaesthesia Programme and ICM Programme pages.

Education programmes 

We run regular regionally co-ordinated programmes for candidates preparing for Primary FRCA, Final FRCA and FFICM exams as well as post-FRCA study days.

For Final FRCA candidates there are written (‘Bristol Q’) and viva practice groups which meet leading up to each sitting. See Courses and Teaching Days and Bristol Q.

Teaching, learning and the Bristol Medical Simulation Centre 

There are lots of opportunities for trainees not only to learn but also to teach on courses at the Simulation Centre (in the UHB Education Centre):

  •  novice anaesthesia
  •  new-2- ICU
  •  novice obstetric anaesthesia
  •  managing emergencies in paediatric anaesthesia
  •  one lung anaesthesia
  •  neuroanaesthesia & critical care
  •  cardiac anaesthesia
  •  transport of the critically ill
  •  difficult airway rescue techniques
  •  awake fibreoptic intubation
  •  team training for critical incidents.

Elsewhere simulation training is increasingly becoming embedded in routine practice in most hospitals. Anaesthetic trainees have also taught on foundation courses and on a back to school programme. 

Advanced (subspecialty) training & out of programme training 

Anaesthetic trainees in our School can undertake advanced level training in either general or subspecialty areas such as

  • paediatrics
  • obstetrics
  • cardiac
  • thoracic
  • neuro
  • regional anaesthesia
  • perioperative medicine
  • pain medicine
  • pre-hospital emergency medicine
  • as well as management, education or research.

Many trainees take the opportunity to undertake up to a year of their higher or advanced training out of programme either in the UK or abroad in developed or developing countries. See the Subspecialties and Advanced training & OOP pages for more information.

Less than full-time training 

We welcome those who wish to apply for less than fulltime (LTFT) training. We have a flexible training advisor and a LTFT trainee rep, who are both useful sources of advice.

Assessment 

Training towards a CCT in Anaesthesia and/or ICM is a demanding process. Our system of assessment is designed to maximise your learning opportunities whilst ensuring that you cover the entire curriculum and stay on track to achieve the CCT in a timely manner. Anaesthetic trainees use the RCoA e-portfolio complemented by our locally-developed training record books to record their progress. We endeavour to give trainees a whole year’s notice of what evidence they are required to produce for their ARCP (annual review of competence progression). Each trainee is invited to attend an ARCP interview where they also get to plan their future training/career with the training programme director. For more details see the Assessment pages.

Who administers the School? 

The School is run by a small team consisting of the Head of School (Dr Sue Plastow), Training Programme Directors (Core - Dr Judith Stedeford and Specialty – Dr Hugo Hunton) and Education Programme Manager (Julie Flowers) as well as College Tutors based in each hospital. See Staff Contacts for contact details. We meet formally as a School Board three times per year at a School Board meeting but are in frequent contact coordinating all aspects of training. Doctors in Training representatives (core, specialty and LTFT) attend the board meetings representing the views of Doctors in Training in Anaesthesia.

Each hospital also has a number of Educational Supervisors, who are integral to the successful running of the School.

Every week the Education Programme Manager emails a newsletter with information about courses, teaching days, ARCP updates and much more.

How can we ensure that we run a high quality training programme? 

Training and healthcare delivery are complex processes. GMC trainee and trainer surveys, exam pass rates (which are consistently high) and ARCP outcomes can only tell us so much.

To get a better idea of what is really happening in all aspects of training quality in each of the hospitals we hold an annual Training Quality Panel to which trainee representatives from each hospital are invited. We specifically look for

  • areas that could be improved
  • outstanding practice from which other hospitals could learn

This way we aim continually to improve the standard of training and to address any areas of concern.