Anaesthesia on Air

In this episode of Anaesthesia on Air, Dr Deidre Conway hosts a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation with Drs Nancy Redfern and Eoin Dore about wellbeing in the anaesthetic workplace and the particular dynamic between trainees and trainers. Amongst many other things Nancy, Eoin, and Deirdre discuss generational differences in work values, communication and honesty, self-care, and building a great environment for learning, drawing on their own experiences and the latest research and practices.

In this third part of out Global Anaesthesia podcast miniseries, Jan and Fi talk to Dr Emma Coley and Dr Anna Janowicz about their experiences in Zambia and Ethiopia on the Global Anaesthesia Development Programme (GADP), and its Zambian offshoot, ZADP.

From applying low resource-setting solutions  back in the UK and appreciating the dedication of local clinical teams to the world's largest fruit bat migration, Emma and Anna bring some rich insights from their experiences in global anaesthesia to the conversation.

In this episode of Anaesthesia on Air, Dr Ashwini Keshkamat talks with Dr Sarah Thornton and Dr Roger Sharpe to discuss SAS doctors in Educational roles. They speak through common themes, quality improvement, and advice and highlights for SAS members. 

SAS doctors are an integral part of the College. We benefit from the representation of SAS doctors on Council – our elected SAS members are Dr Sunil Kumar and Dr Ashwini Keshkamat. We also have a dedicated SAS Committee that works across the College and with Council to promote all matters relating to doctors working in SAS roles, including education, training, professional development and wellbeing.  

SAS Week is a week-long celebration of Staff Grade, Associate Specialist and Specialty (SAS) doctors which runs from 9-13 October. More than 1 in 5 of the non-trainee anaesthetic workforce are SAS doctors who play an essential role in the provision of anaesthetic services to patients.


Links and resources: 

In this episode of Anaesthesia on Air, Dr Jan Man Wong and Dr Fiona Linton talk to Dr Sanjay Deshpande and Dr Anna Wilkinson about their experiences at the BKL Walawalker Hospital in Dervan, India. They cover everything from handling scorpion bites and improving sharps disposal practices, to some of the bittersweet professional connections they made with hospital staff. Sanjay and Anna describe how the BKL Walawalker partnership began, and give advice for trainees coming to Dervan and similar locations.

Global Anaesthesia, Surgery, and Obstetric Collaboration (GASOC) was established in 2015 to signpost trainees to information and resources to further their knowledge, engagement, and experience in this field.

The global anaesthesia podcast miniseries features past and current trainees working or volunteering in resource-poor environments including India, Zambia, Uganda, and Ethiopia, plus their in-country and remote educational supervisors (RES), each bringing their own perspectives. For trainees, an international placement can form the SIA (Special Interest Area) part of their training. 

Contact details: 

Links:

On this episode of Anaesthesia on Air, Dr Joyce Yeung talks with three experts in the field, Dr Michael Gillies, Dr Rhona Sinclair, and Dr Alixe Kilgour on the Blood transfusion during hip fracture – insights from research (RESULT-Hip Trial), investigating the impact of REStrictive versUs LIberaL Transfusion strategy on cardiac injury and death in patients undergoing surgery.

They discuss the improvements they have seen, challenges encountered doing this kind of research, and what the findings so far could mean for clinical practice. 

In this episode of Anaesthesia on Air, Dr Jan Man Wong and Dr Fiona Linton talk with Dr Tamryn Miller and Dr Katherine Horner about their experiences as part of the Mercy Ships Programme. Tamryn and Katherine talk through their top tips, patient stories they encountered, and how it changed their practice. 

Global Anaesthesia, Surgery, and Obstetric Collaboration (GASOC) was established in 2015 to signpost trainees to information and resources to further their knowledge, engagement, and experience in this field. You can contact the Global Partnerships team at the college on: [email protected]

The global anaesthesia podcast miniseries features past and current trainees working or volunteering in resource-poor environments including India, Zambia, Uganda, and Ethiopia, plus their in-country and remote educational supervisors (RES), each bringing their own perspectives. For trainees, an international placement can form the SIA (Special Interest Area) part of their training. 

For the season finale of the NovPod, we are honoured to have Dr Fiona Donald, President of the RCoA, as our special guest. We discuss what life is like after the novice period and throughout the career of an anaesthetic trainee, as well as some of the challenges facing anaesthetists at the moment.

References/links:

Training link - RCoA stage 1 training link

Resources-publications/Guidebooks/Trainee-Handbook 2021 - AA trainee handbook

Wellbeing is an extremely important aspect of a career in anaesthesia, and we are lucky to have as our special guest Dr Ramai Santhirapala - RCoA Council Member and wellbeing lead - to talk through the challenging aspects of the novice period, anaesthetics as a career and ways to help maintain your wellbeing throughout this time.

References/links:

Novice-Guide/ Wellbeing-support - RCoA novice guide

Membership/Resources/Wellbeing-hub - RCoA wellbeing hub

Home/Wellbeing-support - AA

Youtube Video -Dr Michael Farquhar YouTube video

Dr Michael Farquhar - Fifteen-minute Consultation- Dr Michael Farquhar - Fifteen-minute consultation: managing the effects of shift work on your health

Well-being paper by Dr Sinkey, Dr Margolis and Dr Vinson- The Wicked problem of physician well-being paper by Dr Sinskey, Dr Margolis and Dr Vinson

Fatigue Paper- Fatigue paper

The initial assessment of competencies (IAC) is an important milestone for all anaesthetists, and in this episode, we are joined by special guest Dr Joe Lipton who explains what the IAC actually is and what the curriculum means for you as a novice trainee.


References/links:

Novice Guide/ Lifelong learning platform - RCoA novice guide

Association of anaesthetists - History of the bougie

It's all to play for in the second part of our special anaesthetic drugs game show with Eoin and special guest Dr Rahul Bandopadhyay going head-to-head again. Who will take home the coveted (possibly fictitious?) Golden ETT? Is there actually an interesting fact about ondansetron? Let's find out.

The Novpod: a beginner's guide to anaesthetics is created, edited, and co-hosted by Dr Eoin Dore and Dr Duncan Kemp. We are two anaesthetic registrars on a mission to help our new anaesthetic colleagues get to know some of the new concepts you will come across in your novice period, hopefully helping to take away any anxiety around starting your time in anaesthetics.

The NovPod is presented by Anaesthesia on Air, in association with the Royal College of Anaesthesia.

Please note that all opinions expressed in the podcast are those of the individuals appearing on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views of the RCoA.

References/links:

E-learning for healthcare - e-LA module 1: Introduction to clinical anaesthesia > 02 Basic Science for Novice Trainees > 04 Pharmacology