There is evidence that six months or more off the job leads to some loss of practical skills and knowledge and certainly, many doctors report a loss of self-confidence. People take time out from medical practice for many different reasons but career breaks to raise children are more common than ever before. Senior staff at Sydney Children’s Hospital have developed a day-long workshop to help medics brush off the cobwebs before they return to practice. It involves rehearsal of specific skills, refreshers on calculation and interpretation tasks and a high-fidelity critical care simulation. Just as importantly, there is open discussion and mentorship to support the transition back to work. The program is called Paediatric Returnees after Maternity or Extended Leave (PRAM) this podcast was recorded during a live workshop at the Kids Simulation Centre, Randwick.
 
Guests
Workshop participants:
Elodie, Eliza, Emma, April, Stephanie, Lucy and Paula.

PRAM creators:
Dr Josephine Goodyer FRACP (Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick)
Dr Sasha Symonds FRACP FACEM (Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick)
Renee Byrne (Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick)

Production
Produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Elm Lake’ by Elm Lake, ‘Quiet Waters’ by Walt Adams, ‘Illuminations 4’ by Johannes Bornlöf, ‘Feeling Minnesota by Gavin Luke, and ‘Maybe This Time’ by Major Tweaks. Image by Maskot licenced through Getty Images. 

Editorial feedback kindly provided by RACP physicians Sasha Taylor, Stephen Bacchi,Simeon Wong, Zac Fuller, Hugh Murray, Aidan Tan, Sern Wei Yeoh, Sasha Taylor and Stella Sarlos. Thanks also to RACP staff Arnika Martus and Kathryn Smith. 

Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references. Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity.