OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH TRAINING
75
The Work of the Specialist Advisory Committee on Occupational Medicine in 1978 R. M. ARCHIBALD National Coal Board Medical Service
Training Posts The procedure is for the industry which wishes to submit a training post for consideration to complete a questionnaire (obtained from the Secretary) and this is then considered by the SAC. If it considers, on the information submitted, that there is indeed a potential training post, a visit will be made and the visiting team consists of two members of the SAC and an external assessor from another specialty. It is worth recording that the SAC have found the presence of this external assessor constantly valuable. A report is then submitted to the next meeting of the SAC and the post graded. The SAC's decision is relayed to the firm concerned through the appropriate Postgraduate Dean. This is in line with the procedure in all other specialties. So far, 22 training posts have been approved. Funding of Training Posts This has proved a most obdurate problem and one which has caused the SAC increasing concern as the months have passed. It would be impossible in the compass of one short article to refer to all possible methods considered. Suffice to say that it seems likely in 1979 that groups of industry-founded posts will emerge and that we will see the first trainees in post. We have had a great deal of help
and constructive suggestions from firms who already have approved posts. Retrospective Accreditation It is hardly surprising that a system which has directly impinged on so many individual members of the Society should have produced queries, and in some cases, disappointment. Nevertheless, the hard facts are that out of 460 applications over 400 doctors have been retrospectively accredited. The criteria are simple and unequivocal and the SAC believe that they reflect the general view that standards of accreditation must equate to those in other specialties. It must also be remembered that the explanatory note from the Chairman which was published in this format speaks of 'five years in the first place'. The Committee has never lost sight of the fact that young men and women have continued to enter occupational medicine and that their needs and aspirations must be safeguarded as have those of their older and longer-serving colleagues. The Armed Services A continuing dialogue with senior members of both the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Medical Services has developed and the SAC put a paper to the JCHMT setting out how specialist training could be modified to meet the operational needs of the Services. Speciality Advisers Present and past members of the SAC have been appointed as Speciality Advisers to the Postgraduate Deans in each NHS region. We have had two interesting-and helpful meetings with the Advisers and it is becoming clear that they can, and will, play an increasingly active role in the postgraduate education of the part-timer.
Downloaded from http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on May 23, 2015
I think some confusion still exists about the role and activities of the SAC and I therefore welcome the Editor's invitation to tell the Members of the Society what we have been doing during 1978. The committee is one of nineteen which are responsible to and answerable to the Joint Committee on Higher Medical Training. We have had a very trying and sometimes frustrating year. Ten meetings have been held and I will deal with the main topics which have occupied our attention.
75
The Work of the Specialist Advisory Committee on Occupational Medicine in 1978 R. M. ARCHIBALD National Coal Board Medical Service
Training Posts The procedure is for the industry which wishes to submit a training post for consideration to complete a questionnaire (obtained from the Secretary) and this is then considered by the SAC. If it considers, on the information submitted, that there is indeed a potential training post, a visit will be made and the visiting team consists of two members of the SAC and an external assessor from another specialty. It is worth recording that the SAC have found the presence of this external assessor constantly valuable. A report is then submitted to the next meeting of the SAC and the post graded. The SAC's decision is relayed to the firm concerned through the appropriate Postgraduate Dean. This is in line with the procedure in all other specialties. So far, 22 training posts have been approved. Funding of Training Posts This has proved a most obdurate problem and one which has caused the SAC increasing concern as the months have passed. It would be impossible in the compass of one short article to refer to all possible methods considered. Suffice to say that it seems likely in 1979 that groups of industry-founded posts will emerge and that we will see the first trainees in post. We have had a great deal of help
and constructive suggestions from firms who already have approved posts. Retrospective Accreditation It is hardly surprising that a system which has directly impinged on so many individual members of the Society should have produced queries, and in some cases, disappointment. Nevertheless, the hard facts are that out of 460 applications over 400 doctors have been retrospectively accredited. The criteria are simple and unequivocal and the SAC believe that they reflect the general view that standards of accreditation must equate to those in other specialties. It must also be remembered that the explanatory note from the Chairman which was published in this format speaks of 'five years in the first place'. The Committee has never lost sight of the fact that young men and women have continued to enter occupational medicine and that their needs and aspirations must be safeguarded as have those of their older and longer-serving colleagues. The Armed Services A continuing dialogue with senior members of both the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Medical Services has developed and the SAC put a paper to the JCHMT setting out how specialist training could be modified to meet the operational needs of the Services. Speciality Advisers Present and past members of the SAC have been appointed as Speciality Advisers to the Postgraduate Deans in each NHS region. We have had two interesting-and helpful meetings with the Advisers and it is becoming clear that they can, and will, play an increasingly active role in the postgraduate education of the part-timer.
Downloaded from http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on May 23, 2015
I think some confusion still exists about the role and activities of the SAC and I therefore welcome the Editor's invitation to tell the Members of the Society what we have been doing during 1978. The committee is one of nineteen which are responsible to and answerable to the Joint Committee on Higher Medical Training. We have had a very trying and sometimes frustrating year. Ten meetings have been held and I will deal with the main topics which have occupied our attention.
