Want to be part of the Association of Anaesthetists Trainee Committee? Want to represent your fellow trainees and your specialty at national level? Well now is your chance!
The Trainee Committee is an active,
dynamic and important part of the
Association of Anaesthetists. We
have over 3200 trainee members and
it’s the Trainee Committee’s job to
represent them. The combination of
the pandemic, recruitment and exam
issues has seen enormous pressures
put on our specialty. Now, more
than ever, it’s important that we truly
represent the voice of our specialty.
This year we need at least six new
members, of whom one of the places
is reserved for a trainee from the
Republic of Ireland. If you think this
could be you, please see the details
below about how to apply.
The Trainee Committee started life in 1967 representing fewer
than 100 anaesthetic trainees; fast forward to 2022 and we
have 14 elected members from across the UK and Ireland
representing over 3200 trainee members. The committee itself
comprises four officer roles including Chair, Honorary Secretary,
Vice Chair and Trainee Network Lead (TNL) Officer. Our Chair
and Honorary Secretary are a part of the Board of Directors
and Board of Trustees of the Association of Anaesthetists, this
ensures there is trainee representation right at the top of the
organisation.
We also work closely with our partner organisations and have coopted
trainee members from the RCoA, BMA, CAI and Defence
Anaesthesia. We provide a voice for all trainee anaesthetists
on issues such as education, workforce, safety and supervision,
to name just a few. Our aim is to improve anaesthetic training,
promote best practice, and champion the importance of
workplace wellbeing. We are at the forefront of topical issues
such as fatigue, burnout and bullying, with our #FightFatigue
and #KnockItOut campaigns. Our independence means we
can raise concerns on behalf of trainees, most recently around
exams and the changes to anaesthetic recruitment. We regularly
respond to national consultations that affect training, workplace
culture and work/life balance, as well as investigating training
issues. We collaborate with others within anaesthesia and have
reached out to other specialties to continue our work for the
greater good of junior doctors nationwide.
As a committee, we work hard and harmoniously in order to
achieve our ambitious aims and objectives. To enable this,
we have four Trainee Committee meetings a year. Luckily,
pre-pandemic, we were already practised at remote working
with one of our four meetings a year being virtual. Over the
past two years, like many organisations, all of our work has
been via Zoom, but we can’t wait to all get together again and
hold our meetings at the Association headquarters in London
at 21 Portland Place. Our July meeting moves around the
country as it takes place at our annual Trainee Conference, our
favourite event of the year! Trainee Conference is the ONLY
national anaesthetic trainee conference - organised by trainees
for trainees and first year consultants. This year's Trainee
Conference is in Bristol, 12-14 July.
Between meetings, we also stay in touch regularly,
predominantly by email, messaging and social media. We
are privileged to represent the views of anaesthetic trainees
at a national level, from the RCoA Anaesthetists In Training
Committee to the BMA Multispecialty Working Group and a new
GMC Multispecialty Roundtable. At least one Trainee Committee
member sits on each of the Association's Committees, and we
regularly contribute to working parties that produce national
anaesthetic guidelines.
We welcome applications from trainees across the UK and
Ireland for the six available seats on the Trainee Committee. We
are keen to make sure that there is representation from all stages
of training and from all backgrounds. We want the Association of
Anaesthetists to be a diverse organisation and our committee to
truly represent the trainee population it serves, so we hope that
you can help us do this by putting your hat in the ring!
If elected, you would be expected to serve a term of at least two
years. Those standing for election must be resident within the
United Kingdom or Ireland for their term of office, which begins
at the Trainee Update session during the Trainee Conference. It is
expected that Trainee Committee duties require approximately
15 study leave days a year.
Being part of the Trainee Committee comes with responsibilities,
and though we work hard it is great fun and it provides a
fantastic opportunity to develop your skills in leadership,
management, and presentation at a national level. You will meet
some incredible people from all over the UK and Ireland, and
be welcomed into an inclusive and supportive group; we see
ourselves as more of an extended family rather than a formal
committee. For both of us authors, it has been an incredible
experience and we have enjoyed every minute of our tenure on
the committee. We would highly recommend the experience to
anyone that wants to have an impact on anaesthetic training and
trainee wellbeing at a national level. We both agree that joining
the committee has been one of the best decisions we have
made. So, if you're interested, please do consider it!
If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to get in touch
([email protected]). Further information and nomination
forms are available from the Association of Anaesthetists
website. All nominees must be trainee members of the
Association of Anaesthetists in good standing, and should
be proposed and seconded by other trainee members of the
Association of Anaesthetists. Completed forms should be
returned to [email protected] by no later than 17:00 on
Tuesday 5 April 2022. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Divya Raviraj
Chair of the Trainee Committee
Naomi Freeman
Honorary Secretary of the Trainee Committee