Foundation Fellow Feedback
Here you will find feedback from our previous Foundation Fellows.
John McCullough, Education Fellow 2016-2018
As a medical student I was always interested in teaching and I applied for the education fellow role in order to develop my teaching skills. All F1s are encouraged to teach, but so far this year I’ve had a huge number of opportunities to deliver small group and bedside teaching, lead clinical skills stations and to help run SIM scenarios. However, the education fellow role has also opened up further opportunities which I may not otherwise have encountered. The role is very flexible/self-defined, but one of my goals was to find out more about educational theory. Through the scheme I’ve been able to get funding for the first part of a masters-level course in medical education course at Bristol University.
I’ve also been asked to present at a national conference and have started a small research project looking at the causes and consequences of stress and anxiety in newly qualified F1s. I have been very fortunate to have an abstract accepted for this project at an upcoming education conference in Helsinki. I would strongly recommend anyone with an interest in medical education to apply for the role – it’s an interesting side-line to clinical work and will open up loads of great opportunities.
Rosie Gallagher, Quality Improvement Fellow 2016-2018
I have really enjoyed my time so far as QI foundation fellow, finding that the role opens up lots of opportunities to get involved with QI at a regional level. As QI fellow this year I have:
- Attended regional QI meetings with QI leads from around the Severn foundation school
- Attended the National Foundation Doctors’ Presentation day in Bristol, January 2017
- Helped to organise a regional QI conference in Taunton in June 2017
- Led a project to redesign the Musgrove Park hospital medical admissions proforma
- Poster presentation at the Bristol patient safety conference 2017 of an audit on initial management of decompensated liver disease
- Part of an ambitious FY1 project to improve the quality of discharge summaries at Musgrove park hospital in Taunton
- Did a regional survey of QI experiences and perceptions among junior doctors which I plan to present at a national conference
- Completed two modules at University College London funded by the foundation school (one in quality improvement and one in medical education)
- Completed online training modules in QI with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN)
- Became a member of the national ‘Q network’ which facilitates QI collaboratives and sharing knowledge between different fields
Bethan Davies, Simulation Fellow 2015-2017
The role has enabled me to get a foot in the door with the regional simulation network and meet others with an interest in simulation. I have been able to train as a simulation trainer and be a part of a programme of simulation teaching for medical students.
Christopher Copplestone, Education Fellow 2015-2016
- Attended Severn Deanery Strategy meetings, providing Foundation Doctor perspective on training.
- Mapped the Foundation teaching programme to the new Foundation Curriculum to establish how the current provision delivers the curriculum.
- Undertook a quality improvement project to develop a formalised and effective induction process for FY1 Doctors commensing out of hours surgical cover. This involved both the delivery of formal teaching, and improvements to the handover process with the creation of a newly designed proforma.
- Ward based teaching of medical students.
- Plans for the coming year include getting involved in simulation teaching and the development of a peer-to-peer teaching program to increase trainee exposure to different specialties.
Kirstin Mcgregor, Quality Improvement Fellow 2014-2016
- Co-lead of Quality Improvement Project 'The Hazard Phone' at WGH
- Won first prize at Royal Society of Medicine Patient Safety Trainees Conference Dec 2015
- Poster presentation at International Forum of Quality and Safety in Healthcare, Sweden Apr 2016
- Oral presentation at South West Quality Improvement Conference, Taunton July 2016
- Oral presentation (runner-up) at National Patient Safety Congress, Manchester July 2016
- Highly Commended in Changing Patient Safety Culture category at National Patient Safety Awards July 2016
- Currently being written up for publication
- Working with governance team to create standard operating procedure for the hazard phone
- Organised local teaching and helped junior doctors troubleshoot with their QI projects.
- Planning local regular teaching sessions on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
- Currently employed as Quality Improvement Clinical Fellow
Robin Chisman, Sustainability Fellow 2015-2016
During this year I have been involved in an array of projects, both within my own trust and the deanery as a whole.
Firstly, I have been active in pursuing my own sustainable projects. Within North Bristol Trust I initiated a new trial using low carbon transport for the delivery of patient letters, including bicycles and electric vehicles. This has so far demonstrated both a reduction in carbon footprint and costs for the trust, which I am hoping to expand to further trusts within the deanery.
As well as individual projects I have worked on the Sustainable Development Steering Group, which includes trust board members, I have been contributing to the successful application of new NHS sustainability plan. Together we look to ensure both our legal and ethical compliance with guidelines and carbon emission legislation. Our success has been demonstrated by North Bristol Trust being awarded the overall winner of the NHS Sustainability Award during this time.
As well as organizing projects myself I have been keen to promote sustainable practice in other clinicians. Together with the previous Sustainability Fellow, Conal, we designed, organised and delivered a regional medical teaching programme to Foundation Year 2 doctors, on the subject of medical sustainability. This teaching programme aimed to familiarise attendees with climate change and carbon footprint, as well as explore the concept of sustainable healthcare and examine what foundation doctors can do to make healthcare more sustainable.
It was well received in feedback by trainees and we are currently planning for the next training day.
In addition to this teaching project, I presented to the National Foundation Doctor Presentation Day about the potential benefits of integrating sustainable concepts with quality improvement projects. This is an ongoing project, which aims to integrate with 'Green Impact', a sustainable award scheme in place within two trusts in the deanery.
Eleanor Turner-Moss, Leadership Fellow 2014-2015
I have felt very privileged to be the Leadership fellow, representing foundation doctors at Regional and National meetings.
I have attended regular Foundation School Committee meetings locally, often as the only foundation trainee representative, giving an important perspective on high level discussions.
I attended the National Foundation Doctors Advisory Board in September. I gathered feedback from North Bristol Trust trainees about their experiences prior to this meeting. We gave feedback on the ePortfolio, content of the FP curriculum and discussed issues such as handover, community placements and the transition from medical school. I was invited to join a working group on the content and assessment of the foundation programme curriculum and I have been providing my input at these meetings also.
I have particularly been calling for some education on the structure and funding of the NHS and associated bodies, resource management and leadership in the foundation programme curriculum.
I wrote a letter, countersigned by several representatives from around the country expressing concern that the UKFPO’s future was threatened.
I spoke at BBC Bristol, a grand round presentation and the National Junior Doctor’s Foundation Day about Ethical and Sustainable Procurement at North Bristol NHS Trust.
During the rest of my time as Leadership Fellow for Severn Foundation School, I am keen to make sure I am aware of the concerns of the trainees I represent. I will be working on new ways to gather this feedback and I hope to work more closely with the other fellows too.
Christopher Akhunbay-Fudge, Leadership Fellow 2013-2015
Over the last two years I have been involved in several parts of the foundation training programme outside of normal clinical work. It has been an excellent learning experience that has exposed me to various aspects of leadership and management within the NHS. Highlighted sections are listed below: -
- Worked on a QI project focussing on ceiling of care and medical handovers. Our work was presented as posters at 2 national conferences (NACT conference and National CASC/HQIP Clinical Audit Conference).
- Presented QI work at NBT Grand Round.
- QI work published in BMJ Quality Reports 2014.
- Worked with Clinical Director of Neurosciences to set up Board Rounds in the Neurosurgery Department at North Bristol Trust. The work improved VTE fill rates and improved staff experiences as measured by standardised questionnaires. Work presented as poster at 2015 International ASiT Conference.
- Led a team of junior doctors to set up a Regional teaching day – Severn Anaesthetics Careers Day, which received positive feedback.
- Delivered oral presentation at the International Balint Congress in Heidelberg on Psychodynamic Psychotherapy experiences with a patient.
- Attended Medical Management and Leadership Course in London.
- Attended Personality, Resilience and Conflict Management Course in Bristol.
- Taking part in Fit2teach modules with a view to attain a recognised teaching qualification.
- Taught Bristol medical students on an informal and formal basis.
- UKFPO F1 representative.
- Attended Foundation School Meetings to discuss the current trainee perspective.
Joe Hutton, Education Fellow 2013-2015
Over the past two years, I have been heavily involved with education in my local Trust; organising the peer-led teaching for final year medical students, foundation doctor mentoring for University of Bristol medical students and organising mock “long-case” examinations. This has involved personally delivering numerous bed-side and formal teaching sessions. I have also produced some single page summaries of the requirements of the Final year examination structure, year requirements and long-case examinations to aid support for Bristol students from doctors who may not be familiar with their curriculum.
I have also run an improvement project, designed to help support the difficult transition from medical student to foundation doctor. This is through smartphone and lanyard cards that detail the Trust’s preferred treatment guidance for common medical emergencies, designed to give people a structure for treatment for acutely unwell patients. This has been well-represented at both national and international conferences. I am liaising with the Trust to try and produce this into a smartphone application. I have also produced a further quality-improvement programme aimed at improving chest drain insertion and documentation which led to me writing the local pleural procedures guidelines. I have also had a paper published on a rare respiratory condition.
I have continued to provide trainee feedback on educational topics and issues at the Deanery and Education strategy group meetings. In addition to these, I am obtaining my Royal College of Physicians accredited educator training, passing my physician specialty examinations and trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance on Emergency medicine.
- In response to the changes to the FP curriculum for this year, I have produced documents outlining the main areas for change. These have been used by GP trainers and foundation doctors.
- A poster was presented at the NACT conference displaying work I had done into different learning styles among trainees and whether the current delivery of education addressed these.
- I was invited to attend a master class in ‘Recognising and Approving Trainers’ which allowed me to learn more about the structure of foundation training and the support provided to trainees.
- In September I spoke at a National Conference in Durham ‘Sharing best practice – How to create opportunities for non-academic foundation doctors to demonstrate excellence’.
- This year I have been able to widen my teaching opportunities, having taught a range of different people over the year, including: a work experience pupil from school, medical students as well as midwives and nurses.
- In collaboration with two other fellows I have produced a guide to the F2 year which should be circulated later this year.
- I have an ongoing project which is exploring the delivery of the foundation programme curriculum at North Bristol Trust. Changes have been made to the delivery of education since my feedback given last year and I will be comparing the different approaches.
- My role as the Education Fellow has led to an exciting invite to Malta. I am looking forward to being able to gain a new perspective on education when I visit there in June.
Rebecca Dyar, Quality Improvement Fellow 2013-2015
- Mentor at North Bristol Trust for Foundation Year 1 QI projects, including Dr Toolbox
- Published Warfarin QI Project in BMJ Quality (January 2015): http://qir.bmj.com/content/4/1/u204509.w1983.abstract
- Teaching session for Foundation Year 2 Doctors ‘DIY QI’ (September 2014)
- Teaching session for Foundation Year 1 Doctors in Induction Week 'Introduction to QI' (August 2014)
- Involved in two local audit projects:
- Intravenous fluid prescription in colorectal patients – results presented at Surgical Audit Meeting (September 2014)
- Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in stroke patients
- Involved in two local QI projects:
- Warfarin prescription/administration
- Omitted medications when patients are nil by mouth.
- Results presented in a Medical Grand Round (July 2014).
- Attendance at the Agents for Change conference (June 2014) - nominated to attend by University Hospitals Bristol Foundation Trust
- Presented a poster at Bristol Patient Safety Conference (May 2014)
- Severn QI webpage idea/design adopted by Peninsula QI Group: http://www.peninsuladeanery.nhs.uk/about/quality-improvement-projects-qips/
- Developed a QI webpage for Severn Deanery, accessible via the Foundation website: www.foundation.severndeanery.nhs.uk/about-us/quality-improvement/
- Lead a QI workshop at the Royal Society of Medicine Patient Safety Trainees conference (November 2013)
- Set up and helped populate the Dr Toolbox for the Bristol Royal Infirmary: www.dr-toolbox.com/BRI/HomePage
- BMJ Quality Peer Reviewer and Mentor
Katherine Warren, Simulation Fellow 2014-2015
During my relatively short time as a Simulation Foundation Fellow, I have been able to further my knowledge of, and experience with, simulation. I find it a fantastic way of learning as a doctor, and I look forward to developing further skills in this area. So far, I have:
- Successfully organised a teaching programme in Weston General Hospital for the final year medical students during their PPP (preparing for professional practice) block, whereby foundation year 1 doctors deliver useful sessions on the practical aspects of being a doctor. A couple of these sessions (for example, “managing the sick patient”) will be utilising simulation facilities in order to give the students a realistic learning experience.
- Assisted the clinical teaching fellows at Weston General Hospital in delivering simulation sessions to the final year medical students. I assisted in a scenario surrounding a patient with an upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage. I was an active member of the debrief at the end of the scenario which I found to be a useful learning experience, given that the debrief is often one of the most important components of simulation-based learning.
- Developed an online survey for all foundation year trainees within the deanery, in order to ascertain what simulation-based training takes place in the various trusts, what their general views on simulation are, and where any demand lies for developing further simulation-based training. The preliminary results from the survey are interesting, with 97% of trainees stating that they have had no simulation training at all during their time as a foundation trainee, or only “a few sessions.” On the whole, trainees find it an incredibly useful way of learning, with an average rating of 8.8/10 in terms of usefulness. When asked whether there should be standardised, regular simulation training offered, 97% of trainees were in agreement.
- I will be attending regular B.E.S.T meetings over the course of my tenure.
James Bailey, Simulation Fellow 2013-2015
As a Simulation Fellow in the Severn Foundation school I have been involved in a number of exciting developments over the past two years.
Through the 'Bringing Education through Simulation Training (BEST) working group I have had the opportunity to collaborate with groups invested in simulation training on a regional level throughout the Southwest.
Utilising this forum, and through contacts at the North Bristol Academy, I have had the opportunity to input into Foundation training by adding to the growing body of F1 training scenarios used at North Bristol as part of their teaching programme - which was personally very satisfying helping to run my clinical scenarios and seeing them put into practice.
The transfer of services from Frenchay Hospital to the new Brunel building at Southmead was a landmark event for the Trust and presented opportunities to utilise simulation outside of teaching as a tool for testing systems in the hospital environment.
- Regular attendance at the BEST meetings.
- Written and tested two new simulation scenarios on diabetic emergencies which have been added to the NBT F1 training programme.
- Collaborating alongside members of the acute Thrombolysis team (Stroke physicians, ED staff, radiology and porter) to utilise simulation technologies in trialling thrombolysis pathways and procedures in situ at the Brunel building at Southmead Hospital prior to the move in 2014.
- Have written thrombolysis scenarios which could be used for regional stroke/ED training
- Involvement in a quality improvement project aimed at improving the quality of ward based undergraduate teaching as well the patient satisfaction of these encounters.
- Results of which were presented at the Medical Grand Round (July 2014) as well as the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) Conference 2014 in Milan.
- At ASME got first hand experience with the latest generation of simulators (SimMan/Harvey).
Future Plans
Aim to liaise with the academy at Yeovil to utilise my experiences from the past year to further develop F1 training on their simulation facilities as well as continuing to provide trainee feedback on simulation topics to the foundation school.
Conal Horgan, Sustainability Fellow 2014-2015
In light of ever increasing demand on limited resources, I believe edging towards more sustainable practices in many areas within the NHS will not only reduce the carbon footprint on the local environment, but will also save the trust a substantial amount of money in the process. I have a particular interest in energy, transport, water and waste management saving initiatives. Within the Sustainability Fellow role, I aim to build on my previous experience in the Engineering/ Sustainability industry to help facilitate some positive changes towards a more sustainable healthcare system. In doing so I hope to increase awareness about the importance of sustainability within the NHS and show how simple day to day actions by NHS staff can sum up to make a big difference.
Liaising with Facilities Management to:
- Reduce the amount of water usage in Theatres
- Install smart water and energy metering at source as a platform to support/measure ‘real time’ future energy and water saving initiatives in the Hospital.
- Improve Demand Management: Promote awareness amongst hospital staff through education/awareness of water and energy usage on the wards including switching off non-essential systems and equipment at night.
Currently involved in a group QI Project aiming to reduce the amount of unnecessary bloods tests that are ordered in A&E. Focusing on cost savings, time savings as well as reducing the carbon footprint of blood biochemistry/haematology in general including equipment, material and energy savings in the laboratory.
Collaboration: Member of a national network in Sustainable Healthcare, teleconferencing and collaborating with individuals from a wide variety of roles in sustainability within the healthcare system on upcoming events and discussions on current research projects.
Education and Teaching: Part of the upcoming regional F2 teaching day at Bath in April on sustainability with more teaching sessions TBA.
Leadership Fellow 2012-2013
- Attended Educational strategy group meetings to give feedback on foundation education
- Attended NHS Education South West Joint Annual Conference in Taunton
- I am taking part in the fit2teach modules to gain first-hand experience in teaching
- I am currently doing a project looking into improving the method of getting feedback from trainees at NBT and comparing this with other methods used across the deanery
- I have helped write the report on the value of the F2 year in response to the Collins report
- I am currently gathering information as a psych F1 in order to provide feedback to a task force which is looking at the problems of recruitment in this area and addressing training issues
- F1 and F2 representative for Severn at UKFPO's Foundation Doctor Advisory Board (discussing issues such as e-portfolio, induction and training opportunities)
- Participated in Clinical Leadership Academy Leadership Training course for GP trainees and junior doctors
- Facilitated feedback from Severn F1s to Foundation School Committee and attended meetings of the committee
- Completed F1 Improvement Project encouraging better inter-disciplinary teamwork on the wards (presented at international conference)
- Currently producing a guide to starting F2, in response to feedback from peers
Education Fellow 2012-2013
This year I have continued to provide the trainee perspective on educational issues by attending meetings at the Deanery and at an Educational strategy group meeting.
- In response to the changes to the FP curriculum for this year, I have produced documents outlining the main areas for change. These have been used by GP trainers and foundation doctors.
- A poster was presented at the NACT conference displaying work I had done into different learning styles among trainees and whether the current delivery of education addressed these.
- I was invited to attend a master class in ‘Recognising and Approving Trainers’ which allowed me to learn more about the structure of foundation training and the support provided to trainees.
- In September I spoke at a National Conference in Durham ‘Sharing best practice – How to create opportunities for non-academic foundation doctors to demonstrate excellence’.
- This year I have been able to widen my teaching opportunities, having taught a range of different people over the year, including: a work experience pupil from school, medical students as well as midwives and nurses.
- In collaboration with two other fellows I have produced a guide to the F2 year which should be circulated later this year.
- I have an ongoing project which is exploring the delivery of the foundation programme curriculum at North Bristol Trust. Changes have been made to the delivery of education since my feedback given last year and I will be comparing the different approaches.
- My role as the Education Fellow has led to an exciting invite to Malta. I am looking forward to being able to gain a new perspective on education when I visit there in June.
Quality Improvement Fellow 2012-2013
- Set up a quality improvement group within own trust working on small projects to improve the efficiency of on calls
- Projects completed include improving insulin prescribing amongst junior doctors and designing F1 induction programme using peer to peer teaching
- Presented the result of the insulin prescribing at a national conference
- Took part in ‘train the trainer’ day for simulation as part of improving clinical education to final year medical students and junior doctors
- Attendance at RSM conference in London on engaging juniors in patient safety (this lead to many contacts being made in the QI world)
- Involved in promoting QI projects on ‘the network’ our QI social media interface for junior doctors and medical student
Simulation Fellow 2012-2013
- Attendance at regular BEST meetings
- Attendance at a simulation workshop by American expert in ‘in situ simulation’
- Involvement in developing F1 induction programme at Great Western Hospital, including simulation and small group teaching
- Attendance at a Teach the Teachers simulation course
- Presentation of a poster at a national conference
- Development of a survey for F1 doctors’ exploring their confidence in dealing with acutely unwell patients
Sustainability Fellow 2012-2013
Presented my role and the idea of Sustainability at:
- The Gloucester Foundation Programme Committee Meeting (15th Jan 2013)
- The Gloucester Renal monthly meeting (22nd Jan 2013)
- The Gloucester Fy1 and Fy2 afternoon teaching (TBA)
- The Gloucester Sustainability Committee meeting (24th June 2013)
Published articles about Sustainability in the:
- Green Nephrology Blog (27th March 2013)
- The Gloucester Hospital Newsletter ‘Outline’ (pending)
- The BMJ group (pending)
Attended:
- A Sustainability in the NHS Conference in London (14th Feb 2013)
- A Waste Audit on my ward (8th March 2013)
Researched:
- The amount of drug waste created on my ward over a three week period (Nov 2013)
- The feasibility of reducing drug waste and packaging waste in pharmacy (Feb 2013)
- The effectiveness of a pharmacy system called ‘one-stop’ which aims to reduce waste of patients own medications (Mar 2013)
Leadership Fellow 2011-2012
- F1 representative for Severn at UKFPO's Foundation Doctor Advisory Board (discussing issues such as e-portfolio, induction and training opportunities)
- Attended Clinical Leadership Academy Leadership Training course for GP trainees and junior doctors
- Facilitated feedback from Severn F1s to Foundation School Committee and attended meetings of the committee
- Involved in F1 Improvement Project looking at encouraging better inter-disciplinary teamwork on the wards
Education Fellow 2011-2012
- Attended Educational strategy group meetings to give feedback on foundation education
- Attended NHS Education South West Joint Annual Conference in Taunton
- I am taking part in the fit2teach modules to gain first-hand experience in teaching
- I am currently doing a project looking into improving the method of getting feedback from trainees at NBT and comparing this with other methods used across the deanery
- I have helped write the report on the value of the F2 year in response to the Collin's report
- I am currently gathering information as a psych F1 in order to provide feedback to a task force which is looking at the problems of recruitment in this area and addressing training issues
Quality Improvement Fellow 2011-2012
- Survey of Severn's hospitals to ascertain nature and extent of current junior QI programmes (important first step to improve QI profile)
- Presentation of survey results to inaugral meeting of regional QI network (exciting to be part of grassroots push for improvement in safety)
- Involvement in encouraging F1 colleagues with this year's raft of junior QI projects
- Attendance at RSM conference in London on engaging juniors in patient safety (this lead to many contacts being made in the QI world)
- Presentation to F2s at BRI re Methodology of Quality Improvement
- In process of making films for educational use with patients/patient's families where mistakes, some with fatal consequences, were made in patient safety
- Organiser of NBT's local junior QI presentation day
Simulation Fellow 2011-2012
- Attendance at a debriefing course focusing on key skills required of an effective simulation debrief
- Attendance at a deanery-wide Severn simulation strategy meeting
- Regular attendance at Bringing Education through Simulation Training (BEST) meetings at the foundation school headquarters
- Design and development of a new simulation section on the foundation school website
- Involvement in pilot simulation days for F1 trainees as part of their formal teaching (coming soon)
- Design and implementation of a survey polling all of the foundation trainees in the Severn deanery regarding their simulation exposure and thoughts surrounding a standardised simulation curriculum
- Attended and presented two posters at a national simulation conference