As youy know, Jonathan has produced a very useful guide to MMC and
paediatric surgery. I have been trying to clarify a couple of points
on entry to paediatric surgery for the new MMC trainees.

The latest info from the great and good is that:
1. At the moment, entry will be into ST1/2/3 to accomodate the
current SHOs trained under the old system and those coming up from
F1/2. This will be for 1 year.
2. After that, FINAL selection into paed surgery will be at ST3,
probably on a national basis (but Scotland may be different and the
details are not finalised). To get into paed surgery at this point
you will have to demonstrate a series of competencies which will
include communicating with children, assessing a sick child and basic
competency in some simple paed surgery operations such as
circumcision, herniotomy (NOT performing solo; performed under
supervision i.e. have done a couple, most likely).
3. Therefore, your BEST chance of being selected into paed surgery
at ST3 will be to get onto a "themed" paed surgery post that includes
paed surgery on your rotation.
4. HOWEVER, it is technically possible to fulfil those competencies
elsewhere (DGH job with a large paed practice for instance) so having
done paed surgery for 4/6/12 months will not be an absolute
requirement. If you did go an alternative route you would have to be
very focused, get signed up on a lot of paediatric competencies etc.

When I get a detailed list of the competencies, I will post them.

I appreciate that existing SpRs will probably not care about the
whole MMC thing, but you may need to advise your house officers on
what to do, should they be inspired by your skill, wisdom and amazing
surgical ability and foolishly decide that a life of assessing NSAP
and inserting central lines for ungrateful medics is for them.

BW

Richard




--- In paediatricsurgerytrainees@yahoogroups.com, "sutcliffejonathan"
<jonathan.sutcliffe@...> wrote:
>
> MMC is due to start within the next year and will produce
significant changes to training. The
> details of MMC have changed over recent months. Later today we will
post a document
> summarising the current plans for MMC from a Paediatric Surgical
perspective. I hope this will
> be of some interest,
>
> Jonathan Sutcliffe
>