Regional Anaesthesia Fellow

Applications are invited for the post of Clinical Fellow in regional anaesthesia at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore for the period of 12 months (commencement date to be discussed with successful applicant).  It is intended for anaesthetists with a strong interest in, but not necessarily experience in, regional anaesthesia.

The RNOH is a postgraduate teaching hospital located on the edge of north London. It has 220 in-patient beds on the hospital site at Stanmore. We provide a comprehensive range of neuro-musculoskeletal health care. This broad range of neuro-musculoskeletal services is unique within the NHS.  Our range of services includes Joint Reconstruction, Spinal Reconstructive Surgery, Bone Tumour and Soft Tissue Sarcomas (supra regional service), Peripheral Nerve Injury, Paediatric Orthopaedics, Congenital Deformity, and Complex and Revision Joint Work. There is also a dedicated Spinal Injury Service taking referrals from London and the South of England.

Daytime work will be almost entirely on regional anaesthetic lists but on rare occasions, will be asked to cover other lists when no block lists are scheduled. Post holder will also participate in 1:8 on call rota for Intensive Care with internal cover.

The Fellow will be required to upskill with regional blocks, and should therefore be willing to learn and be proactive in acquiring the exposure and skills for independent regional anaesthesia. Good team working, interpersonal skills and commitment to learning and continuing education are necessary.

Leadership and innovative skills are desirable and the fellow will be encouraged to take the lead on service improvement or educational projects. At the RNOH, there are wide opportunities for clinical research projects, audits and case report presentations pertinent to orthopaedic and regional anaesthesia. The fellow will be offered an Educational Supervisor in line with RCoA guidelines, with whom he/she will agree with individual training plan for clinical and non-clinical work. Strong organisational and communication skills are therefore required.

During the course of these duties, the post holder will have access to confidential material about patients, staff and other health service business. On no account must information relating to identifiable patients or staff members be divulged to anyone other than authorised persons, i.e. nurses, medical or other professional staff or as directed by an appropriate manager. Confidentiality, care for patient’s privacy and a professional attitude is a prerequisite.

The annual leave is 32 working days per annum, permission for study leave must be obtained from the Clinical Lead of Anaesthetists.

There is a weekly anaesthetic departmental educational meeting. The anaesthetic department has 33 consultants and is supported by specialist registrars Years 2 to 5. All trainees are appointed to approved rotational training posts within the Royal Free/UCLH School of Anaesthesia and the Imperial College School of Anaesthesia. The fellow will be expected to present at this meeting quarterly.

Teaching and education of our fellows and department are top of our priorities. The fellow will be expected to run the sonoclub (US guided regional teaching sessions). Initially this will be facilitated by consultants, until the fellow feels comfortable to deliver independently. This will be run once a month. The fellow will also be expected to support consultants in block delivery for list turnover, and registrars who are not fully independent and confident in block delivery. The US guided regional anaesthesia course takes place in July yearly and the fellow will be expected to facilitate its delivery.

Research departments at Stanmore include the Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculo-Skeletal Science, the Centre for Disability Research and Innovation (CDRI), the Institute of Human Performance and the Centre for Biomedical Engineering. The fellow will be expected to support any research being carried out within the department.

RNOH Stanmore has 10 operating theatres, a 12-bedded ITU/HDU and a 4 bedded paediatric PACU. This configuration meets the needs of patients of all ages. We run an Outreach Service for the identification and management of at-risk patients within the Trust. The Fellow will be expected to support the surgical wards, the paediatric wards, outreach staff, as well as the HDU/ITU post-surgical care unit.