Job responsibilities
The post is open to all applicants who meet the essential criteria as detailed in the person specification below. It is open to all doctors who hold Full/limited registration with the GMC and who will have successfully completed Stage 1 Anaesthesia training or have an RCOA Equivalence certificate by February 2025.
Critical Care at NUH admits over 150 level 3 (intubated and ventilated) critically ill major trauma patients a year. We work closely with the major trauma, surgical and interventional radiology teams to deliver a high-quality care to a patient cohort with severe injuries. We have a well-integrated major trauma service delivered by two tiers of major trauma consultant: Trauma Team Leaders from a range of clinical backgrounds (EM / ICU / Anaesthesia / Surgery) as well as dedicated Trauma Surgeons. We are one of the busiest major trauma centres in England based on numbers of: trauma calls, trauma laparotomies and trauma thoracotomies per year.
This post is whole time and is covered by the Medical and Dental Staff Terms and Conditions of Service. Doctors applying for this post from overseas should note that prior NHS experience is a prerequisite and we would recommend applying for one of our Trust Grade posts in the first instance.
The post is EWTD compliant.
The Salary for this post will be on the MT04 or MT05 scale depending on experience plus an out of hours supplement.
This post is not recognised for training by the Postgraduate Dean, the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine or by the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
All successful applicants will be given clinical supervision by a Consultant in Critical Care and Anaesthesia. They will support the individual to develop their clinical and non-clinical skills and offer advice on how to achieve any specific individual goals the fellow may wish to achieve. We recommend that the appointee maintain a logbook of experience, complete appropriate assessments and participates in the wide range of non-clinical opportunities detailed below.
Person Specification: Specialist Fellow in Anaesthesia and Adult Critical Care Medicine
Essential for the post:
A) MB ChB or equivalent & GMC registration with licence to practise
B) Successful completion of Stage 1 Anaesthesia Training or RCOA Stage 1 Equivalence Certificate by February 2025.
C) 6 months of Critical Care and 24 months of Anaesthesia experience in the UK.
D) Ability to stabilise the deteriorating patient (including intubation and the initiation of organ support)
E) Evidence of continuous career development
F) Evidence of good written communication, successful team worker, sensitivity to needs of patients and colleagues
G) Punctuality, professional appearance and attitudes consistent with GMC guidelines. Values and behaviours aligned with NUHs
Desirable for the post:
H) Primary FRCA or equivalent higher qualification
I) ALS or equivalent accredited life support course
J) ATLS or other trauma course
K) Completion of Stage 1 ICM training
L) Experience of senior on-call roles in the acute specialities in the UK (ideally sometime in ICM)
M) Completion of an Audit Cycle or Quality Improvement Project with evidence of having presented/published such work.
N) Publications (Research, QIP, Academic etc)
O) Evidence of academic achievement including additional qualifications, prizes, Excellent ARCP Outcomes.
P) Competence in Bronchoscopy, Lung Ultrasound and Focused ECHO
Q) Attendance at meetings/ courses/ membership of professional bodies
R) Evidence of Human Factors Training
S) Demonstrates non-medical interests/ activities
The Speciality
Critical care is part of the Clinical Support division.
There are 3 distinct adult critical care areas managed by clinical support across both QMC and City campuses. We will predominately keep you on the QMC campus were most of the trauma activity takes place. Our adult burns service is delivered as Nottingham City Hospital so there will be an opportunity to spend time there.
Queens Medical Centre Campus (QMC)
On the Queens campus Critical Care is divided into a 29-bedded Intensive Care (level 3 beds), and a 20-bedded level 2 High Dependency Unit. At QMC critical care receives referrals from major trauma and the following surgical specialties: neurosurgery, spinal, emergency orthopaedics, hepatobiliary, vascular, lower GI, maxillofacial and ENT. It also receives referrals from acute medicine (including acute gastroenterology). Of note, NUH became the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre in April 2012 and is the busiest Major Trauma Centre in the UK.
Nottingham City Hospital Campus
The critical care unit at the City campus has 17 beds that are used flexibly to accommodate up to 9 level 3 patients, the remaining beds are for level 2 admissions. The major subspecialty interests at City are thoracic surgery, upper GI surgery, elective orthopaedics, urology, burns and plastics, renal medicine, infectious diseases, oncology, haematology and respiratory medicine. The City campus also houses the separate Trent Cardiac Unit with its own dedicated intensive care unit.
There is a well-established critical care outreach team on both campuses. Across NUH CCOT provide support to all medical and surgical areas, seven days a week 24 hours a day.
Medical Staffing
There are up to 75 Junior Staff in Critical Care
There are 35 Critical Care Consultants at NUH with an extensive range of subspecialty clinical and nonclinical interests and roles.
Non Clinical Opportunities
Fellows have the opportunity and paid time to pursue their interest in a variety of clinical and non-clinical areas. This can include simulation, education, governance, quality improvement and research. There are a wide variety of opportunities from developing in situ simulation, writing educational review articles and quality improvement
Educational opportunities
The departments offer extensive learning resources. There are several regular educational meetings each week including journal clubs, ITU rounds and morbidity meetings. There is a monthly protected teaching day for our Fellows which cover the clinical aspects of critical care in addition to optional teaching days which cover generic non-clinical topics (e.g. ethics, medical law, professionalism, interview skills). There are hospital and departmental libraries at both sites including IT facilities.
FICE & FUSIC
There is plenty of opportunity for trainees to gain their FUSIC accreditation. The department is supported by several FICE & FUSIC mentors as well as consultants with experience of TOE.
Research opportunities
Available by special arrangement. Critical Care has links with the Academic Departments of Anaesthesia and Surgery and participation in on-going research and audit programmes will be encouraged.
Time for Continuing Professional Development CPD
CPD time in this post will be used for Anaesthesia lists.
Applications for training posts
The department has an excellent reputation for successful recruitment into higher speciality training posts. Trainees are encouraged to develop their portfolio and identify and utilise opportunities to increase their success in subsequent recruitment. We are also fortunate to have several consultants who interview for example for National Anaesthesia Recruitment and therefore are in a position to support applicants during interview preparation. We are also able support more senior candidates wishing to build a CV / experience base for applying to work as a consultant in a Major Trauma Centre.
Internal cover and Locums
The current banding allocation of this post includes an allowance for internal cover to cover the normal leave allowance of colleagues. In exceptional circumstances and for short periods only, Clinical Fellows may be requested to provide additional cover, for example, to cover sickness. Locums may also be employed in this instance.