History
In 2014, South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust, working on behalf of the then Confederation of South London Lead Providers (COSL) established a network of postgraduate doctors in training (PGDT) representatives and forum members.
This included representation from Specialty Schools, from Lead Provider forums, representatives from specialty faculty/specialty training committees and from the South Thames Foundation School. This work was supported by Catherine Louise Murphy, Fellow in Medical Education to the Postgraduate Dean, Andrew Frankel.
The aim of the Trainee Network is to contribute to COSL in the following ways:
To develop a clear communication pathway between PGDT in South London and COSL.
To enable discussions of mutual concerns around the quality of postgraduate medical education, training and training placements across all of South London.
To allow PGDT to have direct discussions with Lead Providers and the COSL Board about their experiences of education and training, to share good practice and allow COSL access to the ‘trainee view’.
To provide development opportunities within the network to enhance members’ involvement in the work of COSL (such as Leadership skills training for members of the Trainee Network)
We conducted a scoping exercise in autumn 2014 to collate information on what current junior doctors committees, forums, and representation exist. We contacted all LP/LEPs in South London, Head of Schools and South Thames Foundation Schools requesting detailed information about their trainee representation and level of involvement of these representatives in the management/governance structure of the LP/LEPs or School. Using this information we sent out an invite asking each Training Programme Director for each Lead Provider Specialty to nominate a trainee to represent his or her colleagues at an inaugural meeting of the Trainee network. We contacted over 60 Training Programme Directors, the South Thames Foundation School and HESL GP VTS representatives.
The inaugural meeting of the trainee network took place on the 21st January 2015. Over 30 trainees from 18 different medical specialties attended. The focus of the meeting was to decide on the best model of representation within the Trainee Network, to discuss the aims and objectives of the Trainee Network and to discuss how it would engage and communicate with trainees. It was decided that the best model of representation within the network would be having an Executive Committee of the Trainee Network. This Executive Committee would meet regularly and direct the work of the network. The Executive Committee within the Network would als organise meetings with the whole network of South London Postgraduate Doctors in Training (PGDT). This was then extended to include both North London and South London to become the London Trainee Network as it stands today.