And another thing....

It seems I am behind the times already, having missed the DoH press release yesterday and only come across it now after having spoken to one of the Consultants. Actually, I'm not behind the times, I'm just really sodding busy.

Anyway, I have read it, and welcome it. I have a few issues with it however:

'Recruitment into specialist training is, and has always been a very competitive process.' - No shit, Sherlock. But at least with the old system one had as many opportunities as one wished to apply to a variety of jobs, advertisements for which came out at different times. You can't say, 'Oh it's always been competitive', and then hope to address that by making everyone apply for everything at the same time.

They will be discussing, amongst other things, 'eligibility criteria including IMGs and HSMP'. Anyone care to tell me what these are?

'We have stressed to those interviewing in round one that they should not appoint unless they are absolutely satisfied with the calibre of candidates.' Surely if 'those interviewing' had been involved in the shortlisting process they would be more likely to be satisfied with the 'calibre of candidates'?

'With around 18,000 new competency-based specialty training programmes available this year in England alone, MMC is working towards having more qualified doctors working within clinical teams, providing the majority of front-line, safer patient care.' Hmmm. Bit ambiguous, that. 'More qualified doctors' meaning more doctors in general? Why cut posts then and fail to fill vacancies? Or do they mean 'doctors who are more qualified'? How do they plan to achieve that by shortening (oh, sorry, 'streamlining') our training and producing generalists at the end rather than specialists (as evidenced by the dropping of the 'Specialist' from the 'Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training', which new Consultants gain at the end of training). Also, with the European Working Time Directive restricting hours from 56 to 48 in 2008, new Consultants will have clocked up far fewer hours of training when they gain this certificate than their predecessors.

So yes, I welcome the DoH review of MTAS. But I have a nasty feeling we will end up with a very similar steaming pile of horseshit to the one we have been buried in already.

Must go, my patient with a potassium of 7.8 has arrived. That is a very dangerous level of potassium to be carrying around, Mrs Hewitt. My patient will certainly die from it if I don't treat her correctly. I hope for your sake you never end up in my hospital with acute renal failure.