Minutes of the Education and Training Committee of the British Society for Rheumatology,
St Bride Institute, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8EQ
On Thursday 28 January 2010, 14:00- 17:00
Committee Members Present:
Dr Charles Mackworth-Young (Chairman)
Dr Fraser Birrell
Dr Simon Bowman
Dr Cathy Lawson
Dr Vanessa Morris
Dr John Pauling
Dr Peter Prouse
Dr Lyn Williamson
Others in attendance:
Mr J Glavin - Head of Education, Events and Journal
Ms L Fasanya - Senior Education Officer
1.
WELCOME
The Chairman welcomed the Committee to the first meeting of 2010. He welcomed Dr Fraser Birrell to his first
meeting since being elected.
2.
APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from Prof John Axford, Dr Ciaran Dunne, Ms Keri Hutchinson, Dr Jo Ledingham, Dr
Sanjeev Patel, Prof Davinder Sandhu, Dr Elspeth Wise, Prof Deborah Bax and Ms Samantha Peters. It was brought
to the Committee’s attention that Dr Elspeth Wise the PCR representative on the Committee has not attended a
Committee meeting since 2009. Dr Mackworth-Young will contact Dr Wise to enquire why this is.
3.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
There were no declarations of interests.
4.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2009 were approved as a true and accurate record.
5.
MATTERS ARISING
Dr Mackworth-Young raised the following points from the October 2009 minutes.
BSR Basic Ultrasound Course Booklet
Dr Mackworth-Young updated the Committee on the status of the course booklet that was compiled by the
Rheumatology team at the Chapel Allerton Hospital, Leeds, and was given to delegates that attended the 2009
BSR Basic Ultrasound Course in Liverpool. The cost of producing the book was funded by the BSR. Mr Glavin had
been looking into options for a more formal publishing arrangement and had been in discussions with Oxford
University Press (OUP). The Committee enquired about the status of the intellectual property rights and whether the
book should be made available to others that have not attended a BSR Basic Ultrasound Course previously. The
Committee asked Mr Glavin to contact Dr Richard Wakefield to establish with him whether he would be happy for
the BSR to proceed with this.
Action Point:
Mr Glavin to contact Dr Richard Wakefield with regards to establishing intellectual property rights and to
making the book available to everyone not only to those that have attended a BSR Basic Ultrasound
Course.
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BSR Courses for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs)
At the previous meeting the Committee had asked Ms Hutchinson and Dr Birrell to enquire what courses were being
offered for AHPs at present and what courses they would like to be offered. The response presented to the
Committee was that there were a variety of courses that AHPS would like to be offered such as MSc accreditation
and Core Courses which would suit all AHPs.
Suggestions from Committee Members indicated that the Graduate Certificate Course in Rheumatology Practice
organised by arc in Brighton would be a good place to start as it had been a very popular course. The Committee
would ask Ms Hutchinson to contact the organisers to enquire if they would like to collaborate with the BSR in
administering this course again.
Action Point:
Ms Hutchinson to contact the organisers to enquire if they would like to collaborate with the BSR in
administering this course again.
Funding for Ultrasound Courses
At the previous meeting discussions took place about raising more funding for the administering of ultrasound
courses through increased pharmaceutical sponsorship support. Dr Mackworth-Young had put forward the proposal
at the last Executive Committee Meeting. The Executive Committee had felt that the ultrasound courses – like other
courses - should be self-funding, and that they should not rely upon sponsorship from the pharmaceutical industry.
The Executive Committee had agreed that there should be an increase of honorarium payments to speakers. Mr
Glavin informed the Committee that this would now be gradually incorporated into the financial budgets of the
courses from this year.
Rheumatology Training Workforce Survey
Dr Mackworth-Young informed the Committee of the results to date from the Rheumatology Training Workforce
Survey. He stated that the response rate had been good, with 67% (142 trainees) responding. Of these, 50% were
currently training in Rheumatology only, while the other 50% were training in Rheumatology and GIM. He also
informed the Committee that 21% of the trainees that had completed the survey were in full-time research posts.
50% of these were being funded by major grant-giving bodies such such as arc, MRC, NIHR and the Wellcome
Trust. The other 50% were being funded by other organisations. 15% of trainees were currently involved in other
out of programme activities, mostly related to medical education.
Dr Mackworth-Young also made the Committee aware that the results were only based on trainees that had a
National Training Number (NTN), and that at present there were no centrally stored data on the total numbers of
Rheumatology trainees within the United Kingdom.
6.
REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
Dr Mackworth-Young brought to the Committee’s attention to a letter received from Prof Bax, Prof Scott and Ms
Peters outlining the BSR’s Strategic Plan. He made the Committee aware of their role as the Education and
Training Committee. The peer review function of the Committee was agreed.
7.
REPORT FORM THE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
Mr Glavin informed the Committee of the recent activities within the organisation, in particular the progress with the
Annual Conference. He reminded the Committee that the ‘Early Bird’ registration deadline was 5 February 2010 and
that said that registration numbers were good for this point of the year. The pre-conference symposia delegate
numbers had been slow initially but were beginning to increase. Of the three courses - Education Day, Primary
Care and Science - the Education Day was proving to be the most popular.
8.
SPECIALTY CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS (SCE)
Dr Mackworth-Young was delighted to inform the Committee that the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians
had agreed that the BSR could have a share of the Intellectual Property Rights of the forthcoming SCE; a
memorandum of understanding with the Federation would be drawn up soon, and would include this point.
Dr Morris informed the Committee that 600 questions had now been produced for the question bank, and that 200
of these questions had now been selected for the first diet of the examination on 15 September 2010. Ten sample
questions had also been selected to be made available on the BSR and The Royal College of Physicians (RCP)
websites and would be uploaded in due course. All examinees would have to pay to sit the examination; however
for the first year only those that were unsuccessful in the first sitting will be able to sit the next examination free of
charge.
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It had not been confirmed how many diets of the examination would be administered in a year. It was noted that
producing questions was a long process and that until the question bank contains a substantial number of questions
only one diet of the examination could be offered, and, in any case, it would probably be too costly to have more
than one diet per year. The date for the 2011 examination had not been decided. The question was raised as to
how many times an examinee could take the examination and the response to this was that there would probably
be no limit.
9.
EDUCATION DAY AT BSR RHEUMATOLOGY 2010
Dr Mackworth-Young updated the Committee on the progress of the Education Day. At present not all speakers had
agreed their commitment.
Mr Glavin informed the Committee that they could add questions to the conference evaluation form to aid them with
their future planning for the 2011 Education Day.
10.
ON-LINE LEARNING
Discussions had been taking place between the BSR and The British Medical Journal (BMJ), The Royal Society for
Medicine (RSM) and Arthritis Research Campaign (arc). A report submitted by Prof Axford highlighted what each
organisation can offer the BSR and the financial commitment that would be involved. However some Committee
Members believed that this type of learning could not be achieved with the type of courses that BSR offer. Dr
Mackworth-Young reinforced why the Committee was exploring this route, in particular meeting the changing needs
of trainees as they find it increasingly difficult to secure study leave. The Executive had also confirmed their
commitment to on-line learning, and this tied in with BSR’s strategic plan. The Committee had agreed that clear
objectives needed to be established as to what the BSR wanted from the on-line learning programmes. The
Committee also agreed that further exploration would need to be made on the financial aspect of the project.
Investigations would need to be made about our competitors, and what they were already offering.
The consensus of the Committee was that a small working party would need to be established consisting of Dr
Mackworth-Young, Prof Axford, Mr Glavin and Ms Fasanya and a Rheumatology at Training (RAT) Representative
to drive this forward and to feedback to the Committee.
11.
EDUCATION COURSE GUIDELINES
At the previous meeting it had been established that an Education Courses Guidelines policy was needed to
distinguish between BSR approved courses and BSR Endorsed Courses. Dr Bowman produced the guidelines and
the Committee agreed with the proposed policy.
12.
UK ULTRASOUND TRAINING
The Committee reviewed the e-mail received from Dr Cristina Estrach, Chair of the Ultrasound Specialist Interest
Group. The message had highlighted that there was no follow-on training or mentoring once a delegate had
attended a BSR ultrasound course. For this and other reasons they were proposing to set up a UK School of
Sonography. The Committee felt that further investigations would need to be made as to how this would work.
Abbott had indicated they would be interested in helping to fund this, but only as sole sponsor. This would go
against the BSR’s policy for working with industry. The project also highlighted to the Committee that there was an
opportunity to administer two basic ultrasound courses a year instead of only one.
Action Points:
Dr Bowman to contact Dr Estrach to establish the workings of the proposal.
13.
2011 EDUCATION COURSES
Ms Fasanya asked the Committee for suggestions of convenors to approach to administer 2011 courses on the
BSR’s behalf. Ms Fasanya would also contact the Committee again for further suggestions for BSR specialised
courses.
The following suggestions were put forward for courses to be administered in 2011 and 2012:
 Basic Ultrasound Course 2011– London – Dr Stephen Kelly
 Advanced Course 2011 – Newcastle – Dr Fraser Birrell
 Advanced Course 2011 – Bristol or Bath – Prof John Kirwan or Dr John Spires
 Core Course 2011 – March – Nottingham – Prof Michael Doherty
 Core Course 2011 – December – Glasgow – Prof Iain McInnes
 Advanced Course 2012 – Oxford – Prof Paul Wordsworth
 Advanced Course 2012 – UCL/Hammersmith
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

Core Course 2012 – March – Basingstoke – Dr Peter Prouse
Core Course 2012 – Newcastle – Dr Fraser Birrell
Action Points:
Ms Fasanya to contact the Committee for further convenor suggestions for BSR specialised courses.
14.
ARC MEETINGS REPRESENTATIVE
The Committee agreed that Dr Dunne should continue in the role as the BSR Education and Training Committee
representative at the arc meetings. Dr Birrell was appointed as his deputy. Ms Fasanya would contact Dr Dunne to
confirm that he is happy to continue in this role.
Action Points:
Ms Fasanya to contact Dr Dunne to confirm his attendance at these meetings as the BSR Education and
Training Committee representative and to also inform arc who the BSR representative will be.
15.
EDUCATION COURSES 2010
Core Course
The Committee approved this course.
Foot and Ankle Course
The Committee approved this course.
Essential Survival Skills Course
The Committee approved this course.
Immunotherapy of Rheumatic Disease: Science and Clinical Practice Course
The Committee would like further information on this course to determine if this course can be classed as the BSR
Advanced Course or as a BSR Specialised Coursed. Ms Fasanya would contact Prof Erhrenstein to gather further
information about the course and forward this information onto the Committee to make their decision.
Action Points:
Ms Fasanya to contact Dr Michael Erhrenstein for further information about the Immunotherapy of
Rheumatic Disease: Science and Clinical Practice Course.
16.
EDUCATION COURSES DELEGATE NUMBERS FROM 2003 – 2009 AND 2009 COURSE FEEDBACK
Ms Fasanya informed the Committee of the feedback received from courses administered in 2009. All courses had
received positive feedback. Changing the collection of feedback from paper to on-line questionnaires had increased
the response rate to 100%. She was also pleased to inform the Committee that the Education Courses had made a
surplus in 2009 in comparison to a significant loss in 2008. It was also highlighted that attendee numbers had
decreased from 2008 to 2009. The Committee felt that courses that had run in the past with large numbers of
delegates (e.g. the biologics course) had skewed the figures and so there was no need for concern that delegate
numbers appeared to be declining. The Committee agreed that delegate numbers on courses should not be limited
unless there was a specific reason for doing so, e.g. due to the practical nature of the course. Dr Bowman
suggested a standard target for delegate numbers should be made clear to convenors before the courses are
agreed. The following numbers were suggested:
Basic Ultrasound Course – 50
Advanced Ultrasound Course – 30
Core Course – 50
Advanced Course – at least 50 (could be higher as the course is primarily theoretical in nature).
17.
REPORTS FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES
Lead Dean Report – Prof D Sandhu
Apologies were received from Prof Sandhu.
Trainees Report - Dr C Lawson/ Dr J Pauling
Dr Lawson and Dr Pauling did not have anything to report that had not already been covered elsewhere in the
agenda.
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JRCPTB SAC Report – Dr S Patel
Apologies were received from Dr Patel
Undergraduate Education - Dr C Dunne
Apologies were received from Dr Dunne
18.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
SCE Revision Course
The first diet of the SCE examination was scheduled for 15 September 2010. It had been suggested at the last
meeting if BSR could offer a SCE revision course to trainees. Dr Lawson and Dr Pauling had compiled a paper on
this, highlighting the following points: whether it should be called a SCE Revision Course; when the course should
be held (either late August or early September); and who else offered a similar course.
The Committee felt that there would be many difficulties for the BSR in setting up a stand alone SCE Revision
Course this year; and that it might not be appropriate to do so anyway. They felt that it would be more suitable for
the BSR Advanced Course to be modified to incorporate a focus on the SCE. This could be incorporated from
2011. It could be advertised on the BSR website, with emphasis that the course would aide attendees preparing for
the SCE.
Committee Members
The Committee gave a big thank you to Dr Mackworth–Young who had served as the Chairman of the Education
and Training Committee for the past three years. His successor Dr Bowman will chair his first meeting on 24 May
2010. The Committee was also informed that this is Dr Lawson’s last meeting as the RATs Representative; the
Committee thanked her for her valuable contribution.
20.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be on Monday 24 May 2010. The deadline for Agenda items is Friday 9 April 2010.
Minutes drafted by: Ms L Fasanya Senior Education Officer, BSR
Minutes signed by Chairman:
Date:
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EDUCATION & TRAINING COMMITTEE ACTION POINTS
Action
Responsibility
Timescale
Mr Glavin to contact Dr Richard Wakefield with
regards to establishing intellectual property
rights and to making the book available to
everyone not only to those that have attended
a BSR Basic Ultrasound Course.
Mr Glavin
By Next Education and
Training Committee
Meeting
Ms Hutchinson to contact the organisers to
enquire if they would like to collaborate with
the BSR in administering this course again.
Ms Hutchinson
By Next Education and
Training Committee
Meeting
Dr Bowman to contact Dr Estrach to establish
the workings of the proposal.
Dr Bowman
By Next Education and
Training Committee
Meeting
Ms Fasanya to contact the Committee for
further convenor suggestions for BSR
specialised Course
Ms Fasanya
By 26 February 2010
Ms Fasanya
By 26 February 2010
Ms Fasanya
By 5 February 2010
Ms Fasanya to contact Dr Dunne to confirm his
attendance at these meetings as the BSR
Education
and
Training
Committee
representative and to also inform arc who the
BSR representative will be.
Ms Fasanya to contact Dr Michael Erhrenstein
for
further
information
about
the
Immunotherapy
of
Rheumatic
Disease:
Science and Clinical Practice Course
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