NIAA eNewsletter: February 2014
Academic Trainees
NIAA Academic Training Report 2013-14
Dr Ramani Moonesinghe, NIAA Academic Trainee Coordinator, has compiled a brochure of trainee research activity across the UK which is now available on the NIAA website. The report showcases the work of trainees who have undertaken a recent period of research, both those who are enrolled in higher degrees and also those who have taken on one-year OOPR or OOPR posts dedicated to academic activity. Click here to read the report.
Dr Moonesinghe has also written an article about the NIAA's strategy for trainee engagement which appears in the January issue of the RCoA Bulletin.
National Trainee Survey on Research during UK Anaesthesia Training
Thank you to everyone who encouraged their trainees to complete a survey on trainee attitudes towards research. The results of this survey will be published in the May issue of the Bulletin.
'How to Guide' to Setting up a Trainee-led Research Network
Are you part of a new, trainee-led research network or in the process of establishing one and looking for advice on how to go about it? Click here to read about how members of SWARM (the South West Anaesthesia Research Network) and the West Midlands Trainee Research in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Network (WM TRAIN) went about setting up their schemes.
Vacancy - Trainee Representative on NIAA Board
Applications are invited for the role of co-opted Trainee Representative on the NIAA Board. Trainees who hold a National Training Number in Anaesthesia, and are either Academic Clinical Fellows, Academic Lecturers or are undertaking/have completed an MD(Res) or PhD, are eligible to apply. The closing date for applications is Friday 28 March 2014 and more information about how to apply can be found here.
NIAA Grants
Round 1 2014 now open
There are nine awards available in Round 1 2014 for grants ranging from up to £75,000 from the AAGBI/Anaesthesia and up to £65,000 from BJA/RCoA, to smaller grants of £5,000 from RA UK. The OAA is offering a medium grant of £15,000 and also a large grant of £60,000. For full details of all the grants on offer please click here.
Results of Round 2 2013
Eight awards to a value of £83,690 were made in the second NIAA funding round of 2013. Awards were funded by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain & Ireland/Anaesthesia, the Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthetists, the Anaesthetic Research Society, the Difficult Airway Society and the Society for Education in Anaesthesia (UK) and you can read about the successful projects here.
The John Snow Intercalated BSc Awards 2014
The NIAA is pleased to advertise the John Snow intercalated BSc Awards for undergraduates for a second year. The awards have been designed to capture medical student interest in anaesthetics and its related disciplines and are being funded by the AAGBI/Anaesthesia, BJA/RCoA and OAA. The deadline for applications is Monday 31 March, and you can find out more by clicking here.
HSRC
QuARCs
The HSRC continues to establish a network of local Quality Audit and Research Coordinators (QuARCs) within every Trust to be a single point of contact for national audits, quality improvement projects, multicentre research and other academic issues. The HSRC issued a newsletter to all registered QuARCs by email in November, detailing current and upcoming HSRC activity, the preliminary results of a survey into the use of perioperative indicators in NHS services, and an agenda for the first Research and Audit for Quality Improvement Day. If you are a QuARC and have not received this communication, please contact the HSRC Administrator via the HSRC website.
We now have QuARC representation in about two thirds of all Trusts. If you would like to be a QuARC for your hospital, please talk to your Clinical Director and contact us!
A QuARC database has now been set up on the HSRC website to allow you to contact your fellow QuARCs in other hospitals. Please click here to view the database.
Sprint National Anaesthesia Projects (SNAPs)
SNAP-1 is an exciting new initiative which will involve a two-day evaluation of patient reported outcomes after anaesthesia; specifically, patient satisfaction and patient reported awareness.
QuARCs and trainees will be essential to the delivery of the SNAP which will be held in hospitals across the UK on Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th May 2014.
Our aspiration is that EVERY NHS HOSPITAL WITH AN ANAESTHETIC DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE.
Information for local co-ordinators, and potential consultant and trainee investigators can be found on the HSRC website.
Anaesthesia & Perioperative Care Priority Setting Partnership
The Anaesthesia & Perioperative Care Priority Setting Partnership is now underway and the first Steering Group meeting was held in January to discuss the scope of the exercise and set a timetable for future action. The Steering Group will meet regularly in order to agree process, roles and offer guidance to all partners. The expectation is that the main survey will take place during June and July. Areas of interest will be checked against the literature to clarify research coverage and it is anticipated that the final selection of 'top 10 priorities' will take place in January 2015. After that, the findings and priorities will be taken forward to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre) for funding consideration.
Open Data - The New England Journal of Medicine
Please click here to read an important article on data sharing recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The Institute of Medicine is collating comments on this report until March 24 2014 and you can provide feedback by clicking here.
National Audit Projects
Airway Leads Database
One of the key recommendations of NAP4 on Major Complications of Airway Management in the UK was that each hospital should have a nominated Airway Lead. Please contact us via our website if you are the Airway Lead at your hospital and have not informed us. There is also now a database of Airway Leads on the HSRC website to allow Airway Leads to contact each other.
NAP6 Recruitment for Clinical Lead
We are currently recruiting for a Clinical Lead for the 6th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists on Perioperative Anaphylaxis. If you would like to apply
please click here for further details. The closing date is Monday 17 February 2014 and the interviews will be held on Wednesday 12 March 2014.
National Emergency Laparotomy Audit
The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) is part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP), overseen by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP).
Year 1 Organisational Audit: Organisational audit data collection was carried out using an online web tool between July-October 2013. 190 out of 191 registered hospital sites in England and Wales completed the audit. Data analysis and report writing is currently taking place with the first report due to be published in May 2014.
Year 2 Patient Audit: The project team carried out a 'soft' launch to the first year of patient data collection, with an online demo period taking place during December 2013. During this time participants were provided the opportunity to experience the online data collection tool and user logins were created. Live data entry began on 7th January 2014. Early figures (as at 22/1/14) demonstrate a good start to data entry; 644 cases started, 910 users logged in, 118 out of 191 hospitals have entered at least one case.
At the end of the first year of the patient audit, data will be exported and analysed in preparation for a report due in July 2015.
Further information can be found on the NELA website.
Events
