Irish Committee for Emergency Medicine Training – 27th March 2020

Emergency Medicine Training Office
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
123 St. Stephens Green,
Dublin 2,
Ireland
Tel: +353 1 402 2240
Fax: +353 1 402 2459
Email: omockler@rcsi.ie

27th March 2020

Dear Em Trainers & Trainees,

I hope you are keeping safe and well. I know the huge work that is going on in all our training sites in preparation for the anticipated surge. This is a challenging time for us all. I am writing to give you an update on issues of relevance to EM training during this public health emergency.

EM OFFICE, RCSI

Although the RCSI campus is now closed, all staff are working remotely and most have access to all in-house systems and platforms to ensure business as usual. Please ensure to contact Orla and her team if you have any training concerns – they are still on email daily and have provided mobile numbers if urgent.

EM Curriculum

You will by now have been advised that all EM related activities, i.e. CSTEM/ASTEM workshops, HFPS modules etc. are cancelled until at least the end of May. We will work on rescheduling these classes where possible once the campus has reopened. It may not be feasible to reschedule all missed activity due to an ongoing busy calendar within the College but there will be exceptions in place for any missed activity and you will not be disadvantaged.

Training

I am aware that EM trainees may be assigned duties and responsibilities which were not anticipated and that may not be directly related to your training requirements. Some of you may be redeployed from non-EM posts back to EM, where you may be needed most. Please rest assured that I, the Vice Deans and ICEMT will work from the default position that no trainee will be disadvantaged by changes to working arrangements during the coming months. We will do everything we can to avoid undue impact on your training assessments and explore other ways to help you achieve the learning outcomes we have traditionally delivered through your hospital based experience and at RCSI.

RCEM Examinations

You probably know that RCEM has cancelled all examinations until at least the end of June. From my involvement in the RCEM Examinations subcommittee, I know that RCEM is acutely concerned about the impact of these cancellations on the training journey, particularly for those whose CCT may be impacted. My current impression is that none of our trainees fall into that category, but if you have a concern, please let Orla know and we will address it. For now, it looks like RCEM will be trying to get exams up and running again in August/September, with a possible Final FRCEM Clinical/Critical appraisal SAQ in July for those whose CCT depends on those exams. I will keep you posted on any updates – keep an eye on the RCEM website too.

This is going to be a difficult time for the health service and for our trainers and trainees. All of us will be working differently and some of us will become ill. As a specialty we are well placed to face this fight – we are well trained, resilient, resourceful, flexible and well used to working in adverse conditions. In many ways, the very issues that have blighted our professional lives for the last decade or so will have tempered us for these difficult times.

Your safety and well being and that of your families, colleagues and patients are paramount. Best wishes and I will keep you updated on training issues as things become clearer.

Yours faithfully
Dr. Gareth Quin
Dean of Postgraduate Emergency Medicine Education & Training