May 2023 

Dear Colleague,

Our thoughts are with those of you in the midst of the conflict in Sudan risking your safety to provide healthcare for your patients. We hope for a speedy resolution to end the violence.

Likewise the recent devastation from Cyclone Mocha is of great concern and we send our thoughts and best wishes to our colleagues in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

International Meetings - Asia Visits

It was a great honour to meet the venerable, energetic and interesting Professor Chew Chin Hin during a recent trip to examine for PACES in Singapore. He played a central role in developing medical education and services in Singapore over almost 70 years. It was fascinating to meet him and hear about his history including his training in Edinburgh!

The President had a hugely successful trip to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong recently with almost 200 new Fellows signing the College vellum. In addition to roll-signing ceremonies he gave a number of lectures and met with the Hong Kong Health Authority and colleagues from the Ministry of Health in Malaysia.

Regional Advisers

We were greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Ali Younis, our Regional Adviser in Sudan who was a wonderful representative for the College for several years, and we send condolences on behalf of the Fellowship to his family and friends.

In April we had the pleasure of the first of our 2023 online meetings with our international advisers to update them on College activity and discuss issues in their regions. It was good to catch up with colleagues for an informative and productive discussion.

Welcome to our new Regional Advisers for the Caribbean, Egypt, Kenya, Oman, Pakistan (Karachi, Sind & Baluchistan) and West Africa - we look forward to working with you in the coming years:

• Professor Issa Al Salmi, Associate Professor of Medicine, Sharjah University, UAE
• Professor Samir Naim Youssef Assaad, Professor of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt
• Dr Chad Ramese Bisambar, Consultant in Endocrinology, Diabetes and General Medicine, and Medical Director, The Endocrinology Centre, Trinidad and Tobago
• Dr Victor Lasebikan, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and Consultant Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
• Dr George Omondi Oyoo, Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine and Therapeutics, School of Medicine, University of Nairobi and Head of Rheumatology Unit, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
• Professor Muhammad Tariq, Vice Dean, Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

On behalf of the College we also extend sincere gratitude for all their work to our former Advisers, now Emeritus advisers: Dr Joseph Aluoch, Dr Nasser Hamed Salim Al Busaidi, Professor Hesham Nourel-din Tarraf, Professor Adesola Ogunniyi and Dr Kanterpersad Ramcharan.

MRCP(UK)

The new format examination, now known as PACES23, will be introduced from the third diet of 2023 (except in Singapore, scheduled for early 2024). The examination will test the same clinical skills as before, and there will still be five stations but some of the encounters are changing. More information is available on the MRCP(UK) website .

In response to high demand for PACES places Federation is exploring options for new examination centres in Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Nepal.

We congratulate our Iraqi colleagues on successful mock PACES exams which ran in Sulaimanyyah, at Faruk Medical City and in Karbala, at Al-Kafeel hospital during March. There was a high level of concordance and positive feedback from all concerned. We hope this will lead to pathfinder exercises in the near future, working towards meeting the huge demand from trainees and supporting higher specialist training in the region.

In April we held our first RCPE Annual Examiner event which many examiners were able to join online. This included a briefing in preparation for the PACES23 launch and feedback showed the event was well received.

International Medical Updates (IMUs)

 Our successful programme of IMUs continued with events in March and April from Bangladesh, India, and South Africa enabling Fellows and Members to contribute and share their expertise with doctors around the world. The talks can be viewed on the Education Portal where you can also catch up with updates in clinical practice from previous IMUs from Malta, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iceland and the USA.

Free Places

Please join our next IMU from Nepal on 5 July addressing typhoid vaccination, latent TB and the Recovery trial for COVID-19. Places can be booked here. Our IMUs are free to all physicians and healthcare workers in the host country, members or Fellows of RCPE and all trainees, and £10 for others. 

Education Programme

 Bookings are open for our Infectious Diseases symposium in September 2023, and our Diabetes & Endocrinology Symposium in November 2023. We’re looking forward to hearing from global experts on future directions in infection and a global ward round at Infectious Diseases, and Diabetes & Endocrinology promises to cover a range of developments in the field including Covid endocrinopathies and how technology can help with challenges in diabetes care. Both events are hybrid with live and on-demand access allowing you to attend from any location at any time within 28 days of the event.

Medical Training Initiative

We held a successful induction event in March for some of our new MTI trainees. It was a great chance for them to network, receive training on the ePortfolio, learn from GMC guidance, find out about our Education Portal and meet RCPE colleagues, as well as enjoying tour of some of the College’s fascinating heritage. We wish them all the best for their training placements.

If you know any promising junior colleagues who would benefit from MTI training in the UK please encourage them to send their CV to mti@rcpe.ac.uk.

McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine (MIRCIM)

RCPE were delighted to support the recent 8^th MIRCIM in Poland attended by our Dean of Education, Dr Baker and three trainee members of the College. MIRCIM is a joint educational initiative by McMaster University’s Department of Medicine and the Polish Institute for Evidence Based Medicine with experts addressing topics in internal medicine and healthcare policy. It brought together over 1000 participants from around the world including countries as diverse as Canada, Ukraine, Argentina, Pakistan, Ireland and the Czech Republic.

We were delighted to be able to send three RCPE members to MRICIM thanks to bursaries from the College’s Myre Sim fund. Congratulations to Dr Alice Lin and Dr Rachel Smith who were selected to give oral presentations at the Best Case Review Contest on an interesting case of GCA, and successful treatment for severe calciphylaxis in a renal transplant or with previous total parathyroidectomy. Congratulations also to Dr Melvin Lee Yoong Zher for winning a best poster award with his excellent poster on non-islet-cell tumour hypoglycemia.

New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

This month continued our collaboration with St Peter’s Hospital, New Brunswick, New Jersey, by sending a faculty of six experienced RCPE examiners (myself, Dr Nicola Zammitt, Dr Wendy Metcalfe, Dr Rod Harvey, Dr Elizabeth MacDonald and Professor Sunil Bhandari) to run a clinical examination for the hospital residents. We were greatly impressed by the enthusiasm and thirst for learning good bedside medicine techniques displayed by the team at St Peter’s, and we are indebted to Dr Nayan Kothari, Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Chief Academic Officer. Dr Kothari is a strong proponent of ensuring excellence in bedside medicine through deliberate practice and teaching.

European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM)

The President and Dr Kerri Baker, Dean of Education, travelled to the European Congress of Internal Medicine in Athens in March, as part of our commitment to formally affiliate with EFIM as a member society from this year. Professor Elder was invited to give the plenary lecture on Empathy.  They were accompanied by RCPE faculty Dr Anda Bularga, Vice Chair of the Trainees and Members’ Committee, and Dr Ishwinder Thethy, RCPE Fellow, who partnered with EFIM’s Young Internists to deliver a workshop on Breaking Bad News. The 4-day conference brought together general physicians, researchers and leaders from across Europe and beyond in a lively and collaborative programme.

As a member society of EFIM, RCPE Fellows and Members benefit from a range of activities including their popular summer and winter schools, access to their journal, and online learning at EFIM Academy. More information is available here.

Malta

Professor Elder was delighted to visit Malta in April for a roll-signing ceremony with fourteen new Fellows.  He was also a guest at the opening of the island’s first Frailty Hub at St Vincent de Paul Long Term Facility. More details of the opening were covered in a piece by Dr Jo Etienne Abela, Minister for Active Ageing, in the Times of Malta.

Internal Medicine Conference Jordan – June 2023

We are grateful to the following faculty of RCPE Fellows who are representing the College with me and giving lectures at this upcoming conference: Dr Sue Pound, Dr Caroline Scally, Dr Helen Liddicoat, Dr Duncan Henderson and Dr Mudher Al-Khairalla.

Education Portal

Free access to the Education Portal is a key membership benefit. Talks from our flagship St Andrew’s Day Symposium last November  and recent International Medical Updates (IMUs), including Iraq (January) and South Africa (March), are available to view on the Education Portal.

On our dedicated podcast website you can find our Trainees and Members’ Committee-led (Clinical Conversations and Career Conversations) and history of medicine Heritage-led podcasts. If you would like to explore the hundreds of hours of talks and podcast episodes available to all members, please use the searchable table.

Did you know that JRCPE  articles are curated by specialty on the Education Portal? Explore our tags and see the panel on the right-hand side for specialty tag pages on curated journal articles.

Climate Change Archive

The College recognises that the global impact of climate change on health is dramatic and will only increase. We have therefore embarked upon a project to capture, share and preserve the experiences of healthcare workers of the impact of climate change and health. You can watch full length interviews as well as short excerpts covering topics such as the obstacles to change, what changes we can make as individuals and what the future might look like.

We encourage individuals from all areas of healthcare to contribute their experiences and thoughts on climate change. Further information on how to take part can be found at Contribute your story. If you have any questions, please contact Daisy Cunynghame.

The RCPE Quality Governance Collaborative (QGC) Cohort 5 – Applications Open

The RCPE Quality Governance Fellowship programme focuses on multiprofessional groups, including clinicians and managers with an interest in governance, particularly aspiring senior leaders within their organisation. The Fellowship is staged as 10 days of modules over of 12-month period, accompanied by a project.

The QGC is inviting applications for its 2023/­24 Cohort 5 programme commencing in September 2023. The Fellowship programme provides a comprehensive understanding of the issues of governance and is aimed at a multiprofessional audience. Further details about the Fellowship programme and the application form are available here. Applications must be submitted by 23 June 2023.

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) Symposium on alcohol and the justice system

SHAAP, which is hosted by the RCPE, held a symposium to generate ideas to improve outcomes for people with alcohol problems when they encounter the justice system, build connections and help define next steps for SHAAP and other partners. It brought together those working in health and justice and policy and speakers, including representatives of the UK Prison Care Network, police, courts and people with personal experience of the justice system. SHAAP will develop some of the ideas that emerged and take these forward over the coming year.

RCPE Membership Benefits

We would like to remind you of the range of benefits you are entitled to as a member of the College, especially free access to the Education Portal and reduced fees for our specialist training and education events. For further details see here. 

Free Student and Foundation Membership

Medical students, doctors within their first two years of work, and physician assistants can join the RCPE for free as a Student or Foundation Member. If you work with or teach students or junior doctors, please let them know about this benefit.

Feedback

A reminder that wherever you are, the College is here for you, and we are always keen to hear from you. We place great importance on your input and want to know how we can help you. Please tell us what support you feel the College should be providing, such as educational or website resources.

You can contact your local Regional Adviser or email me at any time to convey information or feedback, I am always happy to hear from Fellows and Members.

With best wishes,