College launches UK network of Associate Regional Advisers

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (the “College”) – which has Fellows and Members across the whole of the UK - is excited to open applications for its first ever UK network of Associate Regional Advisers (ARA). Successful applicants - who must be junior doctors working in the UK as well as Members of the College - will play a leading and valued role in building strong and permanent links between the College and their professional peers.

According to the GMC National Training Surveys (2019), around a quarter of UK doctors said that they felt burnt out because of work, over a third of junior doctors described the intensity of their daily workload as heavy, and over half of junior doctors did not receive their rotas with six weeks’ notice.

Recognising the effects of these factors  - such as impact on quality of care, added stress, low morale and doctors leaving the profession - the College wants to promote the health and wellbeing of doctors at all stages of their careers in the UK, and create a sense of belonging to a supportive, caring and inclusive professional community. ARAs will assist the College in this area.

In addition, the ARA network will help the College build on its ambition to be the voice of doctors in shaping and influencing UK healthcare policy (including highlighting professional concerns), to promote and improve the quality of health and patient care in the UK, and to give its junior doctor Members a stronger voice at a local level.

ARAs will work closely with the College’s 17 UK Regional Advisers, who are Fellows of the College and have specific geographical responsibilities across the UK. The ARA network will complement the work of the College’s Trainees and Members’ Committee, one of the most active groups in the UK.

The ARA role will include a range of activities:

• Engaging with local doctors and associated healthcare practitioners to identify their professional needs, and to promote the benefits and value of College membership in meeting those needs
• Assisting the College’s Regional Advisers in arranging local events to complement the College’s education and training programme
• Networking with local doctors to provide feedback to the College about significant professional issues
• Raising awareness of exams support available from the College

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to be involved in one of the UK’s largest medical organisations, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, working with Regional Advisors, who are senior College Fellows. Applications for the positions of ARA are open until Friday 13th March.

Professor Derek Bell, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said:

This College values its junior doctor Members and recognises the challenges they face, which is why we are establishing the UK Associate Regional Advisor network. We want to empower junior doctors, and through the ARA roles, we hope to do so by giving them the opportunity to become more involved in life at the College. ARAs will play a key role in helping the College to promote the health and wellbeing of our doctors in the UK. It’s important that our doctors can be part of a supportive, caring and inclusive medical community.

Dr Addy McLeod, Chair of the Trainee and Members Committee said:

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh is a vibrant and dynamic international community and I am excited that the Associate Regional Adviser role gives UK junior doctors a fantastic opportunity to get more involved in College life. This role empowers junior doctors to build strong and everlasting links between the College and their peers and begin to really affect positive professional change.