A nationwide postgraduate medical training review, overseen by NHS England’s National Medical Director Professor Sir Stephen Powis and the Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty, has just been announced. The review’s stated aims include ensuring all resident doctors receive high-quality training, which provides them with the skills they need for practice in the modern NHS, and, crucially, improving doctors’ learning and working experience, for the benefit of the workforce, the NHS and patients.
It is very timely therefore that this issue of the Bulletin is dedicated to the theme of training and education in pathology. I am particularly delighted to welcome on board our new Trainee Section Editor, Dr Ryan Clark, ST2 in histopathology and Honorary Clinical Fellow based in Glasgow. Having Ryan as part of the Bulletin team will help us to reflect the trainee experience, and to include more content created with trainees – both medical and scientist – in mind in each issue. Ryan has played a major part in shaping this issue and trainees, educational supervisors and all who have any kind of role educating or supporting trainees and students, be that at undergraduate or postgraduate level, medical or scientist, will find much of interest. Read Ryan’s editorial and more about our themed articles here.
In other College news, in the face of the huge staffing challenges facing the profession, the College has developed a new Workforce Strategy. This is a major project that will be implemented over the course of the next 4 years. Amy Johnson, Workforce and Engagement Manager, explains what this will involve. Thank you to everyone who completed the College workforce survey – the first step for the new strategy.
In August 2024, the College hosted its first Celtic Summit where representatives from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland discussed the challenges and opportunities facing pathology services in each nation. Jess Zago’s article about this includes a link to the full report, for those who want to know more.
One of the College’s major international projects, ARISE, concluded in October 2024. The ARISE project had been running since 2019, addressing global disparities in sickle cell disease. The College made key contributions in laboratory diagnostics and by providing secondments, in collaboration with affiliate organisations, with great success, despite interruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Also on the international front, medical student Hessa Alqasimi reflects on her summer placement at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, organised as part of a memorandum of understanding between the College’s International team and Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences in UAE.
This issue also carries an appreciation of Professor Ray McMahon. He was a hugely respected and well-known pathologist, who held many prestigious positions, including president of the British Division of the International Academy of Pathology (BDIAP), and had recently been appointed as President-Elect of the International Academy of Pathology. As a College we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and close colleagues.
Meeting reports come from Dr Geraldine Boyle, reporting on the Irish Society of Surgical Pathology 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting, and from Dr Jo McCullagh on the Advances in Transfusion Medicine Symposium 2024.
As ever, please do get in touch if you have any comments, articles of interest to share or themes you would like to see covered. I would be delighted to hear from you.
Meet the author
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Professor Angharad Davies
Clinical Director of Publishing and Engagement
