There is a strong educational culture within the infection specialties in East of England and the department has very high success rates for specialty examinations. There is formal teaching every lunchtime (1-2pm) covering all the infection specialties as well as six regional training days annually. There are many more educational experiences including specialist MDTs and conferences or specialist attachments to infection control, antimicrobial stewardship team or critical care that mean there is ample opportunity to learn.
Formal weekly training sessions:
Monday 13:00-14:00: Infectious Diseases teaching which varies from interesting cases to morbidity and mortality meetings.
Tuesday 13:00-14:00: Combined Infection teaching – led by trainees but with named consultant supervision. It covers the CIT curriculum on a 2 year rolling rota.
Wednesday 13:00-14:00: Hospital Grand Round
Thursday 13:00-14:00: PHE laboratory seminar – guest speakers present in the PHE lab on a huge range of subjects, from cutting edge research to local audit which changes patient management.
Friday 13:00-14:00: Infectious Diseases case-based teaching and once a month case based teaching with physicians in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Regional training days:
Regional training days run six times a year and covers the infection curriculum and is delivered on a rolling rota. There are typically six regional training days per year. Some of the days are combined with other pathology specialties including histopathology to give a more diverse educational experience.
These training days will be increasingly recorded via Panopto & Bridge so can be reviewed at a later date to aid with revision. Please visit the trainee resources page (below) for more information. More information about Panopto & Bridge, including FAQ about login and troubleshooting, can also be obtained through the Blended Learning Hub (https://heeoe.hee.nhs.uk/blended-learning-platform)
Conferences:
As a trainee you will be actively encouraged to go on courses and to attend conferences throughout your training. You will be actively supported to present at conferences and display posters.
There is a list of useful conferences to consider attending throughout your training within the trainee’s resources section: https://heeoe.hee.nhs.uk/pathology/useful-conferences-and-courses
Fellowship opportunities
Fellowship opportunities regularly become available through Health Education England. Examples include fellowships in leadership, education, and global health. Infection trainees are encouraged to apply for these, if of interest, and fellowships can be undertaken on a part-time basis with appropriate departmental and deanery discussion.
Student teaching:
As Addenbrooke’s hospital is the main centre for educating the Cambridge University Medical students there is ample opportunity to get involved with teaching. Teaching sessions are run five times a week for students, delivered by registrars and the students also attend ward rounds and clinics. It is a great opportunity to improve your teaching skills. The students are generally very keen to be involved and it is a great opportunity for them to help you with audit and research projects. There have been many examples of medical students helping with projects that are presented at national and international conferences.
It is also possible to apply to be a clinical supervisor through Cambridge University Clinical School. This is a great scheme that amongst its many advantages offers a small remuneration for your teaching as well as a link with a Cambridge College. More information and instructions on how to apply can be found https://www.medschl.cam.ac.uk/education/clinical-supervisors.
Many of our SpRs have done the Post Graduate Certificate in Medical Education https://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/course/postgraduate-certificate-medical-education and bursaries are available to support this https://heeoe.hee.nhs.uk/faculty/bursary-funding.