Prof Sir Neil Douglas
Hospital Dr invited Prof Sir Neil Douglas, chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, to answer 13 questions and complete a half finished sentence.
1. What is the biggest challenge the profession faces?
“Convincing all doctors that they have a leadership role, however local that might be, and that they can make a difference. Too many in the profession see themselves as powerless and this must change if we are to be able to give the public the high quality of care they deserve. Doctors are in a unique position to innovate better care but too often they give up when thwarted.”
2. When did you last laugh and why?
“Listening to Bill Bryson recounting his story of the futility of wearing bells to frighten off bears when hiking. A great story, brilliantly told.”
3. What are the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ priorities over the next year?
“Training, training, training and training. Repeated PMETB surveys have shown even before the 48 hour WTR that hospital trainees are dissatisfied, and with good reason. WTR will only make this worse. Poor training is not the fault of ‘the managers’, blame lies squarely with the profession for not giving and demanding adequate priority for training, for permitting rotas which provide service but little and often no training.
“Too many seniors have given up on their trainees feeling they do not see enough of them to bond with them and teach well, rather than radically revising their own and their trainees’ schedules to ensure excellent training.”
4. Which person influenced you most as a doctor and why?
“Dr Andrew Douglas - no relation - by demonstrating that kindness to patients, infinite patience and skill were all necessary to look after patients well.”
5. When were you most in danger?
“Numerous skiing episodes, or possibly when I was a student being arrested by Russian police for not paying a drinks bill which was not mine, but they spoke no English and were not friendly!”
6. Why do we need the AMRC?
“To provide a united voice of the colleges to drive forward improved training and patient care.”
7. What is your favourite book?
“Usually whatever I am reading at the time! In fact, that is The girl who kicked over the hornet’s nest by Stieg Larsson, and I have really enjoyed the whole quirky trilogy.”
8. Is credentialing the way forward in training?
“Credentialing is not the main issue, the key issue is to ensure that trainees are treated and valued as the intelligent young people they are and that their timetables reflect real training not their use as rota fodder. While CCT must remain the main goal of training, many doctors change their areas of practice later and the public have a right to know whether they are adequately trained in all areas of their practice.”
9. What is your guiltiest pleasure?
“Good New Zealand wine - having campaigned actively for greater alcohol control.”
10. Will revalidation raise the quality of doctors?
“Yes, but slowly and perhaps not in the most cost efficient way. Nevertheless the public have a right to be confident that the doctor looking after them is up to date and safe.”
11. What was your most embarrassing professional moment?
“Throwing a sleeping medical student out of a seminar I was giving on sleepiness - only to find him referred to me a few weeks later with classical but undiagnosed narcolepsy!”
12. Of what achievement are you most proud?
“Establishing in Edinburgh the first sleep centre in the UK. We fought and won - by using the media - the case that from the beginning all CPAP units issued by us were funded by the NHS.
“This was some 25 years earlier than CPAP was funded in England and over 5,000 patients in Edinburgh benefited from NHS CPAP over that period.”
13. What is the most important lesson a career in medicine has taught you?
“That we all make mistakes and can and must learn from them.”
Finish this half written sentence: trainees working to a 48-hour week will…
…only be able to become competent consultants if similar priority is given to training as to patient care.
Tags: Interview
This interview simply illustrates how out of touch the colleges have become It is so easy to blame Consultants for failings in training. It is time for the colleges to realise that they are part of the problem, and a big part.