Guidance
Hospital doctors' pay scales for 2010/2011
By Mike Broad - 10th April 2010
Consultants did not receive a pay rise for 2010/2011. The government also froze the value of clinical excellence awards. Foundation year doctors, house officers, senior house o ...
Consultant contract: guidance on supporting professional activities
By Mike Broad - 16th February 2010
What are supporting professional activities? The consultant contract's supporting professional activities (SPAs) reflect activities that are essential to the long-term maintenance ...
Going on medical elective: a guide for students
By Mike Broad - 3rd February 2010
Most students complete their medical elective during their fourth or fifth year at medical school. They can be undertaken in the UK or overseas. It is up to the individual where t ...
Advice for hospital doctors on avoiding prescribing errors
By Mike Broad - 4th December 2009
A GMC-commissioned study into the writing of prescriptions has revealed an error rate of 8.9%. The causes of the errors by hospital doctors, such as miscalculating the dose, were ...
Applying for Clinical Excellence Awards in 2009
By Mike Broad - 25th November 2009
Clinical Excellence Awards (CEAs) are intended to financially reward consultants who perform over and above the standard expected of their role. Consultants who can demonstrate tha ...
How to move into medical research - guidance for doctors
By Mike Broad - 24th November 2009
There are various reasons why doctors consider carrying out a research project: to learn new things; to improve career progression; for a change in life style and to try out a ...
Ten tips for doctors on effective antibiotic prescribing
By Mike Broad - 23rd November 2009
Existing guidance on the management of some infections may be too long and complex for many doctors to have time to absorb, according to the Healthcare-Associated Infections Worki ...
The role of patient chaperones in clinical practice
By Dr Vas Kavadas, MDU medico-legal adviser - 8th November 2009
A chaperone's main role is to provide reassurance and emotional support for a patient undergoing a procedure they may find embarrassing or uncomfortable such as intimate examinatio ...
Setting up in private practice - guidance for consultants
By Mike Broad - 1st October 2009
Many consultants consider private practice to generate more income. The current size of the UK private healthcare market is about £4bn with 7.5 million insured patients ( ...
Guidance for doctors on copying letters to patients
By Mike Broad - 16th September 2009
Copying letters to patients is on the whole beneficial. There are instances when it's advisable for doctors not to copy patients in but these instances should be the exception and ...
Advice for hospital doctors wanting to work abroad
By Mike Broad - 7th September 2009
One of the great benefits of being a doctor is the development of geographically transportable skills. UK-trained doctors are often in demand in other countries, and many will cons ...
Tips for doctors on managing celebrities and the media
By Dr Anahita Kirkpatrick, MDU medico-legal adviser - 28th August 2009
Stories about the health of celebrities regularly hit the front pages and it can lead to confidentiality dilemmas for the doctors and other healthcare staff providing care and tr ...
Understanding NHS finance, budgets and commissioning
By Mike Broad - 23rd July 2009
Political expectations are growing that hospital doctors will get to grips with NHS finances and get more involved in budget management and commissioning. With the NHS facing a fu ...
Darzi Review and NHS modernisation: at-a-glance guide
By Mike Broad - 17th July 2009
The government's plans to reform the NHS over the next 10 years were laid out in the Darzi Review. In 2007, colorectal surgeon Lord Ara Darzi was asked to conduct the review on h ...
Guidance for doctors on dealing with patient complaints
By Mike Broad - 13th July 2009
A new NHS complaints procedure was introduced in England on 1 April 2009. A significant change that doctors need to be aware of is that the NHS complaints procedure now has just t ...
Revalidation for doctors: an at-a-glance guide
By Mike Broad - 7th July 2009
Revalidation is the process by which doctors holding registration with a licence to practise will have to demonstrate to the GMC that they are up-to-date and fit to practise and co ...
Medical whistleblowing - a guide to raising concerns in the NHS
By Mike Broad - 3rd July 2009
Whistleblowing is the popular term applied to a situation where an employee raises concerns to people who have the power and presumed willingness to take corrective action. All emp ...
Implementation of the Working Time Directive for junior doctors
By Mike Broad - 11th June 2009
The UK has implemented the European Working Time Directive (WTD) incrementally. Its aims are to protect the health and safety of staff by restricting the number of hours an individ ...
How to become a medical expert witness
By Mike Broad - 1st June 2009
An expert witness is qualified by their knowledge and experience to give an independent opinion on a specific issue in court. Role of a medical expert witness The medical expert ...
CV writing and job interview advice for doctors
By Mike Broad - 29th May 2009
The first step for a doctor to get a new job is to write a strong CV. A doctor's CV will often have less than a minute to convince a recruiter of their suitability for a role in a ...
How to become a flexible trainee
By Mike Broad - 27th May 2009
Flexible trainees are part-time doctors in training. Flexible training provisions have been in existence in the NHS since 1969. But, impetus to improve access to flexible training ...
Job planning and appraisal for consultants
By Mike Broad - 26th May 2009
In 2000, the NHS Plan called for a new career and reward structure for consultants that would raise productivity. It started a process of developing better arrangements for profess ...