News & Views

The University of Edinburgh invites applications for 12 postgraduate scholarships to support international applicants accepted for admission to their 2-year, part-time, online ChM (Master of Surgery) in Clinical Ophthalmology in September 2023, thanks to the generous support of The David and Molly Pyott Foundation Scholarships in Ophthalmology programme.

The College recognises the increasing interest from members to develop a more proactive and visible approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). We know that there are many positives to celebrate and we can continue to improve and develop more opportunities to support a fully diverse ophthalmic workforce at all career stages to succeed and thrive. We are now seeking to recruit a Consultant or senior SAS doctor Lead and a Trainee Deputy Lead to strategically drive and develop the role of the EDI committee for the RCOphth and its members.

This week, the GMC has published the latest data on the progression of doctors in postgraduate medical education across the UK. You can access the data via the reporting tool. The GMC has also produced a summary report. Tackling barriers that exist in medical education must remain an urgent priority for organisations across the UK’s health services, including all of us with responsibilities for postgraduate training. Fair and supportive training is not only key to the quality of medical education and practice, it’s also vital to help retain healthcare professionals in the UK.

Following a successful pilot of a ‘Reverse mentoring program on lived experiences due to race’ conducted by Health Education England where trainees were paired with Deans and Heads of School in Yorkshire and Humber, we proposed a similar scheme to the executive committee of the RCOphth. The committee were immediately interested in working towards empowering ethnic minority Ophthalmic colleagues/community to overcome the perceived barriers that contribute towards differential attainment.

Junior doctors are proposing taking drastic industrial action in the hope that the government will understand the current depth of feelings that more must be done to invest in a sustainable workforce to protect the healthcare system and the care of patients at the point of need.