And so it begins! A new presidency, with its heady mix of hard work, sweat, excitement and a little trepidation. Similar perhaps to a busy late shift in the Emergency Department. That late shift also in many senses is a microcosm of the strengths, opportunities and frustrations of our specialty at present. It reflects the […]
President’s Blog October 2016
Excitement, honour, utter privilege, trepidation, commitment, passion, team, pride, service! These are a just a few of the words that have tumbled around in my head over the past few months since you elected me to be your next RCEM President. In the coming months I will add to all those words ( in a […]
President’s Blog September 2016
I write my final blog article before handing over to our new president – Taj Hassan on Tuesday at our AGM. I am delighted that over 600 people are registered for the conference. With the weather set fair I am certain it will be a great combination of science, expertise and camaraderie. The past three years […]
President’s Blog August 2016
August 2016 and with only 6 weeks left of my tenure as president there must be many counting the days! Having written forty of these monthly missives I am conscious of the burden I have placed upon my readers; an idiosyncratic mixture of college policy, opinions on national EM challenges interspersed with personal experiences, anecdotes […]
President’s Blog July 2016
Recently the college published a key report entitled ‘Why does winter in A&E get worse every year’. The report is on our website but appreciating that time is a scarce commodity I have summarized some of the key messages here. A similar summary was recently published in ‘The House’ magazine – a publication circulated to […]
President’s Blog June 2016
Is the NHS offering patients a failed channel management strategy? This month we have a guest blog from Gordon Miles, chief executive officer of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), who has noticed that some of the urgent care plans proposed by NHS agencies have been tried elsewhere… I frequently spend time in […]
President’s Blog May 2016
With the weather warming and evenings lightening so too should our mood and I am delighted to be able to announce that recruitment and retention are at their highest level for five years. This is a huge endorsement of trainers up and down the country leading by example and providing great role-models for EM trainees. […]
President’s Blog April 2016
Welcome to our new blog where I’ll be sharing news, developments and my thoughts on various issues on all things emergency medicine. You’ll find an archive of old EMJ news items that I’ve written over the years, and you’ll be able to tell me your thoughts in the comments sections in future posts. But firstly […]
President’s Blog February 2016
Well, we are properly into 2016 and there is much to report. I would like to start the year with positive news and there has indeed been good progress. Our STEP campaign is just 14 months old but is now ubiquitously referred to and bearing fruit. 1. Safe and sustainable staffing. As a result of […]
President’s Blog January 2016
Welcome to 2016, I trust all of you have had some time with family and friends over the Christmas and New Year Holidays. As I write I have just returned from a ‘highlight event’ – presenting diplomas to the successful MRCEM and FRCEM candidates. This is always a particular pleasure as it combines ceremony with […]