NIAA Update: November 2015
Funding Opportunities
John Snow iBSc Awards 2016
This scheme is designed to encourage medical student engagement in anaesthesia and its related disciplines, and is meant to contribute towards living costs.
Awards will be offered by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain & Ireland (AAGBI)/Anaesthesia, the British Journal of Anaesthesia (BJA) / Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), the Neuroanaesthesia & Critical Care Society of Great Britain and Ireland (NACCSGBI) and the Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association (OAA).
The deadline for applications is 5pm on Thursday 31 March 2016 and further details can be found here.
AAGBI Undergraduate Elective Funding Scheme and The Wylie Medal
The application deadline for Undergraduate Elective Funding is just around the corner!
Medical students in Great Britain and Ireland are eligible to apply to the AAGBI Foundation for funding towards a medical student elective period taking place between April 2016 and September 2016.
Submission for The Wylie Medal 2016 is also open. This year's topic related to anaesthesia is 'Anaesthetist or perioperative physician'. Entries are invited from undergraduate medical students at a university in Great Britain or Ireland.
The closing date for applications is 8 January 2016.
For more details please click here.
Research and Audit Federation of Trainees (RAFT)
iHypE study
The next annual RAFT project will look at Intraoperative Hypotension in the Elderly (iHypE). Intraoperative hypotension frequently complicates anaesthesia and has been associated with multiple adverse outcomes, particularly in the elderly.
The aim of iHypE is to assess the incidence of intraoperative hypotension in the elderly, document associated outcomes, identify treatment thresholds and attitudes towards hypotension. This trainee-led project will also deliver a snapshot of UK anaesthetic practice which will complement emerging research on intraoperative hypotension to direct quality improvement strategies.
The project follows on from The Pan London Perioperative Audit and Research Network's QUINCE project which audited the quality of intraoperative cerebral protection in London and found significant rates of intraoperative hypotension.
iHypE was accepted by vote at the GAT ASM in June 2015. An ambitious project, RAFT hopes that it will be a great opportunity for trainees to collaborate nationally and share the experiences learned in the individual regions. The project has already generated much enthusiasm with suggestions from across RAFT and the HSRC. Twelve of the 15 trainee research networks, incorporating approximately 140 hospitals across the UK, have now confirmed they will recruit patients. Data will be collected in the spring/ summer period of 2016. If you are interested in taking part, please contact your local trainee network, or if you don't have a network or would like further information please visit the iHype or RAFT websites.
Events
QuARC and Quality Improvement Training Days: 24th & 25th February 2016
The QuARC Day on 25 February 2016 will cover updates from the NIAA and HSRC; updates on QuARC-led initiatives taking place across the UK and open discussion sessions.
Please click here to view the programme.
If you are planning to attend this meeting, please note that the Quality Improvement and Patient Safety: Improvement Science in Anaesthesia meeting taking place on Wednesday 24th February event is also suitable for you to attend.
The aim of this day is to build knowledge, insight, enthusiasm, reassurance
and confidence amongst the training community to support the introduction and spread of systematic Quality Improvement using proven Improvement Science methodology.
Further details can be found here.
NIAA Annual Scientific Meeting: 14 April 2016
The NIAA will be launching a new, gold standard award at the inaugural NIAA Annual Scientific Meeting on 14 April 2016. Developed by Professor Fang Gao Smith, the award will be open to all research active investigators of anaesthesia, critical care, perioperative medicine and pain within the UK who are engaged in a higher degree programme. Applicants will be asked to submit an abstract based on a clear, evidence based research question, and shortlisted applicants will then be invited to present at the meeting. The meeting will also focus on the launch of the UK Perioperative Medicine Clinical Trials Network and provide an opportunity for those wishing to participate in the network to discuss the art and craft of clinical trials. Further details will be advertised on the NIAA website shortly.
National Emergency Laparotomy Audit
As we are only weeks away from the end of November and the commencement of Year 3 of the NELA Patient Audit, the NELA Team would like to reiterate the importance of locking all cases on the online web tool that were entered by participating sites during the second year of the audit.
Sites have until Friday 15th of January 2016 to ensure that all their cases are finalised. It is imperative that any patients hospitals wish to include in Year 2 of the audit are entered and completed as soon as possible so that there is time for them to be locked before the mid-January deadline. For more information on the second year deadline and the commencement of Year 3, please see the news item on the NELA website.
