Intermediate/Higher Trainee elections

Intermediate candidates

1. Nicolas Rey de Castro

Dear fellow intermediate trainees,

My name is Nico and I am one of the North West ACCS Anaesthetic CT3s going into ST3
training from August. I would value your support for my application to be your intermediate
trainee representative. I believe that I am well suited to this role as I am both conscientious
and empathetic whilst also having an in-depth knowledge of the region having been based
in the North West since 2009.

I am acutely aware of the challenges facing our cohort with regards to the recruitment
bottle-neck that has formed along with the introduction of the new curriculum which will
exacerbate this issue due to the associated lack of ST3 recruitment in August 2022/February
2023. Accordingly, as an intermediate trainee representative I would work hard on your
behalf and with the deanery to ensure that trainees who were unable to obtain ST3 training
posts in February 2022 have regional job security in the form of clinical fellow posts with all
the same educational and training opportunities as trainees themselves. Furthermore, a
curriculum change is always going to be a challenging time for trainees. I would therefore
strive to ensure that deanery led sessions on the new curriculum are delivered to all
intermediate trainees and equivalent clinical fellows so that this process is as smooth as
possible and to make sure that we are all confident of what goals we need to meet, how we
can achieve these, and how to evidence this on our e-portfolios. Thank you for taking your
time to consider voting for my application.

Best wishes,
Nico

2. Conor McKinstry

I am currently a ACCS CT3 trainee at East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. In August I will be
starting a CT3+ post at Tameside. If elected as the Intermediate level STC representative, my
main goal would be to improve the quality of communication between the college and its
trainees. The RCoA is often envied by the trainees of other specialties due to the way in
which it treats its own trainees. However, the changes to this year’s recruitment, exam
changes and the implementation of the new curriculum were not effectively communicated
to those it affected most; trainees coming to the end of their core training and those out of
training applying for higher training. This lack of effective information can be said to have
damaged the reputation of the college with it’s own members, and shows just how
important frequent and open communication on both sides is, in order to help all involved
reach their full potential.

To do this, I would look to build on the good relationship that our current STCs have with
our school in the North West. There are a multitude of ways in which we can work with the
college to gain better and more timely information, which would benefit everyone involved
– if elected, I very much look forward to this challenge.

Thanks,
Conor

Higher candidates

1. Lauren Elliot

My name is Lauren Elliott and I am one of the ST5 trainees.

The past year has been a difficult time for everyone and with the ongoing covid
uncertainties that lie ahead, I would love to represent the higher trainee group to make sure
that any issues are identified early and resolved quickly, to make our time as anaesthetic
trainees the best it can be. 

By being able to voice your concerns to the STC and beyond, I would also hope to help ease
the additional stress brought by the changes to our curriculum, which will no doubt affect us
all in different ways. 

If you would like a representative who will act on your issues and concerns and be
determined to solve these for you to make higher training a more valuable and enjoyable
time, please vote for me!

2. Saarth Shiralkar

Hi everyone, I’m Saarth and I’d love to be your next STC higher trainee rep. I’ve really
enjoyed my four years as a trainee in the North West and think it’s a great Deanery to be in.
I realise that things aren’t perfect and I know there are aspects that the Deanery and
individual Trusts could improve on. Having attended the Deanery Quality Panel meeting this
year, I have some experience of canvassing opinions about training in the region and
highlighting any issues to the School Board.

I held multiple committee positions at university which helped me to develop good
organisational and teamworking skills that I think would be useful in this role. I’m
committed to bringing any issues trainees might have to the attention of the School Board
and trying to find solutions.