Saturday, 19 January, 2019
The JFICMI wishes all its members (Fellows and Trainees) a great and successful New Year in 2019. The year is expected to be active and busy for Intensive Care medicine in Ireland and the Board hopes that there will be much opportunity for fruitful interaction between it and its members during the year.
Most of the immediate business for the JFICMI for early 2019 stems from its AGM and Board Meetings of Dec 6th, 2018.
Arising from AGM:
Training programme: Now recognised by the Medical Council of Ireland and is to officially commence in July 2019. Applications from eligible doctors (established trainees of the CAI, RCPI, RCSI / Emergency Medicine) are invited. See website Training document for description of the programme and full eligibility criteria.
Opening of Specialist register: It is anticipated that the Supervisors of Training and other Trainers will (at a minimum) be specialty registered by the time the Training programme commences in July. A system is being put in place (involving three nominees of the JFICMI) to facilitate the above and also the specialty registration of any consultants who apply, especially those involved in Training or Examining activities. Those who completed supra-specialty training (two years) in Ireland between 2014 and 2018 are also eligible to apply. The JFICMI has decided to forego its assessment fee for a limited period to allow the specialist register to be opened. Therefore, a reduced application fee will be operable for Fellows who are in good standing with the JFICMI, for that period.
JFICMI Governance: The JFICMI’s memorandum and articles of association (MaAA) is being revised to clarify that the Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine of Ireland will continue to act on behalf of its members and its constituent bodies (CAI, RCPI, RCSI and ICSI) but will also now become a Faculty of the CAI, which Training Body will undertake final legal and financial responsibility for the JFICMI. The updated MaAA is being finalised pending incl legal and lay opinion and will be tabled for approval at the 2019 AGM at the time of the Annual Scientific meeting(ASM) with the ICSI.
Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) with the ICSI: An exciting programme for the meeting is at an advanced stage and, this year, the occasion and venue will be further shared with the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI) at its ASM in Croke Park on May 9th and 10th. Laurent Brochard is one of the speakers and the proposal that he be awarded an honorary fellowship of the Joint Faculty was unanimously agreed.
Arising from Board meeting: Issues, other than those outlined above, which were addressed:
Website and invoicing: The recent website update is being put into effect. It provides an improved, non-cluttered view of the Trainee / Trainer pages (Logbook, Competency recording) and it also has grouped the members into three broad categories – Consultants, Trainees and Fellows and some related administrative sub-categories. Member invoicing can now be done via the website for the first time. However, the invoicing has been delayed as a result of this updating process and many invoices have only just been sent out in December / January. The JFICMI apologises for this late invoicing and hopes that it has not caused excess inconvenience to its members. This will not occur again as, from 2019 onwards, the process is set up to occur at a regular, consistent time.
Training and wellness survey: The presentation of this survey by CAT (Committee of Anaesthesia Trainees) representative, Dr Edgeworth, was welcomed. A concerning issue was the apparent loss of interest among CAT trainees in ICM over time, during their base specialty training. This appeared to be multifactorial but adverse training experiences of ICM appeared to be a definite contributor. The issue will taken up at the JFICMI’s Training Committee and also with the CAI Training committee, where the JFICMI Chairman of Training attends.
Also noted that since Dr Sinead Egan completed her term as JFICMI trainee representative that this position has been vacant. The Dean instructed that this election be effected asap.
Standards for Paediatric ICUs: A standards document for Paediatric ICUs, to complement the JFICMI’s standards document for ICUs, was presented by Dr Cathy Mc Mahon, the Board member for Paediatric affairs. The document was approved and will be posted on the Faculty’s website.
Ad Eundem Fellowship: Other than the conditions applying to the pre-2009 consultant cohort, this process allows the awarding of Ad Eundem Fellowship to an applicant doctor who is deemed to have attained an examination and / or one-year of a supra-specialty training programme which is comparable to those who have attained Fellowship by examination and training in the Irish (JFICMI) system.
As this is a very separate process from applying for specialist registration on the basis of ‘CSCST equivalent’ (two-year) supra-specialty training, the Board decided to clarify and update its Ad Eundem criteria by creating a new Ad Eundem document for the JFICMI Credentials Committee and it will remove the Ad Eundem detail from the MaAA.