The College wishes to keep all of our trainees up to date with the latest guidance. The following guidance from JCST has been approved by the Royal College of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.
The Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST) is an advisory body to the four surgical Royal Colleges of the UK and Ireland for all matters related to surgical training, and works closely with the GMC, the Statutory Education Bodies (HEE, NES, HEIW, NIMDTA), the Confederation of Postgraduate Schools of Surgery (CoPSS) and the Surgical Specialty Associations in Great Britain and Ireland. The JCST is the parent body for all ten Specialty Advisory Committees (SACs) responsible for surgical specialties, the Core Surgical Training Advisory Committee (CSTAC), the Training Interface Groups (TIGs) and the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP).
The four Education Bodies have a statutory duty to deliver, among other things, trainee recruitment and selection, training delivery and the ARCP process. The Surgical Royal Colleges of the UK and Ireland deliver post-graduate examinations through the ICBSE (for MRCS) and through the JCIE (for FRCS). JCST is responsible, among other things, for the professional content of recruitment and selection, maintaining a record of trainee progress, providing externality into the ARCP process, recommending trainees to the GMC for certification and writing the curriculum.
Everyone understands the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing to normal activities in all walks of life. Responses to it are guided by minimising spread of infection, personal and patient safety, maintenance of normal processes where possible and the need for pragmatism. All the bodies involved in surgical training are working together to find the safest and most pragmatic solution to the current situation. This statement has the support of the Surgical Royal Colleges and the Confederation of Postgraduate Schools of Surgery (CoPSS). It has been discussed with the GMC and the four Statutory Education bodies.
Read the full statement here.