Clinical Research Fellow in Anaesthesia, Perioperative Medicine and Critical Care

Job Purpose

The Clinical Research Fellow will undertake agreed research and educational activities to develop new techniques to improve patient care. The post is approximately 50% research and 50% clinical and will initially be for 12 months but may be mutually extended for a further year. The Academic Unit of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Perioperative Medicine exists to promote the education of undergraduate and postgraduate students in anaesthesia, intensive care and perioperative medicine, and to lead the development of new techniques to improve patient care in these areas.

Clinical Duties will be undertaken under an honorary contract with the relevant NHS Organisation at an appropriate trainee level.

In general, these posts are designed to facilitate the completion of an MD/PhD but this is not mandatory. Further, should a candidate wish, time can be made available within the fellowship to undertake a certificate/diploma/masters in medical education (for example).

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Research Tasks

•           Plan, design and implement projects or parts of projects, in conjunction with collaborators as appropriate.

•           Write and submit applications for funding and Ethics and Research Management approval, as appropriate and in conjunction with principal investigators.

•           Manage data handling and interpretation of research results and take the lead in writing papers for publication in appropriate peer-reviewed journals.

•           Collaborate with colleagues and participate in team meetings/discussions and departmental research group activities.

•           As part of a team of ‘local investigators’, recruit patients to a portfolio of ongoing multicentre studies within the clinical site where applicable.

•           Present work at internal and external seminars and national and international conferences to enhance the profile of the research group.

•           Contribute to the organisation of project-related workshops, seminars or conferences.

•           The Research Fellow will be expected to take part in the Academic activities of the Academic Unit of Anaesthesia, Pain & Critical Care Medicine. These include, undergraduate teaching and research. The Research Fellows are expected to attend and present at a regular Journal Club and Research meetings.

Teaching

•           Supervising clinical skills sessions/assisting with Acute Care days for 2nd, 3rd, 4th & final year MBChB & Dental students.

•           Contributing to the Critical Care and Perioperative Medicine BSc courses.

•           Delivering teaching on the West of Scotland primary FRCA course.

•           Following appropriate training, acting as an OSCE examiner for medical students at all stages of the MBChB course.

Clinical Duties may be undertaken at a number of sites within the West of Scotland. In general, fellows can expect to rotate between at least two of these sites during a two-year fellowship:

Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley

•           Both on-call and full shifts for theatre, Obstetrics and ICU as required in line with the currant 1A banding supplement.

•           The banding supplement associated with this rota may change and will be in line with the European Working Time Regulations and the New Deal.

Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Clydebank

•           Currently three sessions per week contributing to the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care on-call rota. This on-call rota is on average one 12-hours shift per week and two 12-hour shifts every five weekends plus prospective cover.

•           Current banding is 1A, the banding supplement associated with this rota may be subject to change and will be in line with the European Working time Regulations and the New Deal.

Inverclyde Royal Infirmary, Greenock

•           On-call for theatre and ICU as required in line with the current 1A banding supplement.

•           The banding supplement associated with this rota may change and will be in line with the European Working Time Regulations and the New Deal.

Glasgow Royal Infirmary

•           GRI will be able to accommodate applicants from a non-anaesthetic background (who may not be expected to rotate to all other sites) as long as the applicant has airway competencies.

•           Clinical commitment will consist of ICU shifts for applicants from a non-anaesthetic background and ICU/general anaesthetic/obstetric days/shifts for applicants with an anaesthetic background.

•           Average clinical hours/ week will be the equivalent of 7 x 12.5-13 hour shifts in a 4-week period.

•           Banding for the ICU rota is 1A and for the general anaesthetic rota 2B. The banding supplements associated with these rotas may change and will be in line with the European Working Time Regulations and the New Deal.

Crosshouse University Hospital

•           Crosshouse will be able to accommodate applicants from a non-anaesthetic training background (who would not be expected to rotate to all other sites) as long as the applicant has airway competencies.

•           Clinical commitment will consist of ICU shifts for applicants from a non-anaesthetic background and ICU/general anaesthetic/obstetric days/shifts for applicants with an anaesthetic background.

•           Average clinical hours/ week will be the equivalent of 7 x 12.5-13 hour shifts in a 4-week period.

•           Banding for the rota is 1A.

Knowledge, Qualifications

Essential:

A1. Registrable medical degree (e.g. MBChB). 

A2. Registered by the GMC and holding a Licence to Practice.

For jobs at Royal Alexandra Hospital, Golden Jubilee National Hospital and Inverclyde Royal Infirmary:

A3. Equivalent of two years’ experience in Anaesthesia and / or Intensive Care Medicine

A4. Royal College of Anaesthetists certificate of completion of Core Anaesthetic Training (or equivalent)

A5. Primary Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA) examination (or equivalent)

For jobs at Glasgow Royal Infirmary &Crosshouse Hospital:

A3. Completion of ACCS core training / core anaesthetic training or evidence of equivalence.

A4. Royal College of Anaesthetist Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC – or equivalent), and evidence of maintenance of airway skills.

A5. Primary part of MRCP/ MCEM / FRCA or equivalent.

Desirable:

B1. Motivation to commence research leading to a future higher degree. 

B2. Additional specialist qualifications.

Experience/Training Essential:

C1. Evidence of satisfactory career progress.

C2. Evidence of relevant experience provided by personal log of work.

C3. Demonstrable evidence of interest in research.

Desirable:

D1. Evidence of participation in Audit / Research activities.

D2. Evidence of a planned or proposed, programme of research.

D3. Interest in and knowledge of the relevance of research.

D4. Additional specialist experience.

D5. Evidence of teaching experience.

D6. Evidence of administrative experience.

Skills Essential:

E1. Ability to see projects through to completion.

E2. Evidence of organisational and communication skills (both written and oral).

E3. Leadership qualities.

E4. Able to relate well with patients and other members of the health care team.

E5. Knowledge and skills confirmed by summative assessment.

E6. Prepared to rotate as specified.

E7. Evidence of Hepatitis B immune status.

E8. Pre-employment health screening.

Desirable:

F1. Commitment to team working.

F2. Evidence of appropriate level of confidence i.e. able to work under pressure but understands limitations and when to seek help.

F3. Ability to prioritise when under pressure.

F4. Evidence of enthusiasm for teaching.

Job Features

Research and Teaching

Research can be undertaken at the major hospitals throughout the west of Scotland, the location depending on the interest of the candidate. Some of the specific opportunities available at this round are detailed below. Any of these clinicians can be approached for further information.

At Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Dr Kathryn Puxty is engaged in research involving critical care datasets and looking at longer term outcomes. Current work includes cancer treatment pre and post ICU, renal recovery after critical illness and use of AI interrogation in critical care dataset analyses.

At the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Prof. Malcolm Sim and Dr. Malcolm Watson are involved in a number of critical care trials. Current areas for a higher degree would include:

•           Metabolomics and sepsis

•           Mitochondrial dysfunction in critical illness

•           High flow nasal oxygen therapy (currently exploring new areas for use)

•           Novel nebuliser technology

•           Delirium

At the Golden Jubilee National Hospital Prof. Ben Shelley and Dr Philip McCall are engaged several work streams exploring perioperative right ventricular dysfunction, mechanisms of peri-operative myocardial injury and the utility of heart rate recovery in pre-operative risk assessment. This group are actively seeking a research fellow to contribute to a major project examining the Incidence, impact and Mechanisms of Perioperative Right VEntricular dysfunction in patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery (IMPRoVE) which will recruit patients undergoing major vascular, colorectal, upper-GI, orthopaedic and thoracic surgery from across the city.

At Glasgow Royal Infirmary Dr Rachel Kearns has an interest in long term outcomes in children following exposure to anaesthetic interventions in pregnancy, during delivery and in early childhood. A large database comprising ten linked national datasets of health and educational outcomes has been created to answer these research questions.

At the Institute of Neurological Sciences, Dr Chris Hawthorne has an interest in the application of physiological modelling techniques and clinical informatics to improve the care of brain injured patients

.

If a potential fellow has an area of interest not mentioned above, the department can usually accommodate other projects, so please get in contact for further discussions. Applicants are expected to have identified a potential supervisor and outline programme of work prior to interview.

Standard Terms & Conditions

Salary will be on the Clinical Research Fellow scale: £43,504 – £64,461 per annum 

The post carries an additional entitlement depending on call responsibilities. This is paid under a separate arrangement with the NHS for which the University acts as paymaster only.

These posts are full time and fixed term for 12 months (with the potential to extend on mutual approval). 

Although this activity constitutes part of the job, the management of the clinical activity will be the full responsibility of the NHS Organisation. In the unlikely event that the NHS Organisation withdraws the honorary contract, the University will not be able to continue this post and notice of termination will be served.

If you are currently in a Type 1 training post you must hold a National/Visiting Training number and have the agreement of your Postgraduate Dean to retain your original training number and to return to this post at the end of the appointment. This post is however also open to applicants not currently holding a National Training Number. Depending on the research project undertaken, planned clinical site or rotation through sites, some research fellows have agreed by application to the postgraduate Dean in collaboration with the Training Programme Director that part of their fellowship can be contributed towards training and it is up to RCA/postgraduate Dean to decide this. This post does not supply an NTN number. In the event that the appointee successfully registers to do a higher degree the University will not pay the fees, though as a member of University staff a discounted fee structure applies. The work may be carried out during or outside normal working time and no further support will be provided when the contract ends after one / two years.

The successful applicant (if aged under 60) will be eligible to join the Universities’ Superannuation Scheme. Further information regarding the scheme is available from the Superannuation Officer, who is also prepared to advise on questions relating to the transfer of Superannuation benefits. All research and related activities, including grants, donations, clinical trials, contract research, consultancy and commercialisation are required to be managed through the University’s relevant processes (e.g. contractual and financial), in accordance with the University Court’s policies. 

Disclosure Scotland The post for which you are applying is considered to be a child care position in terms of The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003. It requires the successful applicant to undergo a satisfactory Disclosure check through Disclosure Scotland prior to appointment. This check is necessary to ensure that the University of Glasgow fulfils its legal duties under the Act. If you are successful in your application, the offer of employment will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure Report. The University will make a Disclosure application to Disclosure Scotland, which will reveal any past criminal convictions (spent or unspent) or inclusion on the Disqualified from Working with Children List. Any non-conviction information held locally by the police may also be disclosed should this be considered relevant to the position.

Please note it is a criminal offence to apply for a child care position if you are on the Disqualified from Working with Children List.

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