In the second part of our focus on training, it’s time for the trainees to have their say! Ravina Tanna and Tanya Ta are joined by three enthusiastic ENT trainees. TalisaRoss is an ENT ST3 registrar in North Thames Deanery and an academic clinical fellow. Stefan Lindon recently obtained his ST3 number in ENT and started working in Edinburgh. He was formerly an educational fellow at Salford Royal Foundation Trust. Sam Dewhurst is an ST8 trainee in the east of England, currently working at Peterborough City Hospital.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode and get some really honest opinions on the contentious issues in ENT training.

We start with an insight into the trainee experience of Covid-19, and the impact this has had on training. There have been positives, such as opportunities to develop a level of expertise and to take on additional responsibilities outside the usual remit of trainees. But inevitably, these are outweighed by the negative effect on the breadth of specialty and operative exposure. The impact of the pandemic is ongoing for trainees in terms of the pressure to balance service provision with training requirements in the face of a huge backlog of work.

We have a frank discussion about the national selection process, core surgical versus run-through training and less-than-full-time training. While some of our panel think the last-minute changes to the national selection process caused stress and anxiety, others point out that elements of an interview should be unknown and challenging to test the core skills for a surgeon of adaptability and dynamic problem-solving. All, however, agree that more structure in the process should be established. The panel also agree that core surgical training is in some ways less fit for purpose than when it was originally introduced. With this in mind, we discuss the pros and cons of run-through training and the potential problems around having two tiers of trainees.

The panel’s heartfelt tips and advice for those who have not been successful in obtaining their ST3 number is essential listening for all trainees. They advise being honest with yourself, planning for different outcomes, and learning from experience and feedback.

We close with our guests’ views on how the training process could be improved. Supportive training is the ideal, with a focus on individual strengths. We also discuss the importance of holding teaching centres accountable for high-quality training provision. Last on the wish list is giving trainees more opportunity to pursue interests in other areas which will ultimately make them more rounded and capable clinicians, educators, and managers.

The final consensus of the panel is that over time the system is realizing what works and things are slowly but surely going in the right direction.

WENTS & Friends is the official podcast for Women in ENT Surgery UK (entuk.org/wents-uk).
Follow us on Twitter @UKWENTs.

Email: wents@entuk.org any questions or suggestions on topics you may have for future episodes.

This season’s episodes are hosted by Ekpemi Irune @ENTmimi, Emma Stapleton @otolaryngolofox, Nina Mistry @nina3mistry, Ravina Tanna, @DrRavinaTanna and Tanya Ta @veggiequallife
Produced and directed by Heather Pownall @heathershub of Heather's Media Hub Ltd.