Modernising Medical Careers--an interview with Shelley Heard.(Interview)

The six month stand alone A & E SHO post has been a robust feature of British hospital life for very many years. This may all change as a result of the implementation of the government paper Modernising Medical Careers in August 2005. Unlike the Calman reforms of the registrar grade, these reforms have come with only with very broad guiding principles laid down. There is much work to be done to decide the way or ways in which these changes will be introduced. All the deaneries are running pilot schemes this year to prepare the ground for full implementation. We talked to Dr Shelley Heard, Postgraduate Dean for London, who is leading on this for the London Deanery.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH MMC?

I have been a postgraduate dean in London since 1996, so I have done lots of things in my time at the deanery. Most deaneries have MMC leads--sometimes newly appointed associate deans. I was looking for a new challenge so within the deanery it was agreed I should take this on. I lead on MMC and will be developing the strategy for MMC for London half the time--I have been seconded to the NHSU for the other half to work on educational programmes to support the foundation programmes in MMC: the first two are in team working and communication skills.

WHY IS MMC NECESSARY?

It's the result of a recognition that something had to be done about the SHO grade, which was not well managed educationally and did not really meet patient or service needs. Patients were often …