Notes for Mersey Deanery Trainee Anaesthetists

Regarding MSA Courses

The Mersey School BASIC course

The Mersey BASIC course is a series of twelve one-day sessions run for CT1 trainees in Anaesthesia, usually on the second Friday of each month. It teaches the Basic Sciences – Physiology, Pharmacology, Physics, Statistics and Anatomy that underpin the clinical anaesthesia, as specified in the Royal College of Anaesthetists curriculum.

The delivery includes formal teaching, desktop exercises, monthly MCQs with feedback, and marked written work.

CTI trainees are funded to attend this course.

To apply:

Download a generic Application Form and complete appropriately.

The form should be sent to:

MSA Office,

Aintree Hospitals,

Liverpool L9 7AL.

Alternatively:

A trainee should complete an application and submit a cheque for payment £250 at the time of attendance at his/her first session.

The cheques need to be made out to:

LHCH (MSA)

Further information can be obtained from the MSA Administrator, Mr David Strong:

David.Strong@aintree.nhs.uk

Notes

The Courses as listed above are those MSA courses which the Mersey Deanery School of Anaesthesia (MDSA) recommends to Clinical Tutors for FRCA Fellowship candidates.

The courses will be attended under the aegis of Study Leave and the Course Fees are thus recoverable through the appropriate Study Leave protocols as pertain in the respective hospital trusts.

The discounted course fees have been ordained by the MDSA and agreed to by the MSA.

While these courses are extant and continue to provide satisfactory examination preparation for Mersey Deanery candidates, MDSA will continue to support them with the concurrent caveat that the candidates will be not granted Study Leave funding to attend alternative examination courses.

Other MSA Fellowship Courses include:-

* Reservists attend Free of Charge but their attendance needs to be in their own time and not as Study Leave.

Furthermore, they are not required to attend the course from Friday to Sunday.  However, if they do attend a particular day, they will be expected to attend for the whole of that day.

The Viva Weekend courses are structured to accommodate an even multiple of three candidates and the Reservists are used to complete the numbers as necessary.

If they are not included in any particular round of Vivas, the Reservists have the opportunity to study that round’s course material, to play ‘viva’ games with them and to benefit from the revision.

Every Reservists will get some exposure to the stress and strain of viva practice under examination conditions.

To date, the Reservists have been pleased with the arrangement.

However, they also have the option to pay the full course fee (£250) and attend the course as a candidate rather than as a Reservist.

Any Mersey Deanery trainee preferring to attend as a candidate is advised to apply for the course in the usual manner.

Any Mersey Deanery who would prefer to be a full-time, substantive player on the course and who does not wish to risk missing out on a round or two, is welcome to apply for the course via the Website Application Form and to submit the full Course Fee (£250) accordingly.

However, attendance at the course will not be considered as being under the aegis of Study Leave and there will be no reimbursement of the Course Fee.

Advice of MSA Director

Primary candidates should discuss all options regarding the BASIC, MOCC and EASE courses with their College Tutor.
Primary candidates should attend the Mersey Selective Course at least three months before sitting the MCQ paper.
Primary candidates should attend the Primary MCQ Course only when they have committed themselves to the Examination and they should attend the course as near to the exam as possible.
Primary candidates, having been successful in the MCQ, should decide which OSCE/Orals Course they want to attend and apply accordingly as early as possible. Places are limited on this course and, with the two examinations having been rendered as ‘stand alone’ courses, it is no longer possible to ‘reserve’ places for Mersey Deanery applicants.
Final candidates should discuss attendance at the Tuesday and Thursday classes with their College Tutor.
Final candidates should attend the Final (Booker) Course which is staged before the SAQ/MCQ papers which they intend to sit. They should apply for the course as soon as they have decided when they are going to sit the exam. Places are limited, the course is always heavily over-subscribed and, as much as we might want to, we cannot accommodate late applicants from Mersey Deanery candidates.
Final candidates are strongly urged to attend the Final MCQ Course if they can engineer the time off work. There is no Course Fee for such candidates. Failing that, Final FRCA candidates are always welcome to go through the MCQ papers in their spare time albeit by arrangement with me.
Final candidates are strongly urged to make a point of attending the Final Viva Weekend Course (as Reservists)as this course has proved to be of immeasurable value to those who have gone before.

 Last Word:

You should not think of sitting either the Primary or Final Examination until you feel that you deserve to pass. You must not go into these exams simply hoping luck will be on your side and that thus you might pass. The chances are that you would be wrong.