Foreword

Welcome to the December edition of the Deanery newsletter!

Midwinter is upon us and  the recent drop in temperature, whilst creating beautiful scenery, can also make getting outside and tending to our own wellbeing a challenge. I encourage you to wrap up warm and get outside – it will be worth it.

Firstly in this edition we have a resident doctor’s account of managing the  CESR pathway to as a rigorous alternative route to the specialist recognition in the UK for doctors who have not followed the traditional approved training programme. Worth a read.

The next article reports from the recent IMT QI Conference. The event provided a platform for trainees to showcase their ongoing quality improvement projects, share best practices, and foster collaboration. A really worthwhile event.

There’s a new launch of an International Medical Graduate Digital Hub — a national, one-stop resource designed to support IMG doctors, their trainers and supervisors, and their employers and managers, wherever they work in NHS Scotland. An excellent initiative.

Next it is really good to able to congratulate a colleague, Mo Al Haddad, on receiving the Bellahouston Medal which is awarded annually as the highest distinction for excellence in theses submitted for the degrees of MD,DDS and PhD, by medical and dental graduates. Well done Mo.

NES Medical Quality Management (QM) affects all resident doctors in training and their trainers. The team have just refreshed their web presence on the Deanery website. It’s a great resource for all.

On a festive note, NES Knowledge Services have launched a 12 Days of Christmas initiative to unwrap a festive collection of resources. Well worth checking out.

GatewayC helped to facilitate the ambition of earlier and faster cancer diagnosis. To further these efforts, GatewayC offer a number of resources to support primary care health professionals. This GatewayC item gives an update on their latest initiatives.

Lastly, the National Workforce and Education Conference 2026 is on 23 and 24 April next year. Resident doctors are trainers are especially welcome. .

The cold weather is here, it is dark and it is busy, there will be multiple demands on your  but please take the time, to rest and recharge over the next few weeks. Remember no healthcare without self-care. 

Remember to keep submitting articles or suggestions for content, take care and take breaks.

I hope you enjoy this edition.

If you have work you would like to highlight in this newsletter, contact Scotland Deanery: https://www.scotlanddeanery.nhs.scot/contact-us/

Professor Emma Watson
Executive Medical Director, NHS Education for Scotland