Deaneries and Associated Roles

The Head of School is jointly appointed with the Deanery through application and interview. The key role of the Head of School is to manage the delivery of Surgical training within the Deanery.

The Deanery Adviser is also jointly appointed with the Deanery. This role was created as an interim role to help to establish the local School of Surgery. Deanery Advisers may no longer be present in every region; during the next year the Deanery Adviser post will cease to exist as a result of restructuring of the regional roles.

Regional Specialty Advisers are the College's local lead for surgery in one of the nine SAC-defined specialties. They support education and training locally and are vital to the decision-making around a new consultant appointment in a trust by approving the person spec and job description. This role is being phased out as the Supporting Surgeons in the Workplace pilots come on line.

Surgical Tutors are hospital based roles (or sometimes all hospitals in a particular Trust) and have been integral to supporting core surgical training and education. They work closely with the Core Surgical Training Programme Director/Chair of the Core Surgical Training Committee (CSTC). They contribute to the induction planning and developing education and learning opportunities including courses and have played an integral part in the implementation of the new curriculum. Appointments for this role are carried out either locally by the School of Surgery/Deanery with College input, or the College manages the entire process; this is dependent on local circumstances. The Surgical Tutor role is under review; it is likely that the remit of the Tutor will extend to cover Specialty training or trainees (ST3-ST8 in the majority of surgical specialties) and recruitment to the role will be carried out jointly by the College, Schools of Surgery/Deanery and the Trust.

In some hospitals there will also be Departmental Education Supervisors, who lead the department or unit on behalf of their specialty, working with both the Surgical Tutor and the Core and Specialty Programme Directors.

Core Surgical Training Programme Director/CSTC Chairs are Deanery/School of Surgery appointments and lead the core level programme delivery as determined by the School. Through the Core Surgical Training Committee they manage CT1 & CT2 trainees, their career expectations and training opportunities, with the support of Surgical Tutors in the Trusts.

Specialty Programme Directors are Deanery/School of Surgery appointments who follow College/SAC policy but administer the education and training for specialty trainees (ST3-ST8 in the majority of surgical specialties). They are instrumental in implementing the new surgical curriculum at specialty level and ensuring consistency across the specialty and hospitals. They contribute to induction planning and developing education and learning opportunities including courses.

The key to successful education and training programmes is to create and manage defined education and training opportunities at Trust level. This necessitates an agreement between Deanery and Trust to secure these opportunities in theatre, clinic and on the ward for trainees and requires time for the trainer to supervise the trainee appropriately. All of the above roles can be pivotal in this process.

As a result of a desire to promote and maintain high standards in the education and the outcomes of the Supporting Surgeons in the Workplace pilots, there may be further changes to the regional structure for training and education in the near future. We will keep trainers and consultants informed as we make progress and develop our educational partnership with Deans and Trusts.