The Cardiothoracic Dean holds a pastoral role within the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons and is available for impartial advice on career and educational matters. Specific duties include:
· Liaison between the SpRs and the specialty. The best way to contact the Cardiothoracic Dean is by e-mail
· Career advice:
o For SpRs who might want to discuss things with an outside independent person.
o For SHOs considering a career in cardiothoracic surgery.
o For overseas doctors wanting to come to the UK for further training.
· Secretary to the Intercollegiate Exam Board
· Member of the Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) for Cardiothoracic Surgery. This is a subcommittee of the Senate of Surgery and is responsible for the inspection of training posts and supervision of SpRs’ training.SpRs have an initial interview after appointment to discuss future plans and then one in their penultimate year to ensure that their training and experience will result in recommendation for CCST.The SAC has a statutory role of recommending trainees to the Specialist Training Authority for award of the CCST.
· They allocate training numbers (national and visiting) – the SAC approves a post for training and the Postgraduate Dean allocates the training number.
· They fund the salary of doctors in training – 100% for Junior and Senior House Officers and 50% for Specialist Registrars.
· They are responsible for co-ordinating and overseeing the RITA procedure (record of in-training assessment).
· They “sign off” trainees at completion of their training (although the SAC decides whether training is adequate).
