Your membership magazine from the RCOG:stories from the specialty

See inside for a discussionof the impact of fitness

on your patients’ healthand wellbeing

Membership

MattersVolume 2 | Issue 1

Contents

From the President

Centre COG 2

Stories from the specialtyA day in the life of a newly appointed consultant 2Dr Karen McIntyre MRCOG and Dr Vicky Cording MRCOG

A message to new Members 4Ms Melanie Davies FRCOG

Achievers 6

New resuscitation trolley wins top innovation award 6Mr Andrew Weeks MRCOG

Honours and awards 7

Clinical practice 8

Revalidation: what will it mean? 8Mr Mahmood Shafi FRCOG

The Office for Research and Clinical Audit 9

Lifestyle 10

An obstetrician goes surfing: the dawn of the electronic age 10Professor James Drife FRCOG

Twitter ye not?

How clinicians should engage with social media 11Simon Kemp

Education 12

Importance of fitness for women 12Dr Sheela Nambiar

Contents

International 14

10th RCOG International Scientific Congress:

5–8 June 2012, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia 14Dr Gunasegaran PT Rajan FRCOG

College archives 16

Professor William Blair-Bell: a story in pictures 16Penny Bonning, Archivist

Heritage reviving history: learning from the past to inform

the future 19

Forthcoming dates, conferences and courses at the RCOG 20

College news 22

Fellows’ and Members’ Admission Ceremonies 22

Electronic Fetal Monitoring:

award-winning free resource available 23

Can you help? 24

In memoriam 26

Update from the Retired Fellows and Members Society 28

BJOG simulation supplement 28

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

27 Sussex Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RG

Registered Charity No. 213280

Tel: +44 (0)20 7772 6200 ● Fax: +44 (0)20 7723 0575

Web: www.rcog.org.uk

Membership Matters Editor:

Luke Stevens-Burt, Director, Membership Relations

Send your contributions and ideas to lstevens-burt@rcog.org.uk

All materials © RCOG, unless otherwise stated

Printed by: Print Direct Ltd, Maidenhead

About the front cover: A fit and active

lifestyle has undisputed benefits for your

patients’ health and wellbeing. See page

12 for more information on how exercise

can enhance women’s lives throughout

their life course.

Your membership magazine from the RCOG:stories from the specialty

See inside for a discussionof the impact of fitness

on your patients’ healthand wellbeing

Membership

MattersVolume 2 | Issue 1

an easy climate: the legis-lation on working hours,the changing require-ments of our discipline,the challenges of continu-ity of care and the greaterexpectations are just someexamples of the pressures

they experience. Throughout all disciplines there is a viewthat ‘trainees are not as good as they were in my day’. Suchstatements were made when I qualified and have no evidencebase. What has changed is the intensity and continuity oftraining today. However, much more concern has been focused on what trainees need to learn and the way they acquire and assess those skills. The messaging is importanttoo. I am aware that the drivers to increase 24-hour consult-ant presence can be interpreted as specialist trainees pro-viding a lesser-quality service. This is not the case. Our thesisis bound up in a concept centring on the value of experience.Indeed, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is producinga publication addressing the value of 24-hour consultantpresence across many different disciplines. As a specialtywe have to address the issue of bullying and harassment oftrainees, which has been an issue for a few years. In the recent General Medical Council survey, we were an outlierin this area. As a profession we must sign up to zero toleranceto this problem. I know that the majority of dedicated train-ers will support such a stance and I look to all those involvedto identify and resolve this problem through exclusion ofsuch people from training responsibilities. I hope that thetrainees, as a group, feel at the heart of our activities.

At the end of 2011, I was pleased to receive a letter from an ST1 at one of our London hospitals, who recognised theimportance and dedication of their trainer. I have quoted afew lines and omitted the name to prevent any unnecessaryembarrassment: ‘[she] utilises every opportunity for trainingjunior doctors, her style is constantly patient and neverchanges even in busy and stressful situations. By deployingproblem-based techniques, involving us in discussion and de-bate rather than simply giving information, our thinking isstimulated. Even the simplest process or task is turned intoan enjoyable learning opportunity... What differentiates herfrom other teachers is her willingness to go the extra mile,make more effort, give more praise, spend more time and theway in which she treats us as individuals... We are doctorswho will take and use some of the inspiration she gave us sogenerously to inspire our clinical practice in the future.’

Recruitment to our discipline has been very successful and we are again attracting outstanding young doctors to

By the time you receive this, we will be well intothe New Year, but at the time of writing it isfitting to reflect on successes through 2011.The appointment of Dr Tahir Mahmood to CBEin the Queen’s New Year Honours List is a

cause of huge pride to us all. In his usual very quiet andhumble way, Tahir accepted this on behalf of the patientswhom he served and on behalf of the standards and guide-lines team at the RCOG. It is excellent that such commit-ment should be so acknowledged in this national honour.

Maternity services have been under intense scrutiny andthe National Institute for Health and Clinical Effectivenessguideline on caesarean section, followed two days later bythe birthplace study in England, created the need for imme-diate responses and clear messaging both for the women weserve and for our membership. I hope that everyone feels thatour statements have been fair and representative of the evi-dence provided. I believe that our press releases were well re-ceived and clearly supported delivery for nulliparous womenwith no complications in obstetric units or adjacent mid-wifery units. Our view on multiparous women with no com-plications of pregnancy supported undertaking delivery inany of the four birthing options. While such clear uncontro-versial statements make easy transcription to print, they donot always attract interviews for other media channels. As aCollege, we are very clear that we need to work very closelywith our other medical and midwifery colleagues to providethe safest and most appropriate care possible. There is goodevidence that such professional relationships, based on mu-tual respect, are accompanied by improved patient care.

Throughout the second half of 2011 there was much par-liamentary and government affairs activity around theHealth and Social Care Bill. The RCOG submitted its re-sponse to the Future Forum during the ‘listening exercise’when the Bill was debated in the Commons. During the sec-ond phase of the Future Forum, Professor Stephen Field at-tended our Council and received direct feedback on mattersof information, education and integration of care. We sub-mitted a further written response. The critical responses toeducation and training from the Future Forum have yet tobe published, but we will be making a separate submissionto the Health Select Committee on education, training andworkforce planning. Lord Patel has been very active in theUpper Chamber and our press office has produced briefingdocuments for both the Peers and MPs.

Throughout last year, the enthusiasm and ability of ourtrainees has been very apparent to me. In meetings in London, Bristol, Bridgend and Newcastle, I have been struckby the outstanding quality of our future specialists. It is not

From the

President

Dr Tony Falconer President, Royal College of Obstetriciansand Gynaecologists

1

obstetrics and gynaecology. Above all, it is rewarding to meetso many dedicated teachers and it is timely for these doctorsto be recognised through the academy structure. TheMRCOG is a sought-after degree of quality everywhere andlast year the examination was conducted in many centres,including Baghdad. As President, the Membership Admis-sion ceremonies are very special and it is a great privilege toaward the MRCOG to so many hard-working people from atruly global community. We must continue to support andnourish our successors.

The 9th International Scientific Meeting held in Athenswas a huge success despite all the financial and economicdifficulties engulfing Greece. We would encourage Fellowsand Members to come to Kuching, Malaysia in June 2012 for our next conference, which will combine an outstanding conference with a fascinating country to visit. The scientificprogramme is now online (http://www.rcog2012.com/).

In September, we celebrated the contributions of Sir GeorgePinker to the RCOG, Wellbeing of Women and the Royal Society of Medicine through a memorial lecture. The MostReverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, gavea thought-provoking address at St Marylebone Parish Churchon global health, followed by a question and answer sessionat Sussex Place.

Clinical governance is a concept very familiar to us all,but less consideration is given to institutional governance.It has been timely for the RCOG to examine its structuresand modernise in line with current thinking and principles.Presently, the Trustees of the RCOG are the 36 elected mem-bers of the Council. The Council supported the establishmentof a Working Party, chaired by Baroness Julia Neuberger, to review College governance. The recommendations werepresented to Council in November where feedback was encouraged with the intention of modifying the documentappropriately. The subsequent recommendations were sub-mitted to Council at the end of January. Many of these con-cepts may seem rather dry, but they are vital to the successfulrunning of an organisation. The impact of external supportfrom lay people and their contribution to our work in thelast year has been immense and it is my belief that we needto use the skills provided by lay experts more often.

We tried to tap advice from our membership in our responses to the Health and Social Care Bill. This feedbackwas extremely helpful in constructing responses. Now weare involved in a major Working Party looking at Tomorrow’sSpecialists. This working group will assimilate informationfrom many quarters and I am very grateful to those Membersand Fellows who responded to the questionnaire. Such information is vital to us as we formulate our thinking.

During any year an organisation like this will experiencesignificant change. The internal changes to the departmentalstructures have been embraced by the staff with enthusiasm.In September Mr Ric Warren demitted office as HonorarySecretary, a post he held for seven distinguished years. I wishto express the gratitude of everyone for his outstanding contribution.

On 30 March Professor Andrew Calder will deliver theFounders’ Day lecture entitled ‘Footprints on the Sands ofTime – Handing on the Obstetric Torch’. This lecture will befollowed by a Scottish evening including opportunities fordancing. I look forward to seeing you there.

OK, so you got the job,you exceptionally cleverperson you! Feeling in-credibly proud right now?Also probably relieved tohave stepped off the con-veyor belt that is spe-cialty training and into ajob with more continuity?But also more than a lit-tle terrified at becoming

a very important person with huge responsibilities?Thought so!

Having commenced in post in 2010, we were in much thesame situation and thought we would share our worries andtips for overcoming them.

To whom should I introduce myself when I start?Most units have an induction programme set out when youfirst start, but try and ensure you also make some appoint-ments to meet with people. This will give you a chance to introduce yourself and put a face to a name. It also gives youan opportunity to discuss the future of the unit and the hospital as a whole and meet some very influential peoplewho can help you make any changes you may suggest. Thesepeople include the medical director, the chief executive, thehead of nursing/midwifery, the finance director, your owndirectorate manager, clinical directors of related specialtiesand the director of operations.

How do I set up my clinic templates?Some units will have generic templates that are used in allclinics; others will ask you to set up your own. Unless youhave any specific wishes, there is no harm in following thetemplate of one of your colleagues; you can always alter itat a later date if it doesn’t suit. Your secretary will be able tohelp you find out what others do.

I don’t understand everything in the management meetings!The first couple of management meetings can be daunt-ing, but no one expects you to be an immediate expert. Youare a clinician and will build up your management skillsthrough time. The best way to familiarise yourself is to involve yourself in the meetings. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – many unfamiliar abbreviations are used, so youneed to ask. These meetings help give you the opportunityto offer your suggestions for changes to the unit and keepyou aware of current issues.

A day in the life of a newly appointed consultantDR KAREN MCINTYRE MRCOG AND DR VICKY CORDING MRCOG

Centre COG

Dr Vicky Cording MRCOG

2 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

practical skills from a consultant out of hours. Your colleagues will also be quite happy: there will gener-

ally be an additional consultant on call from home in caseyou need another pair of hands, but they are very likely tohave a quiet night on call.

On a more personal note, resident on call allows you tomaintain your practical skills on the shop floor, and will be more familiar and comfortable for you than traditionalconsultant on call from home when you have just left yourtrainee post. Also, the rota is likely to be quite predictable,incorporating compensatory rest, which can be beneficial in

terms of child care.

Are there any drawbacks to being resident on call – will Ibe viewed as a ‘sub-consultant’?This can vary depending on the unit. Very few of us will

be working in a tertiary centre and therefore, owing to theeffects of the European Working Time Regulations, most of

us are likely to be on call at a middle-grade level. As a re-sult, there may be occasional problems with being recog-nised as the consultant and some staff may refer to you

as the registrar. Also, if you have been appointed in a unitwhere you have worked as a trainee, the staff may find itdifficult initially to view you as a consultant, particularlywhen resident. Unfortunately, you will just have to grin

and bear it in the early days, but be reassured that, withtime, you will be accepted as a consultant just as yourcolleagues but perhaps with the benefit that you are seen

as more approachable owing to your ‘presence’ when on call.The concept of the resident consultant is still in its infancy.

Given time, it will be accepted as the norm and those thatfollow us will have far less trouble being viewed as the sameas their consultant colleagues.

Will there be any awkwardness with junior staff who aremuch older or have worked with me at a more junior level? This will depend for the most part on the personalities ofthose juniors and yourself. Personally, we have not encoun-tered any particular difficulties other than the occasional‘test’ of decision making. Remember, you are obviously ex-perienced enough to be in this role and ultimately the careof your patients is your own responsibility.

Other issuesIt is useful to consider other areas you may wish to becomeinvolved in early in the job so this can be worked into yourjob plan. For example, you may wish to be involved in riskmanagement or teaching. Discuss this with your clinical director. Setting up a new teaching session may be as simpleas gathering the juniors together at lunchtime to discusscases, whereas attendance at prescheduled meetings may require reorganisation of your timetable.

The most important person is your secretary, who will generally know everyone and everything you need to knowon a day-to-day basis, or at least know how to find out. Lookafter your secretary and they will certainly look after you.

Most importantly, don’t take things personally. Things willgo wrong, you will be asked to sort them out and, ultimately,you will take responsibility because you are the consultant.However, it is not all your fault and you do have lots of support – just be sure to use it.

What if I feel out of my depth when on call?When you are first on call as a consultant, it is understand-able and expected that you will be nervous. Some units pro-vide a formal mentoring scheme where there is a specificsenior colleague available during each period on call. If not,just ask! Most senior colleagues will happily give you theircontact details for support. It is actually unlikely that youwill need them (how often have you needed the consultantovernight in your final year of training?), but just havingthe option will help relieve the initial stress.

In some circumstances even the most experienced of consultants would (and should) call a colleague fora second opinion, so never be afraid to do this.

How do I organise my theatre list?Organisation of theatre lists can vary among units.In some units, lists are prepared by an admissionsteam, who will have an appreciation of the averagelength of procedures so as not to overbook the list.If, however, you anticipate difficulties or feel youneed longer than average because it’s been a whilesince your last vaginal hysterectomy, for example,then say so. Get to know your admissions team andhave regular communication with them.

Some units expect you to organise your own lists/diary. If this is the case, be realistic. Bear in mindthe other factors, not just the operating time, and allow for anaesthesia and transfer times.

I have a difficult theatre case – help!Again, your colleagues are invaluable here. You are not expected to deal with every single surgical possibility and,certainly, your colleagues will ask each other for help andadvice more regularly than you perhaps appreciated as atrainee. No one thinks any less of you for asking for assis-tance – the safety of your patients is the priority.

I have a really awkward case – where can I get help?Initially, you will generally be less busy than your colleagues;make the most of it because this doesn’t last long. A gooduse of your time may be to read notes ahead of clinics so youare prewarned of difficult cases, giving you time to prepare.

As mentioned above, your consultant colleagues almostcertainly discuss difficult cases among themselves andmay look to you for advice since you may be more up todate on recent guidelines than they are. Remember, youhave only just left your training post and probably stillhave contacts in other units who can offer advice in themost complicated of cases.

Remember to make a note of challenging cases: contin-uing professional development points are available for ‘reflective learning’.

What are the benefits of being resident on call as a consultant?For the unit you are working in, the benefits include con-sultant-level decision making out of hours (with benefits forpatients) and increasing the consultant hours for the ClinicalNegligence Scheme for Trusts. There are also benefits fortrainees. If your unit can ensure that you are on call with aspecialty trainee rather than a general practitioner or foun-dation trainee, there will be opportunities for them to learn

Centre COG | continued 3

and you will keep up to date with The Obstetrician & Gynae-cologist, electronic journals and postgraduate meetings.

Before you know it, you will become a senior member of the profession, and come back to a ceremony here in a different gown, becoming a Fellow with an even higher feeto the Treasurer! You may even sit amongst Council.

Being a representative on Council is an experience I recommend and I hope that you will consider it. Currently,we are in challenging times, maintaining standards of carewith the impact of the economic recession, a rising birthrate and an ageing population. My request to you is, pleasedon’t stand on the outside – become involved to make thingsbetter. This is your organisation.

The College is an international body. Almost half of itsMembers and Fellows live outside the United Kingdom. Thismultinational perspective enriches the College. There is a long history of doctors from overseas coming to train inthe UK. In exchange, senior UK trainees are extending theirexperience with VSO projects.

There is so much to do for women’s health around theworld. About 350 000 women are dying this year through preg-nancy and childbirth; 99% are in developing countries whereresources are scarce. Tragically, we see the effect of conflicton health care: the countries with the highest maternal mortality rates are believed to be Afghanistan and Somalia,where for every 100 000 maternities there are at least 1200deaths, compared with eight in the UK.

But there is progress: maternal mortality is falling, andmore women are getting skilled help during childbirth. Mem-bers of this College have collaborated to teach life-savingobstetric skills to hundreds of health workers in a dozencountries. Our very good wishes go to those new in the fore-front of this battle.

As Members of the College you are part of a global com-munity – a network that will provide support in what can bea lonely position of responsibility. You will have friendship,social interaction and shared interests, but the College isnot a club, because it has a sense of purpose. That purposeis to improve women’s health. And in looking after women,you are looking after the health of their families and theircommunities. Does any other branch of medicine have thecapacity to influence lives so profoundly?

So, to enter this profession is a privilege. Of course, withthe attainment of your membership come responsibilities.You have a role to maintain standards, and you must actwith integrity in all aspects of your professional life. Youwill lead a team, but please do not go beyond your capabili-

ties, and never be afraid to ask for help. Treatall your patients with compassion, respectand kindness. Use your increasing experi-ence to teach and to train others. And I hopeyou will bring your skills and enthusiasmand lead the profession into the future.

With the knowledge and skills that youhave now, you can transform others’ lives.Our specialty is intensely demanding but im-mensely rewarding – and you are now wellon your way to an excellent career. So, to allof you, ‘congratulations’ and welcome to theMembership of the Royal College of Obste-tricians and Gynaecologists.

A message to new MembersMS MELANIE DAVIES FRCOG

This is an abridged transcript taken from the speech given by Ms Melanie Davies FRCOG, Fellows’Representative for London, at the 2011 November Admissions Ceremony.

A message to those who have recently become Members ofthe RCOG (and a reminder for those who have been Fellowsand Members for some time!)

At the heart of our ceremony is the admission of new Mem-bers. Congratulations! You have chosen a wonderful specialty– no other field offers so much variety. For example, my fieldof reproductive medicine has been revolutionised by devel-opments in assisted conception, laparoscopic surgery, three-dimensional ultrasound and single-cell genetic diagnosis.

We congratulate you on your hard work, and recognise thelong hours of study that you have put in preparing for thisexam – over and above those worked as junior doctors. TheMRCOG is recognised as a searching examination. It is ahighly respected qualification wherever you may practise inyour future careers.

You are bound to be challenged and deeply involved. Thereis always that little surge of adrenaline when you walk on tothe labour ward, as I did so recently: the emergency buzzerwent off for a young woman having an eclamptic fit, and thewhole team worked together to stabilise her, control theseizures and successfully deliver her baby. I was exhausted,but also elated – and I still feel like this after 25 years in thebusiness.

So now you have passed the exam and been admitted tomembership of the College. What will it mean for you?

One of the founders of the College in 1929 was Sir WilliamFletcher Shaw. He wrote: ‘a College is not an object of stoneor bricks, or of furniture or books. It is a collection of indi-viduals, banded together for objects that can only be attainedby the active co-operation of each Fellow and Member.’

The College’s core purpose as a professional association isto promote the best in health care for women worldwide. Itis a charity providing education and training, and also amembership organisation providing support and advice. TheCollege is very much a working organisation. It represents ahard-working specialty! The College coat of arms has a shieldof light and dark blue, as our work goes on day and night.

My advice during the remaining years ofyour training is to plan carefully to ensurethat you prepare yourself for job opportuni-ties. Keep up your core skills, even if you develop a specialist interest, and take everyopportunity to gain experience.

In the future the College will be a focus ofyour professional life – and I don’t just meanthe ongoing relationship you will have withmy friend the Honorary Treasurer. The Col-lege will support you as a new consultant inwhat may be the most stressful transition ofyour career. You will use the clinical servicestandards and the highly valued guidelines,

A College is not an objectof stone or bricks, or of

furniture or books. It is acollection of individuals,

banded together for objects that can only beattained by the active co-operation of each Fellow and Member

4 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

Ten different ways to discover BJOG

For further information on accessing BJOG through these routes, visit

www.BJOG.org

6 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

What are the potential benefits? There are three main benefits of the BASICS trolley:

● Around 10% of all newborns are taken to the resuscita-tion unit immediately after birth, although 85% ofthese return to the mother within a few minutes. TheBASICS trolley allows the newborn to stay with themother for its initial assessment and care.

● Randomised trials suggest that the babies harmedmost by immediate cord clamping are those born prematurely. Immediate clamping in these babies increases the rate of intraventricular haemorrhageand need for blood transfusion; however, prematurebirths are the very ones where delaying clamping isdifficult in practice. The BASICS trolley allows both resuscitation and delayed cord clamping.

● In theory, those with intrapartum cordcompression/cardiotocographic abnormalities wouldalso benefit. If the cord is compressed during labour,the optimal management is for the cord to be decom-pressed (by delivery of the baby) and then for the oxy-genated placental blood to be allowed into the neonate.The BASICS trolley will enable more detailed researchinto whether bedside or room-side resuscitation is bestfor these compromised babies.

What did the judges say? ‘This is a great example of service redesign and the sort of in-novation that is essential in the modern NHS, where improvedquality and efficiency play a vital role, but will require fundingfrom the NHS.’

Who developed it? In January 2010, David Hutchon FRCOG convened a meetingof eight clinicians in Worcester interested in ‘intact cord resuscitation’. As well as the host Andrew Gallagher and chairSusan Bewley FRCOG, also present were Amanda Burleigh,Lelia Duley FRCOG, Anne Marie Heuchan, David HutchonFRCOG, David Odd DRCOG and Andrew Weeks FRCOG. Fromthis came the idea of a compact resuscitation trolley basedon the platform that Anne Marie Heuchan had used in Glas-gow. Susan Bewley coined the acronym BASICS and AndrewWeeks produced the original design drawings which weretaken back to Liverpool. Lelia Duley gained research fundingfrom the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) tobuild a prototype and conduct the early-stage research intoits use. The BASICS trolley is currently being built by PeterWatt in the University of Liverpool’s Clinical EngineeringUnit and undergoing trials run by Andrew Weeks and BillYoxall at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

The Bedside Assessment, Stabilisation and Initial Cardiores-piratory Support (BASICS) trolley recently won ‘Best Inno-vation in Service Redesign in Cardiovascular Medicine’ atthe 2011 Medical Futures Awards.

What is it? The BASICS trolley is a redesign of the standard resuscita-tion trolley. It allows resuscitation to take place at themother’s bedside with the umbilical cord intact. This is incontrast to current ‘resuscitaires’ which are usually placedin a corner of the room, meaning that the baby has to betaken away from the mother after birth and carried over tothe remote trolley.

What’s new? The state-of-the-art BASICS trolley is much more compactmeaning that it can be manoeuvred right alongside the bedfor a normal delivery, over a caesarean section table or underthe legs of a woman in the lithotomy position for an assistedvaginal delivery.

Phot

o: L

enita

Bur

man

New resuscitation trolley wins top innovation awardMR ANDREW WEEKS MRCOG

(L to R): Dr David Hutchon, Retired Consultant from Darlington Memorial Hospital; Dr Andrew Weeks, Consultant Obstetrician from LWH; Peter Watt, Design Engineer from RLUH; Amanda Burleigh, Midwife from Leeds Teach-ing Hospitals Trust and Dr Andrew Gallagher, Consultant Paediatricianfrom Worcester Royal Hospital.

Achievers

An artist’s impression of the BASICS trolley in action

Welsh Asian Women of Achievement Award

Miss Tapati Maulik FRCOGis the first ever recipient ofthe Welsh Asian WomenAchievement Award in thecategory of Science Tech-nology and Leadership. Shehas been a much reveredmentor and trainer to manyobstetricians and gynaecol-ogists in South Wales andfurther afield over manyyears. In 1985 she was thefirst female Asian consult-ant to be appointed in theUK. Now retired from theNHS, she continues to

operate on a pro bono basis in charitable hospitals in her na-tive India. See: http://www.welshasianwomenaward.org.ukfor more information about the award.

Electronic Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring module

wins award

The RCOG, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) have worked in partnershipon the successful development of the Electronic Fetal HeartRate Monitoring (eFM) module.

eFM won the silver award in the ‘Most innovative newlearning hardware or software product’ category at the e-Learning Age 2011 Awards, competing against 250 entriesfrom 17 countries, including those from commercial IT andmultinational organisations such as BT, RBS and BP. Oneuser commented, ‘Overall, this appears to be an excellentprogramme, based on constructivist learning principles thatwill provide a flexible, easily accessible and invaluable resource for maternity care providers’.

Honours and awardsThe RCOG wishes to acknowledge the following achieve-ments. We are sure all Fellows and Members would wish tojoin us in congratulating the following.

Dr Tahir Mahmood

FRCOG elected

President of EBCOG

Dr Tahir Mahmood, immedi-ate past Vice President (Stan-dards), became PresidentElect of the European Boardand College of Obstetrics andGynaecology (EBCOG) on 26November 2011. This com-prises a three-year appoint-ment as President Elect, fol-

lowed by another three years as President. Tahir follows inthe footsteps of other past RCOG Officers, including LordNaren Patel and Professor Bill Dunlop CBE (past Presidents).We would like to congratulate Tahir on this post and wishhim well during his term.

Professor Marshall D Lindheimer FRCOG

receives honorary doctorate

Professor Marshall D Lindheimer, Fellow ad eundem, wasawarded an honorary doctorate by Bern University duringtheir ‘Dies Academicus’ for his work focusing on advocacyand research relating to pre-eclampsia and other studies.This doctorate adds to a number of other honours he has re-ceived, including: Lifetime of Service and Advocacy Awards;The Chesley Award for Research in Hypertension in Preg-nancy; The Belding Scribner Award from the American So-ciety of Nephrology; and a personal letter congratulatinghim for contributions to the health of mothers and childrenfrom US President Barack Obama.

Achievers | continued 7

About this issue and Membership Matters in 2012We are pleased to announce that, owing to an increasingamount of content and contributions, Membership Mat-ters will be increasing to three issues per year. In orderto initiate the new schedule, it has been decided to printthis supplementary issue which is thinner than usual.

The new distribution dates will be:● February/March● June/July● October/November

The extra edition will allow for more articles and infor-mation, so please let us know if you have any items ofinterest which you would like to include. Also, if youhave any suggestions for content that you would like tosee, do not hesitate to contact one of the editorial team.Professor Lindheimer (right) receiving his doctorate from Professor Peter

Eggli, Medical School Dean, Bern University (left).

Clinical practice

Revalidation: what will it mean?MR MAHMOOD SHAFI FRCOGCHAIR, REVALIDATION COMMITTEE AND CPD OFFICER

First of all there was recertification, then relicensingand now we have settled on revalidation. We have beendiscussing this issue for many years and variousplanned start dates have been delayed for a numberof reasons. With the recent review by the GeneralMedical Council (GMC), revalidation now appears to be on track to commence by late 2012. The GMCwill work with the health departments in England,Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to ensure that all systems are ready by the summer. An assessment of readiness will need to be undertakenbefore the Secretary of State for Health can agree tothe commencement of the relevant legislation.

The purpose of revalidation is to assure patients and the public, employers and other healthcare professionals that licensed doctors are up to date and fit to practise. AndrewLansley, Secretary of State for Health, has reiterated the gov-ernment’s intentions in relation to revalidation, which mustbe relevant to doctors’ day-to-day medical practice. This approach will reinforce and promote the importance of havingrobust clinical governance systems within healthcare organ-isations. The process of revalidation will need to be more flex-ible, especially when considering non-mainstream doctorssuch as locum doctors or those working solelyin the independent sector.

What is evident is that there will be no ‘bigbang’ approach to introducing revalidation;instead, it will be rolled out incrementally.There is a desire to make the process asstraightforward, proportionate and cost-effective as possible. With this in mind, theSecretary of State has committed to an ad-ditional 12 months of testing and piloting inEngland. All doctors will need to take partin an annual appraisal process based around

the good medical practice framework of the GMC. The RCOGwill continue to be involved in standard-setting and as suchwill be looking for advice from the various subspecialty areasin obstetrics and gynaecology.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is an integralpart of revalidation. CPD has undergone revision and re-finement with the inclusion of a mandatory ‘knowledge baseassessment’ (KBA) based around TOG. We are still develop-ing the KBA to fulfil CPD requirements and no doubt willwork closely with subspecialist societies to make sure allare catered for adequately. CPD participants would normallyachieve at least ten credits for KBAs annually using the articles from TOG (equivalent to five articles/assessments).The articles chosen should be relevant to the individual’sarea of practice. Subspecialists will be required to completea minimum of two articles/assessments from their particulararea and another three which can be general. Those whohave difficulty accumulating CPD credits in the national/international or personal/professional categories can useKBAs to supplement these areas. This gives considerableflexibility to the whole process and we will continue to mon-itor and revise as necessary.

With revalidation and CPD, the secret is always going to beto do this on a regular basis. This minimises any pain; also, ifany problems or issues are identified, they can be correctedin a timely manner. Certainly, at the RCOG we value feedbackand always aim to assist Fellows and Members in the CPDand revalidation process.

A reminder about CPD changes

Fellows and Members will be aware that the College has re-vised the CPD programme and that the old CPD diary is nolonger valid. Please ensure that you are familiar with theCPD guide (July 2010). You will need to be aware, for example,that all participants are required to undertake KBA via thequestions provided in TOG. If you work in a narrow areaand do not find sufficient material in TOG to cover yourpractice, you will need to find an alternative KBA activityand liaise with the CPD Office to agree this. You are also required to attend one mandatory meeting in each 5-year cycle. It is important that the CPD programme retains a balance and for this reason a maximum of 25 credits permain type of activity (excluding the KBA category) has beenset in each 5-year cycle.

All CPD participants should use the CPD/revalidation ePort-folio to record their CPD activities and store the related evi-dence. Because the CPD activities need to be linked to partic-

ipants’ current clinical activities, you arerequired to store your job plan and personaldevelopment plans in your ePortfolio.

A revalidation log has recently been addedto the ePortfolio to allow you to save sum-maries of annual appraisals and outcomes of patient and colleague questionnaires inone place. CPD credits are not claimable foruploading these documents. Use of the reval-idation log is optional, but you are requiredto use the CPD/revalidation ePortfolio forCPD purposes.

The purpose of revalidation is to assurepatients and the public,

employers and otherhealthcare professionals

that licensed doctors are up to date and

fit to practise

8 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

increased the risk of postpartum haemorrhage (adjusted OR1.91; 95% CI 1.74–2.09), obstetric trauma (OR 2.34; 95% CI1.50–3.65), blood transfusion (OR 4.39; 95% CI 3.76–5.12) andhysterectomy (OR 39.70; 95% CI 22.42–70.30). The rate of hys-terectomy among women with placenta praevia was 1%, con-siderably lower than estimates from other studies of 5%.Therefore, placenta praevia remains a risk factor for variousmaternal complications after elective CS, but the risk is lowerthan estimated in previous studies.

Gurol-Urganci I, Cromwell DA, Edozien LC, Onwere C, Mahmood TA, van der Meulen JH. The timing of electivecaesarean delivery between 2000 and 2009 in England. BMCPregnancy Childbirth 2011;11:43.

www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/11/43

Key messages: NHS trusts in the study have responded tothe new evidence on the benefits of delaying elective CS to after 39 weeks of gestation (NICE Clinical Guideline 13:Caesarean section). However, substantial differences betweenNHS trusts remain, which indicate there is room for furtherimprovement. In our analysis of 118 456 elective CS deliveriesbetween 1 April 2000 and 28 February 2009 in 63 NHS trusts(recorded on the Hospital Episode Statistics database), theoverall proportion of elective CS deliveries performed after39 completed weeks steadily increased from 39% in 2000/01to 63% in 2008/09. The proportions rose from 43% to 67% forwomen with breech presentation and from 35% to 62% forwomen with a previous CS. There was significant variationacross NHS trusts in each year; in 2008/09, the proportion of elective CS performed after 39 weeks ranged from 28% to 89% (inter-quartile range limits: 54% to 72%). The studyfound a small but statistically significant increase in theproportion immediately after the publication of the NICEguidance, but the growth rate declined slightly thereafter.The authors suggest that maternity services and commis-sioners adopt the ‘timing of elective caesarean’ as a qualityindicator to support clinical practice.

Bragg F, Cromwell DA, Edozien LC, Gurol-Urganci I, Mahmood TA, Templeton A, van der Meulen JH. Variationin rates of caesarean section among English NHS trusts after accounting for maternal and clinical risk: cross sectional study. BMJ 2010;341:c5065.

www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c5065?tab=full

Key messages: Characteristics of women delivering at NHStrusts differ, and comparing unadjusted rates of CS shouldbe avoided. Adjusted rates of CS still vary considerably andattempts to reduce this variation should examine issueslinked to emergency CS. In our cross-sectional analysis of620 604 singleton births in 146 English NHS trusts between 1January and 31 December 2008 (using routinely collectedHospital Episode Statistics), 147 726 (23.8%) were deliveredby CS. Women were more likely to have a CS if they had hadone previously (70.8%) or had a baby with breech presenta-tion (89.8%). Unadjusted rates of CS among the NHS trustsranged from 13.6% to 31.9%. Trusts differed in their patientpopulations, but adjusted rates still ranged from 14.9% to32.1%. Rates of emergency CS varied among trusts to agreater extent than rates of elective CS.

The Office for Research and Clinical AuditThe Office for Research and Clinical Audit (ORCA), a collab-oration between the College and the London School of Hy-giene & Tropical Medicine, has been working on the researchproject ‘Evaluation of caesarean section rates using HospitalEpisodes Statistics’ for the last three years. Starting with apaper on regional differences in caesarean section ratesamong English NHS trusts, the research has moved on to re-lated topics such as the timing of elective caesarean deliveryin England (in response to the recommendations of the NICEcaesarean section guideline) and placenta praevia after cae-sarean section morbidity. The following is a summary of thepapers produced and their key messages.

Visit the ORCA webpages at www.rcog.org.uk/orca formore information.

Gurol-Urganci I, Cromwell DA, Edozien LC, Smith GC, Onwere C, Mahmood TA, Templeton A, van der Meulen JH.Risk of placenta praevia in second birth after first birthcaesarean section: a population-based study in England.BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2011;11:95.

www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/11/95

Key messages: There is an increased risk of placenta praeviaassociated with a previous caesarean section (CS). The in-crease in risk is at the lower end of the range of previouslyreported estimates. In our retrospective cohort study of 192 816 women who gave birth to a singleton first and secondbaby between April 2000 and March 2006 in England, the rateof placenta praevia at second birth for women with vaginalfirst births was 4.3 per 1000 births, compared with 8.4 per1000 births for women with CS at first birth. After adjust-ment, a previous CS remained associated with an increasedrisk of placenta praevia (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.34– 1.80). The effectof first birth CS on placenta praevia was marginally higherin Asian women than in the other ethnic groups, but the size of effect did not differ for other patient characteristics.Multiple logistic regression was used to adjust the estimatesfor placenta praevia at first birth, maternal age, ethnicity,deprivation, inter-birth interval and pregnancy complica-tions. The increased risk of placenta praevia associated withprevious CS is 56%, which is at the lower end of the range ofprevious estimates.

Onwere C, Gurol-Urganci I, Cromwell DA, Mahmood TA,Templeton A, van der Meulen JH. Maternal morbidity associated with placenta praevia among women who hadelective caesarean section. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol2011;159:62–6.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21835537

Key messages: Estimates of the increased risk of maternalcomplications after CS posed by placenta praevia differamong studies and may not reflect current practice. In ourretrospective cohort study of women who were delivered byelective CS at term for a singleton pregnancy in the EnglishNHS between 1 April 2000 and 28 February 2009 (using routine data from the Hospital Episode Statistics database),among 131 731 women having an elective CS for a singleton,4332 (3.3%) women had placenta praevia. Placenta praevia

Clincal practice | continued 9

10 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

Lifestyle

An obstetrician goes surfing:the dawn of the electronic age

PROFESSOR JAMES DRIFE FRCOG

Ten years ago at an overseas meeting I gave a lecturecalled ‘The obstetrician goes surfing’. It was an invitedtalk and the task seemed impossible until I saw thesubtitle: ‘The ups and downs of the internet’. I felt Icould manage that, just, and I still have a list of myslides. Yes, slides. Although I was willing to speak toan international audience about cyberspace, I stilldidn’t trust myself with PowerPoint. Looking back, Irealise that my list is historical evidence: a fixed pointin time documenting the communication revolutionas it affected one obstetrician. Perhaps I should donateit to the College museum!

Progress was fast in those days. By 2003 my PowerPoint phobiahad been cured and my relationship with Medical Illustration,which had endured through thick and thin for 30 years, wasover. I was now wedded to Google. Evidently, I was quick tobe convinced of the ups of the internet, but I see that in my2002 lecture I spent more time on the downs and finished bytrying to forecast the future. How accurate was I? Read on.

I began with a bit of history. First, a picture of Lord Reith,whose authoritarian control of that earlier global convulsion,the birth of the BBC, contrasts so sharply with the anarchyof the internet. Then I put in a timeline. That slide is nowlost, but it probably showed that Microsoft was founded in1974, that the Queen sent her first electronic mail in 1976and that the internet really took off from 1995 onwards. Myhard disc still has a few emails dated 2000, so it looks as if Ijoined in around the turn of the millennium.

The ups were exciting at first, but in less than two decadeswe have learned to take them for granted. Academics suchas myself have almost forgotten what life was like in the1990s. We used to have to work in book-lined rooms, developa sixth sense about which volume to consult, make frequent

trips to the university library or one of its far-flung outpostsand, sometimes, phone a friend to check our facts. Now wesimply change screens and click. How else would I knowwhen Microsoft was founded? We may miss the exercise ofclimbing ladders to those high shelves, but we wouldn’t turnthe clock back.

In 2002, I fondly believed that the ups included opportuni-ties for medical Royal Colleges to communicate directly withthe public. I noted, however, that the internet’s Americanorigins made other countries’ medical institutions hard tofind on the web. Type ‘rcog.com’ into your browser and youreach the Radiotherapy Centers of Georgia. Search for theWorld Health Organization on ‘who.com’ and you find WHO:Australia’s best-selling celebrity magazine.

Turning to the downs, my next slide was an erotic but tasteful postcard from 1850. Watching the audience sit up, Ireminded them that every advance in imaging, from classicalstatuary to the video cassette, has been led by sex. With thehelp of a tabloid headline (‘PORN DOC STRUCK OFF’), Iwarned the audience that hospitals, for the first time in his-tory, have a permanent record of their staff’s viewing prefer-ences. Was it my imagination or were there a few thoughtfulfaces out there?

Ten years on, internet users are bored with titillating im-agery, but other downs have emerged. These include the risksof putting your own (far from sexy) photos on the web. Foryears my hobby has been writing and performing comic songs,and publicity for our shows has involved funny posters and,more recently, a website. (Why be coy? It’s www.abracad-abarets.com.) The downside of all this emerges when you are introduced at a medical conference by a chairman with aUSB stick and a sense of humour. After delegates have seen apicture of you in a straw hat, your lecture can only disappoint.Later you hurry home to check up on your online reputation.I found this a nerve-racking experience. A prominent home-birth campaigner once described me on her website as ‘Bat-man’. No doubt she meant it unkindly, but the epithet has be-come more flattering with each passing year.

The biggest down of the internet, however, is its much-vaunted democracy. Universal access, unmoderated by LordReith, means that much of the information on the web comesfrom cranks with too much time on their hands. Hyperboleand bias attract attention, and unfortunately search engineslist websites in order of popularity. If you Google ‘obstetri-cian’, one of the first sites you find, after Wikipedia, is theDaily Mail. You can imagine the rubbish listed under ‘gynaecologist’. Journalists and politicians, who now gaugepublic opinion by reading tweets and blogs, must regard thepopulace with more contempt than ever.

I didn’t foresee this in 2002 when I gazed idealistically intothe future, imagining a day when women all over the worldwould have access to reliable information about their health.Nor did I guess that in 2012 young people would be takingthemselves off Facebook, either because they fear identitytheft or, more likely, because it is passé. We oldies, by contrast,have discovered online social networking – so much nicer,don’t you think, than having to meet people in the flesh. Thebaby boomers are now the silver surfers, sending one anotheremails full of correct spelling and punctuation, and endingthem ‘Yours sincerely’. If I had put that on a slide in Sydneyten years ago, nobody would have believed me.

social media (www.bma.org.uk/press_centre/video_social_media/socialmediaguidance2011.jsp). The guidance makesit clear that there are many personal and professional bene-fits to engaging in social media activities but that doctorsshould always be aware of how their online activity couldappear. The BMA acknowledges that it may be entirely appropriate and useful to discuss clinical experiences online,but the ethical and legal duty to protect patient confiden-tiality, as well as defamation law, applies equally online andoffline. The BMA further suggests that doctors never acceptFacebook friend requests from either current or former patients and adopt ‘conservative’ privacy settings on socialmedia sites.

Despite these concerns, it would be wrong to dismiss socialmedia as something inappropriate for medical professionalsto participate in. A recent article by Martin McKee et al inthe BMJ4 argued that Twitter in particular had played avital role in monitoring the UK government’s NHS reforms.It was on Twitter that the claim by Caroline Spelman, Sec-retary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, onthe BBC’s Question Time that ‘someone in this country istwice as likely to die from a heart attack as someone inFrance’ was first challenged and debunked. The lack of hi-erarchy on Twitter makes it possible for a junior doctor toengage in debate directly with, for example, the director of policy atthe NHS Federation (@nedwards_1, if you want to followhim too).

Furthermore, general practitioner Margaret McCartneyreasoned in a letter to the BMJ that there are hazards indoctors being too afraid to have an online presence: ‘Havingdoctors online is a good antidote to nonsense science, erro-neous media health scares… Social media enable doctorsto stand up for good medicine, democratically and instantly’.5

One thing is for sure: social media are here to stay, butwhat do you think of its appropriateness in the medical pro-fession? Have your say on the RCOG discussion boards:http://www.rcog.org.uk/content/social-media-medical-profession-appropriate-medium-sharing-information

References1. http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.

html?id=20001768&q=w_bmj. Accessed 23 August 2011.2. http://www.imedicalapps.com/2011/06/physicians-should-

cautiously-navigate-social-media-medicine-waters/. Accessed 23 August 2011.

3. Jain SH. Practicing medicine in the age of Facebook. NEngl J Med 2009;361:649¬–51.

4. McKee M, Cole K, Hurst L, Aldridge RW, Horton R. Theother Twitter revolution: how social media are helpingto monitor the NHS reforms. BMJ 2011;342:d948.

5. McCartney M. We shouldn’t fear social media. BMJ2011;343:d4864.

Twitter ye not? How clinicians should engage with social media

SIMON KEMP FORMER WEBSITE MANAGER, RCOG

As the internet continues to transform all of our lives, manymedical professionals are using web services such as Face-book and Twitter or discussion forums on sites such as doc-tors.net.uk or the BMJ’s doc2doc.

Especially when accessed using the ever-present smart-phone, the immediate connection social media give us tofriends and colleagues is appealing. Whether grabbing a cof-fee on a long night shift or travelling on the train, doctorscan quickly post about a challenging day, upload a photo-graph or ask a clinical question knowing there are hundredsof people reading who may be able to help. As a consultantsurgeon from Northern Ireland told the BMJ Careers website,‘Aside from meeting doctors outside my own field of practice,Twitter allows me to make intellectual discoveries and indi-rectly get opinion on clinical queries’.1

Indeed, for gathering information quickly or alerting othersto interesting developments, Twitter has become a vital toolin many fields, including some areas of medicine. And withupward of 750 000 000 users, communicating on Facebook hasbecome as commonplace as sending a text.

However, clinicians need to be aware of the potential risksof posting too much information in the public domain. Whilewe know who can hear a comment to colleagues in the hos-pital lift, it is not so easy to control who reads somethingposted on the internet. It is more or less impossible to removeall traces of a tweet once it is on online and Facebook’s com-plicated and ever-changing privacy settings can make it dif-ficult to know exactly who could be reading. Google’s recentlylaunched Google+ service has attempted to make privacysettings easier to understand but, as an article on iMed-icalApps.com recently said, ‘It is safer to assume that any-thing posted on the internet is permanent and traceable’.2

Medical defence experts have suggested that doctors couldrun the risk of being brought before the General MedicalCouncil for posting intemperate, disparaging or inappropri-ate remarks. In 2009, doctors at the Great Western Hospitalwere suspended following the publication on Facebook ofphotographs of them playing the ‘lying down game’ (partic-ipants lying face down with the palms of their hands againsttheir sides and the tips of their toes pointing at the ground)during a night shift.

Social media can blur the boundaries between a clinician’sprivate and professional lives. In an article in the New Eng-land Journal of Medicine in 2009, Sachin H Jain describedthe anxiety he felt when the mother of a baby girl he deliv-ered as a medical student approached him through Facebooksome years later. As it turned out, the mother wanted someadvice about a career in medicine, but Dr Jain was concernedher motives were initially unclear: ‘The anxiety I felt aboutcrossing boundaries is an old problem in clinical medicine,but it has taken a different shape as it has migrated to thisnew medium’.3

The British Medical Association (BMA) has considered thisissue and published some practical and ethical guidanceabout the issues medical professionals may face when using

Lifestyle | continued 11

The RCOG can be found on Twitter @RCObsGyn andBJOG @BJOGTweets

The RCOG Events team is on Facebook (www.facebook.com/eventsRCOG) as is the RCOG Bookshop(www.facebook.com/RCOGbooks)

Strength training Muscles confer shape to the body and are essential for move-ment and functionality. Preserving this muscle mass there-fore becomes crucial to improving a woman’s health. Weighttraining incorporating external resistance (dumb bells, barbells, machines, resistance bands, medicine ball) or thewoman’s own body weight (push-ups, squats) aid in the de-velopment of muscle. Muscle grows when challenged to workat a greater intensity than that to which it is accustomed.Strength training also protects a woman from osteoporosisand can be used to treat specific concerns such as back pain,poor posture and muscle imbalance. A well-designed weighttraining routine can change a woman’s appearance, func-tionality, strength, mobility, posture and self-confidence inremarkable ways. In addition, weight training has been foundto aid fat loss.

Flexibility Muscles are inherently elastic. This elasticity, however, iscompromised with age and disuse, once again leading tomuscle imbalance, pain, posture problems, injury and evenpoor mobility. Stretching individual muscles maintains theirelasticity and suppleness, making for healthier muscle.Modalities such as yoga encourage intense stretches and,when incorporated into a fitness routine on a regular basis,improve overall fitness from a holistic perspective.

Young girls experiencing hormonal surges, menarche andteenage trauma benefit enormously from regular exercise.Not only does exercise protect against obesity, it also im-proves self-confidence and morale. Making fitness a part ofone’s day early in life ingrains the importance of it deep intothe psyche.

Pregnancy poses new challenges to a woman’s body. Theweight gain, lumbar lordosis and hypermobility of the jointsencourages discomfort and fatigue. Specific strengthening/stretching exercises for the back, hamstrings, pelvic floorand shoulders, for instance, can rectify the muscle imbalancethat tends to develop. Women who are already fit and con-tinue to exercise through pregnancy have been found to havean easier pregnancy, labour and delivery followed by a fasterrecovery. In addition, losing the weight gained during preg-nancy is important to prevent future obesity.

Menopause is another trying time of change for mostwomen. Aside from keeping the heart, muscles and boneshealthy and preventing osteoporosis and muscular atrophyfrom disuse, regular exercise has been found to aid in themanagement of menopausal symptoms, prevent dementiaand depression and, to a large extent, slow down and evenreverse the ageing process.

There is no question that exercise is crucial for women atany age. With obesity reaching epidemic proportions andlifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension on therise, it may be worthwhile for every obstetrician and gynae-cologist to encourage women to exercise regularly. Fitnessprescriptions should become mandatory. Physicians them-selves should experience the benefits and pure exhilarationof being fit and exercising to be able to honestly recommendit to their patients. Fit doctors are more likely to advocatephysical activity to their patients. It may be time for all doctorsto take the impact of exercise on a woman’s life more seriouslyand recommend it more forcefully as a part of therapy.

Importance of fitness for women DR SHEELA NAMBIAR CONSULTANT OBSTETRICIAN AND

GYNAECOLOGIST AND LIFESTYLE

CONSULTANT, PARVATHY MEDICAL

CENTER, COIMBATORE, INDIA

Health and wellnessshould be enhanced to increase people’s produc-tivity and quality of life.

Instead of anticipating illness,why not prevent it? Instead of experiencing and acceptinga poorer quality of life, with degenerative disease, obesity,pain and emotional crisis, why not introduce a simpleyet effective way to improve the quality of daily living?

Numerous studies have shown the undisputed benefits offitness, and using fitness as an extension of my medical prac-tice has benefited women in ways I never thought possible.In women with polycystic ovary syndrome, the introduction of regular monitored exercise improves weight loss, ovula-tion incidence and conception rates. For women sufferingfrom conditions such as depression, back and knee pain, fi-bromyalgia, endometriosis, dysmenorrhoea and menopausalsymptoms, regular exercise is of extraordinary benefit. Afitter woman recovers faster from the whole process of labourand delivery, surgery or illness. Surgical procedures are noticeably easier when not impeded by subcutaneous and/or intra-abdominal fat.

Cardiovascular fitness Incorporate an aerobic activity such as walking, running,cycling or aerobic dance into your lifestyle. The choice ofactivity depends on the fitness level, goals and objectives ofthe individual. Obese women require a low-impact activitysuch as walking, cycling or swimming as opposed to high-impact activities such as running to keep the risk of injuryto a minimum. For fat loss, enough calories have to be expended in the woman’s day: a calorie deficit of about 15%of the total requirement, consistent over a period of time, isneeded for safe fat loss. Initially, longer-duration, lower-intensity aerobic exercise will achieve these results.

Education

Six major pillars of fitness

● Strength ● Flexibility● Body composition ● Rest● Nutrition ● Cardiovascular endurance

Minor pillars of fitness

● Balance ● Agility ● Reflexes● Reaction time ● Speed

12 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

EGYPT DAY

The RCOG, in partnership with the Egyptian Liaison Group, is pleased to announce Egypt Day on 14 September 2012. Held at the RCOG, this meeting will comprise themes exploring the most important pillars in Egyptian women’s health care:

● maternal and perinatal mortality● gynaecological cancers● reproductive medicine● undergraduate and postgraduate education and training (including appraisal and certification)● health service structure and delivery● healthcare education and research agenda for Egyptian women.

Delegates and panel members aim to address the current situation in Egypt, the ideal situation and how to get there. This meeting is a great opportunity to display Egyptian heritage and cultural values.

For information please visit www.rcog.org.uk/events or call the Conference Office on +44 (0)20 7772 6245.

13

An international Journal ofObstetrics and Gynaecology

Call for papers: Urogynaecology and female pelvic

reconstructive surgery

In January 2013 BJOG will be publishing a special themed issue on Urogynaecologyand female pelvic reconstructive surgery. This issue will be edited by Douglas Tincello,

Rufus Cartwright, Stergios Doumouchtsis together with guest editors Matthew Barber, Jan Deprest and Anna Rosamilia.

We are interested in receiving original research articles and systematic reviews on all aspects of urogynaecology, ranging from articles on basic science, classical and

genetic epidemiology, emerging clinical challenges, as well as interventional trials.

Please go to http://bjog.allentrack.net to login and submit your manuscript, including your interest in the special theme issue in your covering letter and in the

online submission form.

The deadline for submission is the 31 May 2012.

Instructions for authors are available here: http://www.bjog.org/view/0/authorInformation.html

If you have any queries, please contact the BJOG Editorial Office, Tel: +44 (0) 207 772 6236. Email: bjog@rcog.org.uk.

Patient safety, risk management and the legal implicationsof obstetric practiceThis workshop is open to trainees, practising obstetriciansand gynaecologists and health managers who are interestedin patient safety and risk management. The aim of the work-shop is to show how a robust risk reporting structure thatsupports the appropriate flow of information across and upand down an entity can enable healthcare providers to become‘risk intelligent’, anticipating and avoiding potential pitfalls.

Robotic and laparoscopic workshop: exploring new frontiersThis workshop will offer the latest updates in the rapidlyevolving field of minimally invasive surgery in gynaecology.Robotic-assisted surgery is the latest technological advancein this field and its rapid uptake leaves little doubt that thisis the way forward for the future. The workshop aims to familiarise participants with the indications for the set-up,application and use of robotic surgery. At the same time, ad-vances in laparoscopy are also making further inroads, withsingle-port surgery, semi-automated suturing devices, newmorcellators, better energy sealing devices and instrumenta-tion all making their debuts in the last two years. The work-shop also aims to enhance participants’ understanding andhandling of these new instruments, aiding the transition toclinical practice. This workshop is suitable for clinicians withmid to advanced skill levels in minimally invasive surgery.

BJOG workshop: how to get your paper publishedCome to the BJOG workshop to find out how to give yourpaper the best chance of being accepted. The workshop willinclude advice on how to prepare your submission and struc-ture your paper. Find out what goes on behind the scenes inthe editorial office and understand the initial checks thatmust be passed before your paper even reaches the editor.Hear about the editorial and peer review processes and improve your understanding of publication ethics, good reporting guidelines and registering clinical trials. Commonreasons for rejection, such as poor study design and datapresentation, will be discussed as well as how to enhanceyour submission with a video or PowerPoint presentation.There will also be a chance to hear from the publisher Wiley-Blackwell about impact factors, the H-index and howwidely your article would be distributed and accessed.

Early Bird Registration specially extended to 31 March – don’t miss out, book your place today!

www.rcog2012.com

The scientific programme isnow available online at www.

rcog2012.com with details ofthe sessions you can attend. Join us to learn and share froma memorable congress in Malaysia.

Plenary speakersWe’re pleased to announce that our plenary speakers include:

● Dr Anthony Falconer● Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran● Professor Linda Cardozo● Mr Sean Kehoe● Professor Jacques Donnez● Professor Frank Chervenak● Professor Beryl Benacerraf

Their biographies can be found on our conference website.

Pre-Congress workshops

Don’t miss a thing. Get the very most out of your congressexperience in Malaysia by enjoying a pre-Congress workshop.Register for pre-Congress workshops online now at the Congress website: www.rcog2012.com

Contraception: recent advances and their use in patients with comorbid factors Contraception has been practised for centuries. The lastdecade, however, has revolutionised the practice of contra-ception. This workshop is intended as an update for traineesand general obstetricians and gynaecologists who work insexual health. Its aim is to refresh the participants’ knowledgeon reproductive physiology and expose them to the newercontraceptive methods, such as low-dose regimes, biodegrad-able delivery systems and vaccines, which are either alreadyavailable or soon will be and which can be used under super-vision by patients with comorbid factors. The workshop willalso discuss the issues regarding sex, the law and young peopleas well as the ethico-legal aspects of contraceptive use.

Managing obstetric emergencies – nursing workshopNo pregnancy is without risk. This workshop is open to allregistered nurses and midwives who manage obstetric patients. The aim of this workshop is to educate obstetric personnel regarding the diagnosis of obstetric emergenciesand the appropriate management of such situations to improveclinical outcome and reduce patient morbidity.

10th RCOG International Scientific Congress5–8 June 2012, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

DR GUNASEGARAN PT RAJAN FRCOG CHAIRMAN, CONGRESS SECRETARIAT, RCOG 2012

My team and I are delighted to invite you to the 10th RCOG International Scientific Congress, to be held in Kuching, Malaysia.

International

14 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

Professor William Blair-Bell:a story in pictures

PENNY BONNING COLLEGE ARCHIVIST

On 28 September 2011 we celebrated the 140th anniver-sary of the birth of William Blair-Bell, co-founder ofthe British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologistsand respected gynaecologist and obstetrician.

Blair-Bell’s words are well documented through correspon-dence and statements found in the College archive, but lesswell known are the images of him captured in photographs,which give a fascinating glimpse of the man behind the sternpresidential portraits.

Blair-Bell: the lecturer

William Blair-Bell was educated at King’s College Londonand King’s College Hospital, where as a student he wasawarded the Warneford Scholarship and the Tanner Prizefor Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He held a number of residentappointments in London following his graduation in 1896,before moving to general practice in his home town of Wal-lasey, Cheshire. He was appointed to the post of assistantconsultant gynaecologist to the Liverpool Royal Infirmaryand the Wallasey Cottage Hospital, ultimately becoming con-sulting gynaecologic and obstetric surgeon and President in1935. He held the professorship in obstetrics and gynaecologyat Liverpool University between 1921 and 1931 and retiredwith the title of emeritus professor. The list of lectureshipsheld by him is long and distinguished, and includes Arrisand Gale lecturer (in 1913 on the ‘Genital Functions of theDuctless Glands in the Female’), Hunterian professor at theRoyal College of Surgeons (1916), Ingleby lecturer at Birm-ingham University and Lloyd Roberts lecturer at ManchesterUniversity.

Blair-Bell’s most important contributions to the scienceand profession of obstetrics and gynaecology were his endocrinological–physiological studies and his investigationsof cancer. Several of his papers on these subjects appearedin medical journals before the publication of his textbookPrinciples of Gynaecology in 1910 and of his book The Pitu-itary in 1919, which won him the award of the John Huntermedal of the Royal College of Surgeons and the triennialprize for his original work on the pituitary gland.

The above photograph from the College Archive shows Pro-fessor Blair-Bell in his lecture room in the Department of Ob-stetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Liverpool. Thelectern was his own and was presented to the College in 1931when Professor Blair-Bell retired from the chair. This lectureroom was the original and only lecture room in the LiverpoolMedical School, preceding the university. Close inspection ofthe photograph reveals a missing finger on Blair-Bell’s lefthand – by all accounts attributable to an infection resulting

from an accidental pricking of the finger during the courseof an operation and something of which he was quite proud,particularly as it did not impair his surgical skills.

Blair-Bell: the surgeon

William Blair-Bell became internationally known becauseof his recommendation of the use of lead treatment in themanagement of cancer. This treatment involved the use ofchemical agents, in particular the intravenous injection ofcolloid lead. Researchers at the Liverpool Medical ResearchOrganization, under the directorship of Blair-Bell, investi-gated the use of lead and its action on young growing tissuesand toxicity on organs and the histological changes observedin the cells of malignant tumours after treatment with leadpreparation. Although criticised by many, Blair-Bell had hissupporters, many from overseas, as papers within the Collegearchive show, with letters written to him asking him abouthis research and the possibility of having the ‘recipe’ for thelead preparation. A grateful cancer patient wrote to Blair-Bell in 1925 that ‘No words of mine can convey to you, thegreat joy & comfort I feel, & to know, how many lives will bebenefited by your cleverness’.1 Blair-Bell himself said in aletter of July 1928 that ‘…even though the treatment maynot always “cure” the patient, it does them no harm if prop-

16 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

College archives

Professor Blair-Bell in his lecture room at the University of Liverpool [ArchiveReference: RCOG/PH1/1/8c]

Professor Blair-Bell, on the far side of the table, operating in Larringa Theatresat Liverpool Royal Infirmary, observed by onlookers possibly from the Gynaecological Visiting Society (c. 1930) [Archive Reference: RCOG/PH1/1/7a]

Blair-Bell: the President

William Blair-Bell has been described as ‘a restless, lovabletorch-bearer, who never forgot or allowed anyone else to forgetthat he was bearing a torch’.7 The decision to appoint him asthe first President of the College was almost a foregone con-clusion, and the College owes all its traditions to Blair-Bell,including the oath (which he composed as early as 1925), theCollege motto and shield and the presidential badge and

erly applied’.2 Lists of patients, their diagnosis and treatmentmay also be found in the archive as part of the collection ofpapers left to the College by Professor Blair-Bell.3

Blair-Bell: the professional

In 1911, William Blair-Bell founded the Gynaecological Vis-iting Society of Great Britain (GVS), which was intended tobring together young teachers and research workers in thespecialty so that they might share their experiences and dis-cuss scientific and clinical problems and also visit foreignclinics with a view to studying their methods. The cama-raderie within the GVS is evident in the records of meetingswhich are housed in the College archive4 and reveal a won-derful sense of professionals meeting up for scientific eluci-dation, fine wine and plenty of banter and song. Many ofthe early records of the GVS reveal the respect and affectionwith which ‘BB’ was held and, during the recent centenarycelebration of the society, photographs of ‘BB’ were re-quested for display at their meeting.

Blair-Bell: the politician

William Blair-Bell was chairman of the foundation committeefor the British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,the idea for which was raised at a meeting of the GVS by SirWilliam Fletcher Shaw in 1925. A man of undoubted passionand energy, Blair-Bell threw himself into the task of negoti-ation and compromise to overcome the obstacles encounteredin launching the College and obtaining a Charter. Blair-Bellwas not loved by all and made certain enemies along the way:in 1932 he wrote in a letter to the wife of his co-founder,Fletcher Shaw, ‘I should like him to know that it was chieflyfor his sake that I forfeited some self-respect and sacrificed aregard for the truth in an endeavour to settle the “row” wehave had with certain of the others… I can be so outspokenand impolite when people do not play the game!’6 Relation-ships with supporters and important sponsors of the newCollege, such as Lord Riddell, were delicately handled byFletcher Shaw in recognition that Blair-Bell’s political skillswere more suited to making the big statements for his cam-paign for a great Commonwealth scientific institution to rankwith the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons.

College archives | continued 17

This wonderfully intimate photograph shows Blair-Bell with two FoundationFellows of the College and members of the GVS, Professor Miles HarrisPhillips5 and (possibly) Arthur Leyland Robinson [Archive Reference:RCOG/PH1/1/14b]

In a photograph which well portrays the age and atmosphere in which theCollege was born, Blair-Bell is shown with Arthur Leyland Robinson, Foundation Fellow and staunch supporter of Blair-Bell, who held the Chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Liverpool University and served on thefirst College Council [Archive Reference: RCOG/PH1/1/10]

William Blair-Bell in his presidential robes, bought at a cost of £63 from theLondon milliner Ede & Ravenscroft in 1931, in which he was buried in 1936[Archive Reference: RCOG/PH1/1/9b]

robes. It is beyond doubt that the high regard in which theCollege is held today is the result of the foundations laid bythe indomitable spirit and ruthlessness of its first President.

Blair-Bell: the person

Among those who were fortunate to know and like him,William Blair-Bell was remembered for his charm and per-sonality. The American gynaecologist George Gray Wardwrote in an obituary of his English contemporary: ‘He wasfull of charm and courtesy, and had the enthusiasm of achild as he showed us his gardens, and his guns and dogs’.8

Blair-Bell is known to have been something of an athleteduring his youth, a good cricketer and champion tennisplayer, and in later life a keen hunter: Fletcher Shaw de-scribes how he reluctantly joined his colleague on a huntduring his first visit to Blair-Bell’s home in Eardiston, Shrop-shire, undoubtedly persuaded by the infamous ‘BB’ charm!A whole folder of letters was put to one side by FletcherShaw and labelled ‘BB’s charming letters’,9 and includednotes to Mrs Fletcher Shaw, the most endearing of whichare those which he sent after the opening of the Collegehouse in Queen Anne Street by the Duchess of York (laterthe Queen Mother) in 1932. Nora Fletcher Shaw presentedBlair-Bell with a silver gilt horseshoe, which her husbandrecorded was kept on the table in front of Blair-Bell duringthe opening day ceremony and which Blair-Bell thanked herfor later by saying: ‘Your beautiful “lucky gift” is now in my“silver cupboard”. It was a charming thought, and I am sureit was responsible for any success there may have been inmy terrible ordeal, or shall I say “orgy”, at the opening cere-mony.’10 The horseshoe remained in Blair-Bell’s cabinet atEardiston until his death, when Fletcher Shaw took it as amemorial gift and ultimately passed it to the College, whereit is safely held in the archive and museum today.

Blair-Bell: the legacy

William Blair-Bell died at the age of 64 while travelling hometo Eardiston by train after a College committee meeting inLondon on 26 January 1936. The meeting is said to have beenfull of ‘violent quarrels’11 which could have brought on thefatal coronary thrombosis attack. Indeed, some years earlierin 1932, Blair-Bell wrote: ‘I realise there are more things forwhich it is worth dying than there are things for which it isworth living’.12 One can well believe that he exited the stagein a manner in which he would have approved, fighting forwhat he believed.

Blair-Bell has remained a mighty presence in the life ofthe College, mainly through his many bequests and legacies.The first College house in Queen Anne Street was purchasedthrough an anonymous donation made by Blair-Bell; otherbequests include the Florence and William Blair-Bell Memo-rial Fellowship and the Florence Blair-Bell Art Fund.13 Hebequeathed to the College all the furniture from his originalstudy and his legacy includes the oath made by all new Mem-bers during their admission ceremony, the College mottoand the design of the College crest.

18 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

This photograph is one of several showing Blair-Bell relaxedwith one of his beloved dogs, possibly c. 1930 [Archive Reference: RCOG/PH1/3b]

This photograph shows Blair-Bell’s grave in the small churchyard at Eardis-ton at the time of his burial in 1936; the College laid flowers on his grave an-nually for many years, and continued to care for the grave in the succeedingyears [Archive Reference: S26/7/9/5]

References

1. Archive Reference: S10/11, Personal papers of William Blair-Bell.

2. Archive Reference: S1/33, Personal papers of William Blair-Bell.

3. Archive Reference: S1/7-9, Personal papers of William Blair-Bell.

4. Papers of the Gynaecological Visiting Society, S26.

5. The personal papers of Professor Miles Harris Phillips are held in the Col-

lege Archive, Reference S97.

6. Archive Reference: S34/12, Personal papers of Sir William Fletcher Shaw.

7. Peel J. The Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and

Gynaecologists, 1929–1969. London: RCOG Press; 1976. p. 77.

8. Transactions of the American Gynaecological Society, Vol 61, page 369,

1936.

9. Papers of Sir William Fletcher Shaw, Archive Reference S34/12.

10. Papers of Sir William Fletcher Shaw, Archive Reference S34/12.

11. Peel J. The Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and

Gynaecologists, 1929–1969. London: RCOG Press; 1976. p. 77.

12. Papers of Sir William Fletcher Shaw, Archive Reference S34/95, letter of 27

January 1932.

13. Blair-Bell married his first cousin, Florence, rather late in life. She remains

a rather enigmatic figure and died in 1929. The couple had no children.

heritage and library collections had developed over the years. Dr Janette Allottey of the University of Manchester and

Chair of the De Partu group presented her experiences ofresearching the history of midwifery, pointing out howquickly context is lost when the present becomes the past,and the importance of interpreting archives.

The next presentation was made by a trio representing theworld of midwifery and covered the past, present and futureof midwifery history. Billie Hunter, Professor of Midwiferyat Swansea University, looked at the importance of history,emphasising that ‘We need to know the past to understandour present’. Gillian Smith, Director of the RCM in Scotland,gave us an insight into her own role and the exciting andchallenging issues with which she is faced. Marlene Sinclair,Ireland’s first Professor of Midwifery, looked at capturinghistory and making archives accessible for the future.

Ann Thomson, Emeritus Professor of Midwifery at the Uni-versity of Manchester, talked about her research on the his-tory of the International Confederation of Midwives and ahistory of midwifery and nursing regulations in the UK.

The final presentation of the afternoon was made by MaryDharmachandran, the Project Librarian from the RCM, andClare Sexton, Project Archivist at the RCOG, who showeddetails of the library and archive collections.

The afternoon concluded with a very positive discussioncentred on knowledge about the location of additional papersand objects relating to midwifery history. Dr Jenny Haynesof the Wellcome Library gave her support for the joint re-source. The enthusiasm of the midwives for the uniting ofthe collections was refreshing and exciting, and bodes wellfor the future research possibilities in women’s health services.

For any enquiries about the library and archive collectionsof the RCM and the RCOG, please email library@rcog.org.ukor archives@rcog.org.uk.

The images accompanying this article are from the RCMArchive (rcmarchive@rcog.org.uk) and are reproduced withthe permission of the Royal College of Midwives.

Heritage reviving history: learning from the past to inform the future

An official launch of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM)Library at the RCOG took place on 4 November 2011. Thelaunch marked the successful collaboration between the twoColleges to preserve and make accessible some 125 years ofknowledge relating to midwifery, and enables researchers forthe first time to consult published and unpublished collec-tions across the broad spectrum of women’s health services.

An afternoon of talks and presentations was chaired byProfessor Cathy Warwick, General Secretary of the RCM,and presentations were given by representatives of the RCM,RCOG and De Partu group, an independent history of child-birth group affiliated with the UK Centre for the History ofNursing and Midwifery. Also present was Dame KarleneDavis, former General Secretary of the RCM.

Damian Eustace FRCOG, Heritage Collections Advisor, toldof his initial excitement at the prospect of both collectionsbeing held together. Liz Stephens, RCM President, gave abrief overview of the history of the RCM and its library. She pointed out that the ethos of promoting education formidwives was inherent in the work of the Midwives Institute,the forerunner to the RCM, and that this new initiative toopen up resources for researchers and members of the RCMwas following in this tradition.

Professor Helen King, Professor of History in the Depart-ment of Classical Studies at the Open University, looked atpast conflict and collaboration in the history of midwiferyservices, focusing upon the traditional story of Agnodice,an Athenian midwife from the 2nd century, who has beenused throughout the years to support arguments aboutwhether childbirth assistants should be male or female.

Canon Julia Allison, a former General Secretary of the RCMand now Canon of Norwich Cathedral and active member ofthe De Partu group, gave an interesting timeline of the historyof the RCM, with an attempt to give a context to the most important points of its history. She gave an interesting insightinto how the development of the RCM, from the early days ofthe Institute of Midwives to the creation of a Royal College,was directly linked to the growing awareness of high mortal-ity rates among babies and mothers.

Lucy Reid, Librarian and Director of the Knowledge Man-agement Team at the RCOG, and Penny Hutchins, RCOGArchivist, presented a brief history of the RCOG and how its

College archives | continued 19

How Should We Manage Twin and Triplet Pregnancies?Joint RCOG/NCC-WCH Meeting13 March 2012With the launch of the new National Institute for Health andClinical Excellence (NICE) multiple pregnancy guideline, thisis a great opportunity to understand how the key managementpriorities in multiple pregnancy were made; discuss the im-plications for clinical practice in primary and secondary caresettings; and understand implementation of this guideline.

This guideline contains recommendations specific to twinand triplet pregnancies in a variety of clinical areas, includingoptimal methods to determine gestational age and chorionic-ity; appropriate specialist care; maternal and fetal screeningprogrammes to identify structural abnormalities, chromoso-mal abnormalities, fetal growth restriction and feto–fetaltransfusion syndrome; indications for referral to a tertiarylevel fetal medicine centre; and the timing of birth. The guide-line also advises how to give accurate, relevant and useful in-formation to women with twin and triplet pregnancies andtheir families, and how best to support them.

Subfertility and Reproductive Endocrinology Courseand The Assisted Conception Theoretical CourseJoint RCOG/BFS Meeting16–20 April 2012This is a clinical update meeting aimed at all clinicians in-volved in the management of the subfertile couple and repro-ductive endocrinology. The speakers have been chosen to pro-vide the latest information in this rapidly developing area.

This course is recognised for the theoretical component ofthe ‘Subfertility and Reproductive Endocrinology’ AdvancedTraining Skills Module (ATSM).

Risk Management and Medico–Legal Issues inWomen’s HealthcareJoint RCOG/ENTER (Endowment for Training and Educationin Reproduction) Meeting26–27 April 2012The meeting provides a forum for learning from patient safetyincidents and sharing good practice in the promotion of pa-tient safety. This is the only annual national conference onrisk management in obstetrics and gynaecology. The emphasisthroughout the meeting is on practical as well as theoreticalconcepts. The programme is based on the RADICAL frame-work for risk management (Raise Awareness, Design for safety,Involve users, Collect and Analyse safety data, and Learn frompatient safety incidents).

Clinical Guidelines DevelopmentJoint RCOG/NCC-WCH Meeting8–10 May 2012NICE guidelines are internationally regarded as the most ad-vanced in terms of scope and methodology. They incorporateevidence-based medicine, cost-effectiveness analyses and clin-ical and lay consensus to reach recommendations on healthand social care. The National Collaborating Centre for Women’s

and Children’s Health (NCC-WCH) produces guidelines relatedto women’s and children’s health on behalf of NICE.

However, NICE clinical guidelines are written for the NHSin England and Wales and thus recommendations may not be transferable to other countries. This NCC-WCH/RCOG-ledcourse will introduce participants to what is involved in pro-ducing clinical guidelines. Participants will be given a ground-ing in all aspects of guideline development and will have theopportunity to gain practical experience of the tasks involved.By the end of the course participants will be equipped withthe necessary skills to produce clinical guidelines.

SpROGs 2012, Bristol24–25 May 2012Join us at the gateway to the southwest for the Annual Con-ference for Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. This eventis exclusively for trainees and includes: networking opportu-nities and sessions on getting that consultant job, talks andworkshops that will help those logbook requirements, andPart 1 and 2 MRCOG exam preparations; plus you can attendworkshops tailored for your training year. This is the must-attend event for all trainees in obstetrics and gynaecology.

Intermediate/Advanced Colposcopy12–13 June 2012This course aims to cover the latest advances in the field including: the NHSCSP guidelines, the likely role of HPV test-ing in primary screening, an update on the HPV vaccination programme, quality assurance issues and difficult clinicalmanagement issues with interactive case presentations. Intraepithelial neoplasia of other areas of the lower genitaltract will be covered. This course is aimed at recently trainedcolposcopists keen to advance their knowledge and expertiseas well as being a refresher for those who have been practisingin the field for quite some time. It is not suitable for thosewith little or no experience in the area of colposcopy.

PROMPT: Training the Trainers DayJoint RCOG/PROMPT Maternity Foundation Meeting22 June 2012The PROMPT (PRactical Obstetric Multi-Professional Train-ing) Course ‘Training the Trainers’ day is for midwives, ob-stetricians and anaesthetists wishing to run multiprofessionalobstetric emergencies training within their own maternityunits. Participants will be trained to run an ‘in-house’ multi-professional obstetric emergencies course that is both economical and also contributes to the training requirementsof the maternity standards for CNST.

Advanced Obstetric Ultrasound and Advanced Antenatal PracticeJoint RCOG/RCR/BMFMS Meeting25–27 June 2012Offers a comprehensive review of diagnosis, management andcounselling for fetal anomaly and will be of benefit to all in-volved with antenatal fetal ultrasound.

Forthcoming dates, conferences and courses at the RCOG

20 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

Basic Practical Skills in Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2011–2012

21–23 February, RCOG20–22 March, RCOG21–23 March, Leeds29–31 May, RCOG27–29 June, Norwich

More dates coming soon: check the website for more details. Choose Basic Practical Skills atwww.rcog.org.uk/events as your event type and clicksearch.

Advanced Training Skills Modules

Early Pregnancy and Emergency Gynaecology21–22 March 2012 Joint RCOG/AEPU Meeting

Subfertility and Reproductive EndocrinologyCourse and Assisted Conception Theoretical Course16–20 April 2012 Joint RCOG/BFS Meeting

Training the Trainers26–27 April 2012

Advanced Obstetric Ultrasound and Advanced Antenatal Practice Course25–27 June 2012 Joint RCOG/RCR/BMFMS Meeting

Laparoscopic Surgery17–18 September 2012 Joint RCOG/BSGE Meeting

Early Pregnancy and Gynaecological Ultrasound 24–25 September 2012

Science for Subspecialties1–2 October 2012

Understanding Urodynamics 3–4 October 2012 Joint RCOG/BSUG Meeting

Advanced Labour Ward Practice30 October 2012 Joint RCOG/BMFMS Meeting

Postmenopausal Health19–20 November 2012 Joint RCOG/BMS Meeting

Intermediate/Advanced Hysteroscopy3–4 December 2012 Joint RCOG/BSGE Meeting

MRCOG Revision Courses 2012The RCOG Revision Courses provide the inside track onhow to study for the MRCOG Part 1 and 2 exams.

Part 1 MRCOG Revision 9–13 July 2012Part 2 MRCOG Revision 16–18 July 2012Part 2 MRCOG OSCE 30 April – 4 May 2012

Calendar 2012MARCH 20125 Part 1 MRCOG Examination6 Part 2 MRCOG Examination (written)9 Pregnancy and Complex Social Factors9 PROMPT Training the Trainers Implementation Day20–22 Basic Practical Skills in Obstetrics and Gynaecology21–22 Early Pregnancy and Emergency Gynaecology26–27 Maternal Medicine27 Newly Appointed Consultants30 Founders’ Lecture30 Founders’ Dinner

APRIL 201214 DRCOG Examination16–20 Subfertility and Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted

Conception Theoretical Courses26–27 Risk Management in Medico-legal Issues in Women’s Health26–27 Training the Trainers30 – 4 May MRCOG OSCE Revision Course

MAY 20128–10 Clinical Guidelines Development14–15 Part 2 MRCOG Examination (OSCEs)17 Clinical Directors’ Forum17–18 BSGI Annual Scientific Meeting21–22 Surgical Masterclass in Urogynaecology24–25 SpROGs, Bristol25 Members’ Admission Ceremony29–31 Basic Practical Skills in Obstetrics and Gynaecology

JUNE 20125 Pre-congress Workshop, Sarawak6–8 10th International Scientific Meeting, Sarawak12–13 Intermediate/Advanced Colposcopy Course25–27 Advanced Obstetric Ultrasound and Advanced Antenatal

Practice Course28 Examiners’ Training Course

JULY 20129–13 MRCOG Part 1 Revision Course16–18 MRCOG Part 2 Revision Course

SEPTEMBER 20123 MRCOG Part 1 Examination4 MRCOG Part 2 Examination (written)13 ‘Meet the Expert’ public talk14 Egypt Day17–18 Laparoscopic Surgery24–25 Early Pregnancy and Gynaecological Ultrasound25–27 Basic Practical Skills in Obstetrics and Gynaecology27–28 Training the Trainers28 Fellows’ Admission Ceremony28 Fellows’ Dinner

OCTOBER 20121–2 Science for Subspecialties3–4 Understanding Urodynamics5 PROMPT6 DRCOG Examination8 Childbirth and Pelvic Floor Trauma11 How to be a College Tutor12 College Tutors’ Meeting16–18 Basic Practical Skills in Obstetrics and Gynaecology23 Intrapartum Fetal Surveillance29 – 2 Nov MRCOG Part 2 OSCE Revision Course30 – 1 Nov Advanced Labour Ward Practice

NOVEMBER 20125–6 BSUG Annual Scientific Meeting8 Clinical Directors’ Forum12–14 MRCOG Part 2 Examination (OSCEs)17 RCOG Careers Fair19–20 Postmenopausal Health20–22 Basic Practical Skills in Obstetrics and Gynaecology23 Members’ Admission Ceremony23 Annual Dinner27–29 RCOG Annual Professional Development Conference

DECEMBER 20123–4 Intermediate/Advanced Hysteroscopy5 Christmas Lecture for Young People11–12 RCOG Annual Academic Meeting

For further information about RCOG conferences andcourses, and all terms and conditions, please visitwww.rcog.org.uk/events or call the Conference Officeon +44 (0) 20 7772 6245.

Why not add us on Facebook to keep up todate with all the latest events and courses?Just search for RCOG Events.

Forthcoming dates, conferences and courses at the RCOG | continued 21

College news

22 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

Fellows’ Admission Ceremony: 23 September 2011

The President admitted 191 new Fellows during the Fellows’ admission ceremony held on Friday 23 September2011 at the College.

During the same event, the follow-ing were awarded Fellow ad eundemof the College:

Professor Aris Antsaklis, Greece Professor Gian Carlo Di Renzo,Italy Professor Hermann Peter GerhardSchneider, Germany Professor Lil Valentin, SwedenProfessor Kevan Richard Wylie,England

Seated, L–R: Professor Aris Antsaklis, Professor Gian Carlo Di Renzo, Professor Hermann Schneider, President, Professor LilValentin, Professor Kevan Richard Wylie

Lucy Elizabeth Higgins received thePrize Medal

Seated, L–R: Ms Toni Belfield, Professor Sayeba Akhter, Mrs Sarah Brown,Professor Linan Cheng, Mr John Chiene

Members’ Admission Ceremony: 25 November 2011

The President admitted 151 new Members during the Members’ admission ceremony heldon Friday 25 November 2011 at the College. Lucy Elizabeth Higgins received the Prize Medalfor being the candidate who achieved the highest mark in the Membership examination. During the same event, Professor Rolf Kreienberg, Germany was awarded Fellow ad eundemof the College. Also, the following were awarded Fellow honoris causa of the College:Professor Sayeba Akhter, BangladeshMs Toni Belfield, EnglandMrs Sarah Brown, ScotlandMr John Chiene, EnglandProfessor Linan Cheng, ChinaLord Crisp KCB, EnglandProfessor Florence Mirembe, UgandaProfessor Cathy Warwick, EnglandDr Jan Welch, EnglandDr Catherine White, England

Seated, L–R: Lord Crisp KCB, Dr Jan Welch, Dr Catherine White, Professor Florence Mirembe, Professor Cathy Warwick, Professor Rolf Kreienberg

CORRECTIONVolume 1 Issue 2 of Membership MattersThere may have been some confusion in theimages on page 25 of the last MembershipMatters. The medals were handed out by Pro-fessor James Walker, Senior Vice President(International), as the President was unavail-able. While the President admitted the newMembers in May, it was not him in the pic-tures. Apologies for any confusion caused.

eFM provides 17 different subject modules on electronicfetal monitoring, written by obstetric and midwifery expertsin the field. They are in line with National Institute forHealth and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines and allowhealthcare professionals to test their knowledge by way offive assessment sections, also completed online.

Up to 17 RCOG knowledge CPD credits can be claimed fromthese sessions over a five-year cycle if a score of more than70% is achieved within three attempts. Evidence of achieve-ment can be used for recertification of healthcare profes-sionals by the RCOG, the RCM and the Nursing and Mid-wifery Council. Certificates for proof of learning can beprinted out regularly.

In addition, there are 12 case studies with real-life CTGsthat test the professional, again in line with NICE guidance.Clinical management and feedback is requested and giventhroughout by three independent experts who were alsoblinded to the outcome of the case. One hundred new caseswill be added over a five-year period.

The feedback received from the pilot was extremely posi-tive, showing in excess of 80% satisfaction to date. Userscommented: ‘I thought that the coverage of sinusoidal FHR[fetal heart rate] pattern was excellent as this is a patternwhich is poorly covered in other CTG teachings that I havecome across’ and ‘It is a highly informative package, and Icertainly learnt a lot whilst working my way through this. Ialso liked the way that the information was linked to out-comes, conditions and guidelines, which I think is essential’.

Free accessAll NHS staff in the UK with a valid NHS email account canaccess the resource for free. This resource is also availableinternationally. To access eFM, to register or for more infor-mation, please visit www.e-lfh.org.uk, then choose projectsand Electronic Fetal Monitoring from the menus. There aretwo buttons, one for those with an NHS email and one forthose without. Those with an NHS email can access the re-source for free. For those users without an NHS email, eFMcosts £65 per year.

Electronic Fetal Monitoring:award-winning free resource available

The RCOG, the Royal College of Mid-wives (RCM) and e-Learning for Health-care (eLfH) have worked in partnershipon the successful development of theElectronic Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring(eFM) module.

The RCOG’s clinical lead Barry Whitlow, consultant obste-trician and gynaecologist at Colchester University FoundationTrust, hoped ‘that this free learning resource for NHS staffwill improve CTG [cardiotocograph] interpretation and clini-cal outcomes as well as help NHS trusts reduce spending onCTG learning while complying with NHSLA [National HealthService Litigation Authority] risk management guidelines’.

Award winningeFM won the silver award in the ‘Most innovative new learning hardware or soft-ware product’ category at the e-LearningAge 2011 Awards, competing against 250entries from 17 countries, including thosefrom commercial IT and multinational

organisations such as BT, RBS and BP. One user commented,‘Overall, this appears to be an excellent programme, basedon constructivist learning principles that will provide a flex-ible, easily accessible and invaluable resource for maternitycare providers’.

eFM is split into three sections:

● a knowledge-based interactive tutorial section● a case study section, which allows the learner to

practise their skills on actual fetal heart rate recordings and subsequent management in a virtuallabour ward setting

● an assessment section, which formally tests the knowledge the learner has acquired from the knowledge-based sessions.

College news | continued 23

New from RCOG PressSBAs for the Part 1 MRCOGAndrew Sizer and Neil Chapman£24 to Fellows, Members and Trainees (retail price £32)ISBN 978-1-906985-58-5 ● 144 pages

This book is essential reading for all Part 1 MRCOG examination candidates. It provides a detailed guide to the new question format introduced for the March 2012 examination: single best answer questions (SBAs):● an explanation of the SBA format and why it was introduced

● a guide to how to approach and answer SBAs

● over 300 sample questions

● two sample examination papers.Written by one of the organisers of the RCOG Part 1 revision course, this is a guide that no serious candidate can afford to go without.

Buy your copy from the RCOG Bookshop Online atwww.rcogbookshop.com

SBAs for the Part 1 M

RCOG

Andrew

Sizer and Neil Chapm

an

Andrew Sizer and Neil Chapman

Can you help?The College has lost contact with the following Fellows and Members. If anyone is able to provide any informationor current addresses for any of these individuals, please inform Sandra Silvera, Membership Relations Depart-ment: tel: +44 (0)20 7772 6248; fax: +44 (0)20 772 6359; email:ssilvera@rcog.org.uk

Status Last known town and country of residenceFELLOWSSamir Husni Abukhalil King’s Lynn, EnglandHussein Kamel Amin-Salem Ardsley-On-Hudson,

United States of AmericaDaniel Oluremilekun Asekun Lagos, NigeriaDavid Kwasi Atubra Plymouth, EnglandIbrahim Farid Ayad Buffalo, United States of AmericaJamshid Bahrami York, EnglandRenu Kana Banerjee Pondicherry, IndiaSamar Krishna Basu Kolkata, India (East)Barbara Yvonne Bazliel Gurgaon, India (North)Mohamed Ahmed Bella Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaSuniti Kumar Bhattacharyya Gauhati, IndiaApollonia Lobo Braganza Forbes, AustraliaJames Grant Cameron Harare, ZimbabweAroti Chakravarty New Delhi, India (North)Dhipati Chanda Holyoke, United States of AmericaThilagavathi Chandu Lall Toronto, CanadaChristopher Yun Hian Chen SingaporeLena Ling Fen Chen SingaporeDevanadan Chetty Durban, South AfricaDouglas Albert Chiswell Warkworth, New ZealandMohammed Abdul Hoque Choudhury London, EnglandShyamoli Datta Choudhury IndiaMary Elizabeth Connor Sheffield, EnglandQuentin Davies Leicester, EnglandRex Patrick De Bond Kelaniya, Sri LankaHira Devi Dongol Kathmandu, NepalRudolf Walter Dunn South Surrey, CanadaYaseen Burhan Edrees Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaAbdussalam Mohamed El-Dali Tripoli,

Libyan Arab JamahiriyaNaser Eldeen Abdel Tawab El-Khouly Al-Khobar,

Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaEdward John Fairlie St Andrews, ScotlandFaiza Hanim Youssef Abdel Fattah Safat, KuwaitPaul Alozie Feyi-Waboso NigeriaMichael Brendan Flanagan Santa Rosa,

United States of AmericaGeorge Bernard Frazer Bromley, EnglandIstvan Gati Budapest, HungaryMustafa Mohamed Bashier Gawass Tripoli,

Libyan Arab JamahiriyaShahid Javid Ghani Cranbrook, CanadaChitralekha Ghosh Kolkata, India (East)Saroj Kumar Ghosh Kolkata, India (East)Abo El Fetoh Ahmed Gomaa London, EnglandLeyland Hope Goss Modi’in, IsraelStanley Frederick Hans Ware, EnglandLionel Mark Halliday Hanson Gillingham, EnglandGrahame Harry Harris Mosman, Australia

Ahmed Hanafi Ahmed Hassan Cairo, EgyptNaheda Abdulla Mohamed Hassan Al Nuzha, KuwaitRazia Hassan Al Midhnab, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaMohamad Abdel-Hamid Helmy KuwaitJack Sydney Hirschowitz Bellevue,

United States of AmericaHla Kyi Yangon, MyanmarAndrew Chung Yin Ho Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR ChinaMalcolm St Clair Hopper Leeds, EnglandPhillip Francis Hughes Romsey, EnglandDavid James Shaw Hunter Norwalk,

United States of AmericaBertram Obi Igbogbahaka Aba, NigeriaVimala Isaac Chennai, India (South)Khorshed Sorabji Karai-Jones Brandon, CanadaVeluppillai Karunakaran Chulipuram, Sri LankaMonira Kayani Santa Clara, United States of AmericaKhalida Kayssi Baghdad, IraqAnwar Jamal Jan Khan Peshawar, PakistanEdward Paul Kirk Portland, United States of AmericaStephen Babatunde Kuku Lagos, NigeriaDorothy Kit Chin Kwan Daly City,

United States of AmericaVenkatraman Sita Lakshmi Bangalore, IndiaJacques Marie Joseph Frederic Desire Lalouette

Sault Sainte Marie, CanadaSubrahmanyam Lavan Iswaran SingaporeGeorge Archibald Lewis Peterborough, CanadaDavid Lim-Howe Northbridge, AustraliaSarah Macaskill Kings Lynn, EnglandPushpa Madan New Delhi, India (North)Santosh Kumari Madan New Delhi, IndiaFaiza Badawi Mahgoub Dubai, United Arab EmiratesHugh Naylor Mansfield Birmingham, EnglandJames Guthrie McCarroll Fort Dodge,

United States of AmericaEdward McPhedran Ottawa, CanadaNaziha Khalil Merjan Fujairah, United Arab EmiratesMaurice Cecil Michelow Johannesburg, South AfricaEric Thomas Miller Horsham, AustraliaJoyce Morgan Pwllheli, WalesGladys May Morrison Montego Bay, JamaicaHarry Stafford Morton Halifax, CanadaTrishit Kumar Mukherjee Orangeburg,

United States of AmericaMalcolm Erwin Murray Burlington, CanadaJean Murray-Jones West Perth, AustraliaSothiprakasen Narayanasamy Naicker Isipingo Hills,

South AfricaAruna Nath Croydon, EnglandSundaram Neela IndiaNasim Niaz Lahore, PakistanBenjamin Ifeanyichukwu Nsofor Glasgow, ScotlandLiam Joyce O’Brien Drogheda, Republic of IrelandPeter Francis Michael O’Connor Watford, EnglandGeorge Olesnicky North Adelaide, AustraliaDoddana Goud Paranjothy Tiruvella, India (South)Kamal Jayantilal Parikh Strongsville,

United States of AmericaIndu Fakirbhai Patel Ahmedabad, IndiaWin Pe Mandalay, Myanmar

24 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

Andrew Ebert Perera Kurunegala, Sri LankaMorgan David Pickrell Worcester, EnglandColin Ross Porteous Ormskirk, EnglandSimon Michael Mallet Prigg Alloway, ScotlandJohn Michael Quilter Wollongong, AustraliaWilliam Leslie Gray Quinlivan Green Valley,

United States of AmericaTara Ramarao Mumbai, India (West)Arnold Arthur Raubenheimer Port Shepstone,

South AfricaBrian James Ridyard Victoria, CanadaJohn Roper Fleet, EnglandMuriel Rose Woodbridge, EnglandJames Holden Routledge Beaverton, CanadaBiswanath Roy New York, United States of AmericaSmriti Kana Roy Kolkata, India (East)Leon Rubin Winnipeg, CanadaKrishna Kumari Saharan New Delhi, IndiaAdel Mohammed Salama Worthington,

United States of AmericaNanita Sampson Enfield, EnglandMary Caffyn Wright Scott London, EnglandParamasivam Paramasiram Sellvakumaran Sturt,

AustraliaKhurshid Shafi Lahore, PakistanMukti Sharan District Saran, IndiaMichael David Shields Wakefield, EnglandShafia Siddiqi Stockport, EnglandNadeem Ahmed Siddiqui Glasgow, ScotlandGulshan Bhag Singh Pompano Beach,

United States of AmericaGeoffrey Thomas Smedley Fordingbridge, EnglandIsmat Ibrahim Snobar Amman, JordanMaya Srivastava Ajman, United Arab EmiratesRobert Vivian Stephenson Yeovil, EnglandJamal Yacub Sunnaa’ Amman, JordanDavid Michael Thomas North Vancouver, CanadaKokkat Kuruvilla Thomas Tellicherry, India (South)William Roderick Carl Tupper Halifax, CanadaPeter Anthony Tynan Newcastle, AustraliaPerampalam Vithiananthan Seven Hills, AustraliaJohn Douglas Walker Johannesburg, South AfricaSunil Sumant Wassoodew Mumbai, India (West)Roger Meyrick Williams Reading, EnglandWin May Yangon, MyanmarJames Lawrence Wright Dunedin, New ZealandBalasubramaniam Yoganathan Colombo 6, Sri LankaYousif Babiker Yousif Al-Baha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

MEMBERSEssam Abdel MacksoudAbdel-Salam North Battleford,

CanadaAleti Sunitha Dubai, United Arab EmiratesHelen Elizabeth Allen Sudbrooke, EnglandLubna Fathi Al-Maghur Nuneaton, EnglandNajeeba Hussein Al-Qattan Al Salmeya, KuwaitMalak Bander Mohammed Al-Rawi Dubai,

United Arab EmiratesAmani Ahmed Mohamed Ali Abu Dhabi,

United Arab EmiratesLucy Clare Ambler Romsey, England

College news | continued 25

Andrew Ansari Tamworth Nemsc, AustraliaKenneth John Hugh Ayers Eastbourne, EnglandEmily Elspeth Grace Baillie Isfahan,

Islamic Republic of IranClarice Ann Baker Tappen, CanadaJharana Behura Basildon, EnglandIndira Lavanya Bobba Ravulapalem, India (South)Shifaya Cader East York, CanadaAgnes Urquhart Campbell Bridgnorth, EnglandBrian Carson Leamington Spa, EnglandMahomed Ismail Cassimjee Toronto, CanadaArshalouis Chapman Bury St Edmunds, EnglandCharanjit Singh Kamunting, MalaysiaAgnes Clark Poulton-Le-Fylde, EnglandJennifer Hibble Cornish Jannali, AustraliaMargaret Cunningham Edinburgh, ScotlandMazin Hassan Daghistani Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaMaithilee Nishigandh Deole Birmingham, EnglandEbenezer Maduram Devadason IndiaElmutasim Mohamed Mohamed Ali Elkanzi Dorchester,

EnglandMohamed Kamel Said El-Rafey Walton-On-Thames,

EnglandGwenyth Evenhouse Olmsted Township,

United States of AmericaJoanna Ghigo Wirral, EnglandJanice Lesley Gibson Glasgow, ScotlandAlfred Henry Grenz Newport Beach,

United States of AmericaGulnaz Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaSweta Gupta Noida, India (North)Christine Rosemary Gutteridge Stonehaven, ScotlandHajra Shafiq Bahawal Pur, PakistanHumaira Jamal Hanief Bangalore, India (South)Michael Benjamin Harris Pinner, EnglandMary Frances Higgins Dublin, Republic of IrelandKadry Abdel Sattar Mohammed Ibrahim London, EnglandAugustine Okechukwu Ihenacho London, EnglandMohamed Taher Ismail Cairo, EgyptBetty Shui-Ling Iu New York, United States of AmericaPriti Jain Slough, EnglandJaitha Accamma John Safat, KuwaitMary Soutar Jolly Pulborough, EnglandLeelamma Joseph Hornchurch, EnglandLeela Kalamkar Mumbai, India (West)Gazala Khan Muscat, OmanAhmad Khattab Damascus, Syrian Arab RepublicPatrick John Kieran Cork, Republic of IrelandFranklin George Ernest King London, CanadaJohan Kruger Kroonstad, South AfricaSui Yee Karen Kataleen Kwok Kowloon,

Hong Kong SAR ChinaMargaret Amy Lakeman Romford, EnglandAdegboyega Hakeem Lawal Hillside,

United States of AmericaArthur William Lawler Vancouver, CanadaMohamed Maimoon Mohamed Lebbe Bexley, EnglandSilvia Celeste Lewin Kineton, EnglandWai Loon Lim Brighton, EnglandKa Ling Luk Ma On Shan, Hong Kong SAR ChinaSwati Manohar Mahajan Warwick Farm, Australia

Samah El-Sayed Mahmoud Mohamed Alexandria, EgyptJanki Devi Majid Pune, India (West)Radha Naravan Majumdar Tampa,

United States of AmericaKazimierz Antoni Makos Waterloo, BelgiumMamta New Delhi, India (North)Gerard Francis McCarthy Winnipeg, CanadaStephen McPherson Coolum Beach, AustraliaMrinalini Hemchandra Mehta Bangor, WalesAlexander Desmond Muirhead Bury St Edmunds, EnglandSunitha Muralidharan Dubai, United Arab EmiratesNarassa Narayani Worcester, United States of AmericaWaheeb Slaiman Zohdee Naser Madaba, JordanSarita Vidyanand Nesargi Exeter, EnglandJennifer Margaret Nixon Truro, EnglandPenelope Louise Noble Stanley, Hong Kong SAR ChinaMalathi Noothi Hull, Channel IslandsAbha Ojha Altrincham, EnglandChukwuemeka Obianagha Okaro London, EnglandJames Henry Olobo-Lalobo London, EnglandIola Lloyd Trevor O’Malley Liverpool, EnglandColin Kjeld Partington Chelmsford, EnglandDilip Bhimagouda Patil Bedford, EnglandAled Wyn Pleming Rhyl, WalesMohammad Siddique Qureshi Karachi, PakistanDevulapalli Ramani Fahaheel, Kuwait

Sangeeta Roy Dehradun, India (North)Sushila Daya Sagar Nottingham, EnglandMohamed Said Hamed Salman Yanbu Albahr,

Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaShubha Sangal Southsea, EnglandArthur Octavius Sankey London, EnglandKhorshed Indra Kumar Shah Bangalore, IndiaShahnaz Bano Karachi, PakistanRichard Lewis Laurence Simmons Bexley, EnglandPackialedchumy Sinnayah London, EnglandSo Chun Hong Shatin, ChinaChelliah Sornalingam South Croydon, EnglandSivagurunathan Srirangalingam Trimdon Station, EnglandSelvarajah Sundralingam Ipoh, MalaysiaRaeburn Rodd Talbot Auckland, New ZealandAlexander Tsakiris London, EnglandDipti Ukil Woodford Green, EnglandRamadevi Vivek Wani Khaldiya, KuwaitNicola Tracey Whitaker Bristol, EnglandCharles Yates Willunga, AustraliaEzz El Din Abd El Aziz Yehya Cairo, EgyptYellamareddygari Sireesha Manchester, EnglandYeung Heung Na Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR ChinaEu Leong Yong SingaporeAyesha Zaman Boston, England

26 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

In memoriam

We have recently undertaken an exercise toinvestigate the whereabouts of many Fellowsand Members with whom we have lost contact.As a result we have discovered some notifica-tions of those who have passed away sometime ago. While some of these may be old, itwas decided that there may be some colleaguesand friends who were not aware and would beable to find out through Membership Matters.

FELLOWSDr Arthur Lancaster Ansdell , USADr Augustus Amartei Armar, GhanaDr Ralph Delos Atyeo, Canada Dr Clive Leonard Bagley, South Africa

Professor Samuel Jan Behrman, USAhttp://www.agosonline.org/InMemoriam/behrman-sj.pdfDr Kamala Bose, CanadaColonel James Bradshaw, England Dr Fiona Jean Ward Burslem OBE, ScotlandDr George Thompson Carson, CanadaDr Denis Cranmer Cominos, South Africa Dr Anusya Dass, IndiaMr Peter Michael Fullman, EnglandDr Austin Ananda Herat Gunaratne, Sri LankaProfessor Robert George Hibberd Hall,Canadahttp://www.lrhfoundation.com/funds/view.php?fund=50Dr Graeme David Henderson, New ZealandMr Stanley Ray Hewitt, Republic of IrelandDr Alexander Hunter, CanadaDr Wilfred Roger Hutton, Australia Mr William Herbert Laird, Republic of Ireland Mr Rees Lloyd-Jones, EnglandMrs Wendy Elizabeth Love, EnglandMr Sidney Lubert , EnglandMr Charles James Macaulay, Republic of IrelandDr Thomas Scott MacDonald, Canadahttp://www.inmemoriam.ca/view-announce-ment-10405-dr-thomas-scott-macdonald-m-r-c-o-g-f-r-c-o-g.html Dr Duncan Henry Walker Mackay, ScotlandDr Anthony John McCartney, Australiahttp://www.mccartneytube.com/dr-anthony-mccartney/Dr James Comrie McCawley , USA

Dr John Henry Maloney, Canadahttp://catherinehennessey.com/onestory.php3?number=121Dr Robert Baikie Meiklejohn, Canada http://www.maautoronto.ca/AboutUs/LivesWellLived/Alumni/tabid/158/Default.aspxMr Gareth deBohun Mitford-Barberton ,EnglandMiss Isabella Ross Napier, ScotlandDr Natalayil Kesavan Renga Rajan, USA Dr Indira Ramamurthi, India Southhttp://www.hindu.com/2009/11/08/stories/2009110854720400.htm Dr Denzil Mervyn Reader , AustraliaMr David William Robinson, England Dr Faragalla Sayed Soliman Shaheen, EgyptDr Barbara Jean Simpson , EnglandDr Michael Graham Smedley, New ZealandMiss Agnes Macfarlane Stark, England http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d5969.fullDr Radhay Shyam Sungkur , MauritiusDr Denis Mbong Umoren, EnglandMr Neville Colin Wathen, EnglandMr Geraint Llwyd Williams, WalesDr Herbert Marx Wolff, USAhttp://boards.ancestry.com/topics.obits/105889/mb.ashxDr William David Young, Englandhttp://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/obituaries/dr-william-david-young-1.1110221

MEMBERSDr David Keith Arey, England Dr Bernard Kirsch, USA

FELLOWS AD EUNDEM

Dr Saul Bernard Gusberg, USANotice in the New York Times:http://bit.ly/AuaLJh

Dr Janet Elizabeth Macgregor OBE, EnglandObituary in the BMJ: http://bit.ly/wH1Zwk

Dr Roy Turnage Parker, USA

Professor Paul Emanuel Polani , EnglandBiography on the Royal College of Physi-cians website: http://bit.ly/zMm25B

Professor Samuel S C Yen, USAUniversity of California Obituary:http://bit.ly/xQZZHe

Organised by

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OFGYNECOLOGY & OBSTETRICS

Wednesday 10 October1330–1500: The Future of the RCOG – Views from the RCOG Officers

● Overview of RCOG Policy and Relationships Dr Anthony Falconer FRCOG, President

● International Perspective Professor James Walker FRCOG, Senior Vice President, International

● Standards and Quality of Care Influencing Practice Dr David Richmond FRCOG, Vice President, Standards

● ‘Education and Training - Developing the Future Workforce for Care of Women, UK and Internationally’

Professor Wendy Reid FRCOG, Vice President, Education

1530–1700: The RCOG – New Developments, Raising Clinical Standards (Title TBC)● Electronic Fetal Monitoring – the e-learning for Health Initiative Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran FRCOG, President Elect,

FIGO, Immediate Past President, RCOG

● Developments in the MRCOG Examination Dr Michael Murphy, Executive Director, Global Education, RCOG

● Women’s Advocacy Professor Lesley Regan FRCOG, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London

● Partnerships to Improve Obstetric Care Professor Tim Draycott FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician, Southmead Hospital, Bristol

● Simulation in Training Mr Jonathan Frappell FRCOG, RCOG Gynaecological Simulation Lead, Plymouth

Thursday 11 OctoberBJOG: How to Get Your Paper Published

● Advice on how to prepare your submission, structure and enhance your paper

● Hear from the publisher Wiley-Blackwell about impact factors, the H-index and how widely your article would be distributed

and accessed

● Find out how to give your paper the best chance of being accepted and discuss common reasons for rejection

● Understand the initial checks, editorial and peer review processes

● Improve your understanding of publication ethics, good reporting guidelines and registering clinical trials

BOOK NOW!You can book the RCOG or BJOG programme sessions as part of your FIGO registration

when you register online at www.figo2012.org.

RCOG and BJOG at FIGO 2012

The RCOG are pleased to announce our sessions

in the FIGO Congress programme on

Wednesday 10 October

BJOG are also hosting a special session on

Thursday 11 October

Book these as part of your congress registration

at figo2012.org

Join us at the RCOG Welcome Reception

on the evening of Wednesday 10 October 2012,

free to all fellows and members.

Booking in advance will be essential,

please visit the RCOG website for more information

www.rcog.org.uk/events

Update from the Retired Fellows and Members

Society

HARVEY WAGMAN CHAIR OF THE RETIRED FELLOWS AND MEMBERS SOCIETY

A meeting of the Retired Fellows and Members Society tookplace on Friday 11 November 2011. Professor Jim Drife spokefirst, about obstetrics and gynaecology in the north. Initially,he defined the geographical area as being south of Hadrian’sWall and north of the Midlands, indicating an area whichincludes Yorkshire and Lancashire. The history of hospitalsand medical schools in the region was discussed and somenotable northern contributors to obstetrics and gynaecologywere described. Among the personalities mentioned wereCharles White (1728–1823), Andrew Clay (who carried outthe first hysterectomy in the UK in Manchester in 1863),Blair-Bell, Marie Stopes, Krebs, Smithells, and Edwards and Steptoe.

Mr Leonard Harvey then gave us the benefit of his experience as Honorary President of the European Union ofMedical Specialists. There are 1.6 million specialists in theEuropean Union (EU) in virtually every conceivable specialty– not all instantly recognisable. He stressed that the EU wasessentially a ‘talking shop’ rather than producing any action.This is understandable in that 27 nations are involved, andthey advise on subjects as wide-ranging as the Working Time Regulations, health and safety, and the recognition ofprofessional qualifications across Europe. However, the need for linguistic competence included in the professionalqualifications recognition process is a mechanism that some countries are using to reduce the haphazard mobilityof health professionals. It was an interesting insight into the EU.

Our next meeting will be held on Friday 30 March 2012 atthe RCOG. Please put this in your diary.

BJOG simulation supplement

The BJOG Editorial Office still has somecopies of the supplement Simulationtraining in women’s health care availableon a first come, first served basis.

This special supplement, guest editedby Mr Tim Draycott, Dr Robert Fox andProfessor James Walker, summarisesthe current evidence base for the useof simulation across women’s healthcare. It examines in depth several par-adigms of medical simulation withinmaternity care and gynaecology, indifferent settings, looking at what canbe achieved and how.

Mr Draycott says: “[This supplement] will provide practicaladvice and help to enable trainers to implement simulationlocally in their own units at all levels of care in both the developed and developing world settings”.

To request your copy, please contact Lizzy Hay at ehay@rcog.org.uk

The supplement is also free to download from www.bjog.org

28 Membership Matters | Volume 2 Issue 1

Contributions to Membership Matters

If you have any interesting news itemsor ideas for articles, please let usknow. We would also be delighted tohear of any awards or honours youhave received and share the news withthe membership. Please email yoursuggestions to Luke Stevens-Burt, Director, Membership Relations:lstevens-burt@rcog.org.uk.

We would also like to encourage themembership to submit letters to theCollege which can be answered andpublished in Membership Matters.These letters can take the form of aquestion or feelings on a particularprofessional topic. Please send any letters to Luke Stevens-Burt at theemail address above.