Academic Anaesthesia Trainees - North West Research and Audit Group (NWRAG) in Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine

Academic Clinical Fellows in Anaesthesia
The Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) is a three-year integrated clinical and academic training programme, supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). It involves acquiring the same competencies as in clinical training, plus the undertaking of a research project and formal research training (typically a masters degree). The anaesthetic ACF in the North West was established in 2012 and is run by Lancaster Medical School and HEE North West. To date (Feb 2018) five anaesthetic trainees have been recruited to the ACF programme, and the majority of ACF research projects have used qualitative research methods such as interviews and the observation of clinical practice to address questions relevant to anaesthesia, critical care and perioperative medicine.

Listed below are the current and past ACFs and a selection of publications related to the research they conducted during their fellowships.

Current ACFs:

Dr Stefan Andersson (commenced 2016): Do different health professionals understand maternal sepsis differently? A qualitative study.

Dr Noamaan Wilson-Baig (commenced 2015): A qualitative exploration of consultant anaesthetists’ attitudes to, and experiences of, perioperative medication errors in emergency and elective theatre settings.
Wilson-Baig N. The value of life sciences in an integrated curriculum: a reflective perspective of studying two life sciences degrees a decade apart and the challenges faced in professional life. MedEdPublish. 2017; DOI 10.15694/mep.2017.000117

Past ACFs:

Dr Mike Charlesworth (commenced 2014): An observational study of critical care physicians’ assessment and decision-making practices in response to patient referrals.
Charlesworth M, Mort M, Smith AF. An observational study of critical care physicians’ assessment and decision—making practices in response to patient referrals. Anaesthesia. 2017; 72: 80-92. DOI 10.1111/anae.13667
Charlesworth M, Moore J, Eddleston J, Smith A. Electronic track and trigger systems boost patient ‘visibility’; observations from a study of intensive care admission decision-making in a tertiary centre in north-west England [abstract]. Anaesthesia. 2016; 71 (Suppl 4): 14.
Charlesworth M, Smith AF. The decision to admit to critical care: time for a re-think? [abstract]. Anaesthesia. 2016; 71 (Suppl 2).
Charlesworth M, Foëx B. Qualitative research in critical care: has its time finally come? Journal of the Intensive Care Society. 2015: 17: 146-153. DOI 10.1177/1751143715609955

Dr Johnny Kenth (commenced 2013): Making ECMO work: an observational study of the initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Lewis SR, Nicholson A, Reed SS,
Kenth JJ, Alderson P, Smith AF. Anaesthetic and sedative agents used for electrical cardioversion. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2015; 3: CD010824. DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD010824.pub2

Dr Cliff Shelton (commenced 2012): An ethnographic study of ultrasound-guided central venous cannulation.
Shelton CL, Mort M, Smith AF. “It’s learned on the job and it depends who you’re with.” An observational qualitative study of how internal jugular cannulation is taught and learned. Journal of the Intensive Care Society. 2018; 19: 26-34. DOI 10.1177/1751143717728631
Shelton CL, Mort M, Smith A. Techniques, advantages and pitfalls of ultrasound-guided internal jugular cannulation: a qualitative study. Journal of the Association of Vascular Access. 2016; 21: 149-156. DOI 10.1016/j.java.2016.05.001
Shelton CL, Smith AF. On the qualities of qualitative research. Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia. 2015; 62: 3-7. DOI 10.1007/s12630-014-0253-3
Shelton CL, Mort M, Smith A. Opening up the black box: an introduction to qualitative research methods in anaesthesia. Anaesthesia. 2014; 69: 270-280. DOI 10.1111/anae.12517
Shelton CL. A historical perspective on procedural ultrasound. Proceedings of the History of Anaesthesia Society. 2013; 46: 81-90.

Applications for Anaesthesia ACF Place

2018 cohort application for an ACF place in collaboration with Lancaster University can be found via this link

Deadline for applications is 15th March 2018.