Dr Jim Zhong reflects on the success of the popular annual event for anyone preparing for radiology specialty or consultant interviews.
Going from strength to strength, The British Institute of Radiology’s annual Future of Radiology in the NHS: Top Topics for ST and Consultant Interviews event was another great success, attended by over 120 delegates from all over the UK. The day offered foundation doctors and radiology registrars practical tips and inspiration to help them get ahead in their career, enhance their CV and broaden their knowledge of current issues in radiology. There was invaluable advice for radiology specialty interviews including what questions might come up as well as vital background information about the profession making this a “must attend” event for all ambitious radiology professionals.
Members of the Young Professionals and Trainee Special Interest Management Group (YPAT) left to right: Dr John Adu, Dr Jim Zhong, Dr Joshua Shur, Dr Nassim Parvizi, Dr Sara Zafar and Dr Ebrahim Palkhi.
Highlights of the day included Dr Nicola Strickland, President of the Royal College of Radiologists who gave the audience an overview of the upcoming challenges that radiologists face as well as practical advice on how to tackle them. In an interactive session, Dr Elizabeth Loney, Consultant Head and Neck Radiologist and Clinical Director of County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust spoke about the concept of management versus leadership, offering insight and inspiration from her own experience and how radiologists might approach these roles. The morning was capped off by a fantastic talk about Interventional Oncology by one of the pioneers of this emerging “fourth pillar of cancer care”, from Professor Andy Adams of King’s College, London. The afternoon ST skills workshop included a live interview on stage to give foundation doctors a taste of the questions and style of the radiology specialty recruitment interview which was well received from the delegates! This was followed by mock interview sessions for ST posts. A separate session was held for registrars looking to secure consultant posts.
Dr Ian Francis chats to Dr Elizabeth Loney
One way to enhance your radiology CV and stand out from the crowd is to get more involved with the radiology community by joining a Special Interest Group (SIG). Dr Joshua Shur from St George’s Hospital is a member of the BIR Young Professionals and Trainees Special Interest Group and was also this year’s winner of the BIR/Philips Award for Excellence which was presented to Dr Shur at the event for his educational video on how to perform a barium swallow.
Dr Josh Shur explains how he developed his award-winning videos
Poster presentations are a vital part of the process too and this year the quality of the presentations were higher than ever. Our winner was Dr Hui Lu Goh, Foundation Year 1 Doctor, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust who presented an observation study of interruptions in the inpatient CT reporting room, a very important issue to everyone in the profession!
As with all BIR events, the day was a fantastic opportunity to not only prepare for interviews, but gain confidence and inspiration to reach that next rung on the career ladder. And of course a great chance to meet other like-minded individuals from across the UK. As one delegate put it: “It was an excellent day, it exceeded my expectations and provided good insight into topics as well as a good networking opportunity.”
I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed helping to put the programme together and meeting the delegates and I wish everyone who attended at all levels best wishes for the future in their career in radiology.
Dr Jim Zhong (Programme organiser and member of BIR YPAT SIG)
Radiology Registrar
Leeds General Infirmary
The event will be held again in Autumn 2017. To register your interest email conference@bir.org.uk or check out our forthcoming events page.
