InnovAiT is now into its second volume. Over the past 18 months, we have gone from an idea on a scrap of paper to the reality of a journal for Associates-in-Training (AiTs) to support the GP curriculum. It is now time to consolidate the work that we have already done and continue to develop and improve InnovAiT. Our intention is to ensure that InnovAiT provides you, in partnership with us, with a framework of information to support your GP training and a forum for you to write and to share your ideas and experiences. In line with these aims, there have been considerable changes to the team running InnovAiT to enable us to continue moving forwards.
Starting in January 2009, Professor Jill Thistlethwaite joined InnovAiT as Deputy Editor. Jill has recently returned from Australia to take up the post of Director of the Institute of Clinical Education and Professor of Clinical Education and Research at Warwick Medical School. She will take over responsibility for the non-clinical curriculum-based articles from me and will also share the load of the day-to-day running of InnovAiT. If you would like to write for InnovAiT on any non-clinical topic, please contact Jill via the InnovAiT office.
Dr Ben Riley stepped down as Editor of the ‘Crammer's Corner’ section of InnovAiT after he had completed twelve articles. He will stay on the board of InnovAiT as an adviser and continue to be a vital link between InnovAiT and the RCGP e-GP project.
In Ben's place, we would like to welcome Dr Amar Rughani as the new editor of Crammer's Corner. Amar is a full-time GP and an educator with the Yorkshire and the Humber Deanery, where he is an Associate Postgraduate Dean. He is an active examiner and was part of the group who developed and implemented the nMRCGP. He also helped to produce the GP curriculum and is part of the group that is developing the curriculum further. Using these perspectives, he aims to use the Crammer's corner section of InnovAiT to inform, educate and hopefully reduce anxiety in those who are worried about the exam.
Dr Rodger Charlton has provided InnovAiT with the ‘News and Views’ pages over the first year of publication. He has now relinquished that role, although he too, as Editor of RCGP publications, will remain on the board in an advisory role.
In Rodger's place, we welcome Dr Clare Etherington as the new News and Views editor. Clare is a GP trainer and GP tutor based in Harrow, and a Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) examiner. In her role as News and Views editor, Clare hopes to highlight current clinical and political issues of interest to AiTs. She invites you to send her brief news items that you find of interest, and suggestions for useful topics or ways that the News and Views section could be tailored more to your needs.
Dr Judith Richardson has written the ‘From the Trainer’ section of InnovAiT since the Journal started. We are glad that she has decided to continue in that role. If you have any suggestions about this section, then please contact Judith.
InnovAiT is a journal for GPs in training and I have always been very conscious that the original editorial team did not have enough input from AiTs. We have tried to redress this imbalance over the past year. In August 2008, Dr Patrick Hutt was appointed as Junior Editor for InnovAiT. Patrick has recently completed his nMRCGP. He is keen to highlight wider issues that might be of interest to trainees and, more importantly, to increase AiT participation. If you would like to write an opinion piece, feel strongly about something, have written up an audit or some research, seen an interesting case or read a book that your colleagues might find useful, please get in touch with him.
In January 2009, we appointed Dr Oliver van Hecke as Junior News and Views Editor. Oliver is currently in his GP registrar year in Carnoustie, Scotland. He has contributed to InnovAiT over the past year both as an author and reviewer. As a current AiT, he hopes to provide an AiT slant to the News and Views section of InnovAiT and help tailor the Journal to the needs of the InnovAiT readership.
In January 2009, we also appointed two Guest Editors, Dr Alice Shiner and Dr Danielle Peet. Both Alice and Danielle were regular contributors to InnovAiT in 2008 and were selected from all our contributors in 2008 to be our Guest Editors.
Alice completed her training in General Practice with the Norwich Vocational Training Scheme, gaining Membership of the RCGP in 2008. She currently holds a post as Associate Tutor at the University of East Anglia Medical School.
Danielle is an ST2 in the Northumbria Vocational Training Scheme and has just finished her initial 6 months in general practice. She has recently completed her Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and is hoping to sit the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) examination this year and the CSA next year.
The idea of the Guest Editor posts is to allow the views of some of our most regular contributors to shape the future of InnovAiT and enable those contributors to gain formal editorial experience. If Alice and Danielle enjoy their experience, I hope that this will enable them to move on to other writing and editorial roles in the future.
Dr Mike Houghton will continue to produce the AKT questions for InnovAiT each month. These are an invaluable tool for testing your knowledge and practising for exams. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that just a small proportion of the AKT questions appear in the paper-based version of InnovAiT. The majority are only available online. If you have any problems with activating your online access, then please contact us.
Finally, as the Executive Editor of InnovAiT as well as welcoming new members to the InnovAiT team, I would like to thank all our readers and contributors for your support over the past year and encourage more of you to get involved. If you would like to write or review for InnovAiT (no previous experience needed), have any ideas about future developments of the Journal or would just like to comment, then please contact me.
