Roles In The Deanery

Names and contact details of the individuals currently in the roles described are listed on the contacts page.

Clinical Supervisors

Clinical Supervisors are the consultants (or other members of staff) with whose direct supervision trainees work. The most common system is for a trainee to work with a different Clinical Supervisor each month, although the timings vary by department.

Your Clinical Supervisor gives you work, gives feedback and should be your first point of contact for any problems.

At the start of each attachment, you should meet with your Clinical Supervisor to decide what you want to achieve (this does not need to be documented). Shortly before the end of the attachment, you should meet again and complete a Clinical Supervisor Assessment Form (CSAF). All your CSAFs for the year should be submitted to the ARCP panel, ideally beforehand electronically or alternatively as paper copies on the day.

Educational Supervisors

Each department has one or more Educational Supervisors. In general, each trainee is attached to a single Educational Supervisor for the duration of the training year.

For the ST2 pool rotation, your Educational Supervisor will be your Educational Supervisor from your ST1 year.

For the ST3 pool rotation, your Educational Supervisor will be the Educational Supervisor in the subspecialty in which you commence the pool rotation.

Your Educational Supervisor is oversees your training for the year. If you have a problem which your Clinical Supervisor cannot resolve, you should speak to your Educational Supervisor.

You should meet with your Educational Supervisor at least three times per year:

• For a start-of-year meeting, where you complete the relevant section of the Educational Supervisor Assessment Form (ESAF);

• For a mid-year meeting, where you complete the relevant section of the ESAF;

• For an end-of-year meeting, where you complete the relevant section of the ESAF and the Educational Supervisor Structured Report (ESSR).

The completed ESAF and ESSR should be submitted to the ARCP panel.

Training Programme Director (TPD)

The TPD takes overall charge of the teaching programme, organises its structure, draws up the rota and represents the specialty to the deanery. The TPD is usually on the ARCP panel.

Problems which cannot be resolved by your Educational Supervisor should be escalated to the TPD.

See contacts for the current TPDs.

Academic Supervisors and Academic Lead

In addition to the above, Academic Clinical Fellows (ACFs) also have an Academic Supervisor who oversees their academic training. Supervision arrangements are determined by the associated medical school (i.e. Birmingham or Warwick) and so vary by department.

Academic training in the region is overseen by the Academic Lead.

See contacts for the current Academic Lead.

Head of School of Pathology

The Head of School has overall responsibility for pathology specialties in the West Midlands (i.e. histopathology, microbiology, immunology, biochemistry). Communication between the specialty and Head of School is generally via the TPDs, and trainees generally will not have need to contact him/her.

The current Head of School is Dr Thirumala Krishna, a Consultant Immunologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Trainee Representatives

The Trainee Representative is a trainee(s) who represents histopathology trainees' views at Pathology Board Meetings (to the Deanery) and at Training Committee Meetings (to the Educational Supervisors and TPDs). They also organises the regional teaching sessions.

Digital Teaching Representative

The Digital Teaching Representative is a trainee(s) who focuses on ensuring smooth access to both Microsoft Teams and PGVLE, and to liaise with Pathology Portal. They should be first point of contact for any issues regarding access to PGVLE or errors with the system. 

Any issues accessing the LEPT system should be discussed via the RCPath website, although often the Digital Rep may be able to help with concerns.

Neurodiversity Allyship

The Neurodiversity Allyship Representative is a trainee(s) who advocates for and supports neurodivergent colleagues within the training programme. They act as a point of contact for trainees seeking advice, signposting, or reasonable adjustments related to neurodiversity. The rep works to raise awareness, promote inclusive practices, and liaise with the wider training faculty to ensure a supportive environment for all neurodivergent trainees.