SIR, In 1998 the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) Research and Training Subcommittee wrote to representatives of each region in the UK asking for details of their regional rheumatology meetings. The objective was to collect information about the content and frequency of rheumatology meetings being held across the UK. The rationale was that it was considered within the remit of the Research and Training Subcommittee to ensure that educational opportunities were available to trainee and consultant rheumatologists on a regional basis, this being especially relevant with the current emphasis on CME (continuing medical education) and the amalgamation of the BSR Annual General Meeting and Heberden Round into one annual meeting.
Regional chairmen were written to twice, because of an incomplete response to the first mailing. Chairmen were asked to give details of regional meeting programmes. In the second mailing, details of specialist registrar training sessions were also requested.
Nine regions hosted their own regional meetings and two regions held joint meetings with another region. Most regions held two meetings a year, although three regions hosted four (sometimes in conjunction with another region) and one region three. The format of the meetings varied between regions: most comprised a fairly broad-ranging half-day programme including case presentations and research papers, often finishing with a guest lecture. Some regions included an audit session and one region a discussion on regional guidelines for clinical management and prescribing.
The detail provided varied considerably, but it was clear that most regions had an active programme of subregional meetings. The commonest format was to have a monthly teaching meeting aimed primarily at specialist registrars, with fortnightly or weekly meetings at a hospital level.
In summary, most regions held two meetings per year eligible for CME. In addition, many regions had a monthly specialist registrar training programme. It was not clear whether CME could be/was being obtained for these. Local hospital journal clubs and clinical meetings were held in addition to this. However, some regions did not, at the time of the survey, have a formal programme of regional meetings and therefore the opportunities for consultants and trainees in these regions will be fewer than elsewhere.
The survey leads to the question of what is the optimal programme for regional meetings? There is no doubt that while a common pattern across regions emerges as above, substantial variation does occur. We did not question regional chairmen as to the aims and objectives of their regional meetings, but these are likely to include:
As such, regional meetings bridge the gap between informal hospital meetings and national meetings. We believe that they have the potential to fulfil a useful function and provide a forum for dialogue between colleagues. With the introduction of clinical governance, regional meetings might also provide a useful forum for discussion of regional protocols, as it is recognized that many management problems are best tackled on a regional basis.
The focus of our survey was on regional meetings rather than on subregional or specialist registrar training sessions. Clearly each region has an obligation to run a specialist registrar training programme which some consultants will attend. It would be useful to audit the amount, content and quality of these, and ideally BSR courses should complement these.
We are grateful to all those who gave us details of their regional and local programmes. The BSR Research and Training Subcommittee are giving consideration to setting up a database of rheumatology regional meetings and specialist registrar training programmes. This would allow programme directors to have access to details of meetings in other regions (as this might be helpful in organizing their own meetings), and would also allow BSR members to ensure that they are aware of all regional training opportunities available to them.
Notes
Correspondence to: Professor D. Isenberg, Bloomsbury Rheumatology Unit, Centre for Rheumatology, Middlesex Hospital, Arthur Stanley House, Tottenham Street, London W1P 9PG, UK
Accepted 17 January 2000