Information for Paediatric Specialty Trainees

Neurodisability GRID trainee information pack

For new and current grid trainees in paediatric neurodisability, this trainee information pack has been compiled to provide guidance about training, curriculum and ARCP requirements, useful training resources and who to contact if you have any concerns or queries.

BACD Annual Trainees’ Meeting

We hold an annual BACD Trainees’ Day every winter; this is a great opportunity for keeping up to date with neurodisability and wider training topics, as well as meeting other trainees and networking.

The 2024 meeting takes place online on Friday 22 November and will focus on Neurorehabilitation. Click here for more information on the programme and to register.

Useful courses, study days and events - for a list of up and coming events click here

• The BACD hold an Annual Scientific Meeting in the summer, quarterly webinars and regional educational meetings. All provide useful learning opportunities and cover topical areas within the specialty. 
• The BACD and Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust endorsed Paediatric Disability Distance Learning Course complements the RCPCH Paediatric Neurodisability Progress + Specialty training programme, as well as Community Child Health training for those with a particular interest in neurodisability. It encompasses twelve units, a critical appraisal and a quality improvement project. Teaching is delivered online for a half/full day every two months. There is a sub-specialty trainee payment plan, where units can be paid for one at a time which should facilitate fees being covered by study budgets. Each unit can be completed as a standalone, however some additional material and assessment is required if you want to complete all the units and convert to the diploma. 
• The Neurodisability Community run regular, online neurodisability teaching sessions aimed at neurodisability and community child health trainees, although open to everyone to attend. They are advertised through the BACD website where you can register for each event. Talks are usually recorded and available to BACD members afterwards. Don’t forget to check out the huge collection of previous talks! If you would like to join or find out more, please email: [email protected]
• Disability Matters e-learning modules are a free resource to support those who work with disabled children and young people and their families.  

The BPNA run a number of courses including the Paediatric Epilepsy Training (PET) 1-3, Approaching Children’s Tone and Paediatric Movement Disorders, as well as regular webinars, annual conference and trainees meeting. These can be booked via the BPNA website.

The CoLab Partnership is a group of individuals and organisations committed to working together and sharing good practice and resources to improve the healthcare of children with medical complexity and their families, and provide support and educational materials for the professionals looking after them. They hold study days/half days which you can sign up to on their website, and recordings are available to members after the events.  The are keen to hear from individuals interested in getting involved with their workstreams.

If you would like a greater academic and research focus during training or to gain experience of clinical research in paediatric neurodisability, the Strategic Research Group would be delighted to hear from you. They can provide advice and guidance on applying for grants/awards and run the BACD-Castang Fellowship Programme.

In addition to the BACD, the British Paediatric Neurology Association (BPNA), Association for Paediatric Palliative Medicine (APPM), British Association for Community Child Health (BACCH) and European Academy of Childhood-onset Disability (EACD) are relevant organisations to neurodisability training.

Peer support

Trainees have highlighted the importance of peer support and meeting trainees from other regions, trainees have found the following useful:

• Completing the Sheffield Paediatric Disability Distance Learning Course 
  
• Attending the BACD Annual Scientific Meeting
  
• Joining online teaching sessions including those run by TNC, the BACD Annual Trainee Meeting & BACD online regional meetings
  
• Social media avenues which include Instagram (@bacdis_org), X (@BACD_tweets, @BACD_Trainees), Whatsapp (Current PND Trainees and PND Grid Trainees & New Consultants) If you would like to join the group, please email [email protected] with your phone number.

For information about the Progress+ curriculum and START click on the links below.