Quality improvement project: the ABN/ABNT ‘Preparing for consultancy course’

<h3>Background</h3> The transition from registrar to consultant is a challenging period of medical training. New consultants feel less prepared for non-clinical than clinical aspects of the role, and lack of preparedness is linked to burnout.¹ <h3>Methods</h3> We designed and ran a one day course in September 2023, delivered by a faculty of neurology consultants at different career stages and attended by 30 neurology registrars. Small group sessions and talks covered different aspects of the consultant role including interview and job planning, key skills, financial matters and errors/complaints. <h3>Results</h3> Of 18 senior neurology registrars surveyed pre- and post-course, 11.11% felt prepared or very prepared for their first consultant job before the course compared to 94% after (a significant improvement with chi-squared 25; p&lt;0;0001). The talk on sub-specialisation and small group sessions on errors/complaints were particularly highly ranked (both scored ‘very good’ by 89% of participants). Qualitatively, the course was described as ‘fantastic’ and ‘very helpful’. <h3>Conclusion</h3> A one day in-person course was effective in improving neurology registrars perceived preparedness for consultant jobs. It would be valuable to offer this course as a regular training opportunity to allow all registrars opportunity to attend. <h3>Reference</h3> Sophie Flavell, Angela Robinson, Jane Dacre. The transition to consultant: Identifying gaps in higher specialist training. <i>Clinical Medicine</i> Jul 2020;<b>20</b>(4):406–411. DOI: 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0085.