RITA
17 December 2008
THE NEXT SpR RITA/ARCP IS IN THE ROBEN'S SUITE, 29TH FLOOR TOWER, GUY'S HOSPITAL ON Wednesday 17th December 2008.
You should be contacted about the RITA if you are due for annual assessment. Generally the Summer RITA is for SpRs starting/ending in August and the Winter one for SpRs starting/ending in February. The ARCP is for ST 1-3. It is necessary sometimes to come out of 'sync' because of a previous RITA D or E, you are a LTFT trainee or you have been abroad. If this is your last RITA before CCT it is termed a RITA G and you will need to fill in the form obtainable on this website which lists all your training posts and modules. If you believe you should attend but are not contacted, please contact the Programme Director on pd@sesa.org.uk.
Getting to the venue.
Often the RITA is held in the Roben's Suite on the 29th floor of the Tower building in Guy's Hospital, London Bridge, London SE1 9RT. Guy's Hospital www.hospital.org.uk is adjacent to London Bridge Underground and mainline stations. The Underground is on the Jubilee and Northern (City) lines. It can be reached by overland train (1 stop) from the main Waterloo terminus by going to Waterloo East station (a sub-division of Waterloo) reached by the escalators going up opposite Platform 9. Most trains from Platform A (and C) stop at London Bridge but not all, so please check otherwise you will end up in Kent. Returning from London Bridge to Waterloo East is again by overland train from platform 6 usually - again most but not all trains go to Waterloo East and take 4 minutes.
There is a connecting bridge from London Bridge concourse to the hospital which enters on the second floor of Thomas Guy House. Walk along the corridor until you reach the Tower and find the dental school lift block (floor 20 and above) to reach floor 29. We occupy the whole floor. The lifts can be slow and full.
What happens?
You will be met on arrival by a School and Deanery official and handed some forms to complete. One of these is the RITA A which is the deanery document showing your name, NTN, contact details etc and the others are to organise information for the appraisal and assessment. You see two assessors who go through your training record and then the Regional Adviser who signs the RITA. Everything is photocopied. It takes 45-90 minutes from arrival to going back to base for a RITA C.
RITA C indicates a satisfactory assessment and passage to the next year, RITA D indicates an unsatisfactory assessment but the CCT date will not be put back, RITA E indicates an unsatisfactory assessment and the date of CCT will be delayed. The commonest reason for a RITA E is failure to obtain the final FRCA by the end of SpR2. The presence of the Dean is required to issue a RITA D or E (except RITA E for exam failure) and sometimes you will have to wait a number of hours or make another appointment.
What do I need to bring?
You should bring your complete, well-organised training file containing;
1. All correspondence from the Deanery and Royal College of Anaesthetists.
2. Confirmation of SpR registration with the College of Anaesthetists.
3. All assessments to date. WORK PLACE ASSESSMENTS MUST TAKE PLACE. It is your responsibility to ensure this happens.
Assessments are carried out differently in the different hospitals and your college tutor (CT) will explain what you have to do and what paperwork is required in your hospital. Year 1-2 trainees must have their 7 key modules signed off and their workplace assessment (WPA) forms.
At each RITA trainees must submit a summary page of the WPAs and a CT's letter confirming that the CT has seen the WPAs and, they are satisfactory. From Sept 06 trainees will fail their RITA if this is not supplied.
4. Your log book, completed to date. This should contain data as recommended by the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
5. A summary of your log book detailing at least the number of cases in each specialty with the level of consultant supervision over the past year.
6. Confirmation of all examination results.
7. Reports of any audits performed and presented in the last year. There should be at least one by the end of SpR 2 and then annually.
8. Research reports/summaries for the past year.
9. Certificates of any courses attended.
10. Two updated CVs.
11. A 400 word account of any OOPE.
12. A record of the department's teaching programme, audit and M & M meetings together with a record of your attendance.
Why do people get a RITA D?
The commonest reasons are;