Heartbeat: Chief Registrar calls for colleagues to keep being kind

October 12, 2020

Last month Specialist Registrar in Diabetes and Endocrinology, Dr Vaishnavi Kumar was appointed Royal College of Physicians Chief Registrar for the Trust for the 2020/21 term. This means that in her clinical role she will work on the frontline providing medical care during general internal medicine oncalls, whilst training to be a specialist in diabetes and endocrinology.

Her focus is on learning and development, and as chief registrar, she sees herself as a bridge between senior clinical leaders and the wider trainee workforce. She said: “I am keen to hear from all trainees within the organisation if they have any concerns and also on how learning and training can be improved.

“I am keen to have continued involvement in junior doctors’ wellbeing whilst my main project for the year is to deliver a leadership and management course for registrars/middle grades in the Trust.

“I’ve witnessed some great examples of good leadership in the Trust during the first wave of COVID, so it made perfect sense for me to take on the chief registrar role here as I learn more about leadership. Along with good training opportunities, staff wellbeing has been a big priority for the Trust, and this has encouraged me to stay on to take the additional role.

“As a trainee, COVID has had a major impact on my training, especially specialist training. Clinically, I worked mainly on the acute medical unit during the pandemic and was not able to provide any care in the outpatient setting where I am mainly based during my specialty training time. I am back to doing what I enjoy but anxious about the growing number of cases.

“My message to colleagues across the Trust is to keep doing what you are doing, be kind and to my fellow trainees, please contact me if you are experiencing any issues or worries. Even if I cannot solve the problem myself, I can help to signpost and escalate issues.”