Chairing the Junior Radiologists’ Forum: Shaping the future of radiology training

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time as the Chair of the Junior Radiologists' Forum (JRF) and appreciate the crucial role it plays in conveying the voice of all clinical radiology trainees to the RCR. I'm grateful to the RCR Officers for providing me with mentoring and guidance over the last two years, which has helped further build my confidence in leadership.

My role is to ensure radiology trainee perspectives are integrated into various RCR boards and working groups to shape JRF and College initiatives. I work closely with the JRF executive committee, whose members represent the JRF on different boards, both internal and external to the RCR such as the Academy Training Doctors Committee, BMA and GMC. As Chair, I have the privilege of participating in top-level discussions at the College, holding a seat on the RCR Council and RCR Faculty Board.

An invaluable experience

As well as developing my ability to chair meetings at a national level, being Chair of the JRF has provided invaluable networking opportunities within and outside of the College, which I plan to maintain as I step into my consultant career.

While the JRF Chair is a voluntary position, balancing it with the demands of the day-to-day radiology job can be challenging. However, there is plenty of support at the RCR and clinical work commitments are considered when working towards soft deadlines. To help maintain a healthy work-life balance, I've learned to be very organised and time efficient.

Heard and represented

A key part of the role is ensuring the voices and concerns of all trainees are heard and represented. Each deanery across the UK has a dedicated JRF representative who will ask for feedback on local training issues, which is fed back at our JRF meetings to provide the Chair with a national overview. The JRF Chair also collaborates closely with the RCR Officers, in particular the Medical Director of Education and Training, to help influence change.

Throughout the year, there are many hot topics to discuss. One such topic was to advocate for adjustments in the new curriculum, to overcome trainee challenges in procedure work. The RCR responded by monitoring and revising the curriculum with altered competency level requirements to alleviate this pressure.

There has also been growing concern about non-radiologists undertaking basic procedure work and some cross-sectional reporting, which is limiting training opportunities for radiology trainees. I led discussions on this wider topic at our recent JRF meeting, which helped raise awareness of these issues. The RCR listened and a task and finish group has been formed to address these challenges, ensuring trainees are given the time, attention and experience that is so critical to the future of clinical radiology.

JRF representatives

All JRF representatives are expected to have introduced themselves to their trainees in the deanery and shared their contact details. A list of JRF representatives is available on the RCR website, and I encourage you to get in touch with your JRF representative to ensure your views are represented.