Newcastle University in collaboration with partners Pennine MSK Partnership (PMSKP) and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, is delighted to announce that RightPath: A model of paediatric musculoskeletal triage in the community has been shortlisted for the Community or Primary Care Service Redesign Initiative – North/Midlands/East at this year’s HSJ Awards, recognising their outstanding contribution to healthcare.
The judging panel, made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, have shortlisted the RightPath Team from Newcastle University, PMSKP and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, despite the tough competition from hundreds of excellent applicants. The RightPath Team have been selected based on their ambition, visionary spirit and the demonstrable positive impact that their project has had on patient and staff experiences within the health care sector.
Musculoskeletal presentations to primary care amongst children & young people are common. In most cases the underlying cause is not serious; explanation, advice and reassurance will often suffice and referral to specialist hospital-based care is not necessary. However, serious illness may be the underlying cause and it is important that those with potentially serious illness are identified and referred on quickly. The aim of RightPath is to provide rapid triage and facilitate referral to the ‘right care for the right child in the right place’.
RightPath is a model of care where children and young people with musculoskeletal complaints can be assessed in the community using triage guidance and expertise of paediatric physiotherapists. Those with potential serious illness are identified and referred promptly to hospital-based specialist care (orthopaedics or rheumatology or neurology or general paediatrics) pending the suspected diagnosis. Those deemed to have a non-serious disease are managed in the community by physiotherapists and/or podiatrists. The RightPath study has been piloted in two separate sites in England, UK – Pennine MSK Partnership, Oldham and South Tyneside. The pilot was completed in 2018 and essentially demonstrated that the model of care is feasible, safe and acceptable to families and clinicians involved (publication in progress following peer review). Recently the team have developed the RightPath website www.rightpath.solutions to support other organisations to implement the model. The RightPath team and the triage guidance has also informed recent NICE clinical advice for primary care to support cks.nice.org.uk.
Professor Helen Foster, Professor of Paediatric Rheumatology at Newcastle University and Project Lead for RightPath comments, “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the HSJ Community or Primary Care Service Redesign award, recognising the collaborative efforts and dedication of our team members over the last 2 years to successfully implement RightPath. We are committed to delivering improved outcomes for patients, and to be
chosen among the other incredible nominees is a wonderful achievement. This nomination has been a tremendous boost to staff at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Pennine MSK Partnership and here at Newcastle University and I am sure it will bolster our continued efforts to improve services for families and children.
HSJ editor Alistair Mclellan, comments “We would like to congratulate South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust and their collaborators on being nominated in the category of Community or Primary Care Service Redesign – North/Midlands/East ahead of this year’s 2019 HSJ awards. We are looking forward to welcoming them to the ceremony in November, to join us in recognising the very best achievements and innovations in the healthcare sector. The entrants this year have been of incredible calibre, and each of the finalists in this category have been chosen based on their outstanding commitment to excellence in healthcare.”
The full list of nominees for the 2019 HSJ awards (partnered by GRI) can be found on https://awards.hsj.co.uk/2019-shortlist. Winners will be selected ahead of the 2019 HSJ awards ceremony, which is due to be held at the Battersea Evolution Centre, London on November 6th.

This is to be a high profile event for the Faculty and an opportunity for us all to congratulate Doug, Martin and Mary on their fellowships as well as encouraging Laura onto her own successes at the start of her academic career.

register via the link below.

https://us10.campaign-archive.com/?e=&u=d086bca05c463e232ca6fb8b2&id=77a35a3c3b

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/working-with-us/for-scientists/intro/

At the SMC’s popular Introduction to the News Media sessions, media-experienced scientists, news journalists, science correspondents and press officers give presentations about the realities of the news media, all with an eye to science in the headlines. The SMC has run over 20 Introduction to the News Media sessions engaging thousands of scientists across the UK, in venues in London, Durham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, Brighton, Exeter, Belfast and Norwich.

What are the sessions?

The sessions last half a day and offer a beginner’s guide to the media, giving an insight into the way the news media works. You will get a tour of some of the key issues, hearing about topics including:

• how and why scientists and journalists should engage with each other
• top tips for dealing with the media
• how journalists find stories
• the role of the press office
• the role of the news editor

All sessions are free of charge.

It isn’t: Skills-based media training. This session will not prepare you for a confrontation with Wark or Humphrys, and it is not practical media training; but it will give a flavour of the news media to help you understand its demands and make it easier for you to work with journalists. The SMC, however, does offer individual support to scientists when collaborating with them on frontline media work, and the Introduction to the New Media sessions are one way in which we develop relationships with scientists.

Is it for you? We welcome scientists, social scientists, engineers and clinicians from any discipline and at any stage of their career in academia or industry (excluding those at undergraduate level), who have little or no media experience but would like to find out more. If you would like to register your interest in attending a session in the future, please contact us at the email address below.

Example event programme. 

upcoming sessions

Are you interested in how the media works?  Do you get frustrated by what you read and see in the news?  Do you want to help journalists report your subject better?  If so, this is the event for you.

Come to our next Introduction to the News Media event on Thursday 24^th October at the Wellcome Trust in London (215 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE, UK), from 1pm to 5pm.

It’s a hugely informative, entertaining and popular afternoon.  And it’s FREE.

You will hear from national news science journalists about what makes a story, what drives the news agenda and what they need from you – and you will get a chance to interrogate them on what drives you mad about the media.

You will also hear from press officers working at the coal face of science communication, and from scientists who have worked with the media and lived to tell the tale.

If you’d like to attend, please send your full name, job title, institution, institutional e-mail address and phone number to introduction@sciencemediacentre.org and we will send you confirmation, the programme and more information in due course.

Places are limited and we are looking for scientists at least part way into their careers – so it’s not aimed at students. Please do not request a place unless you are sure you can make the date and it is in your diary.

Testimonials

“It gave me a good insight into why the media view is so different- and makes me listen to the views expressed now in a different light.”

“Have already had some contacts with the media, but was very nice to hear things from their point of view. Must be said, have not appreciated fully the time pressures they work under.”

“I found it one of the most rewarding uses of an afternoon that I can remember.”

“I found the event very interesting and useful. I feel more comfortable with the idea of talking to journalists now.”

“I thought the event was extremely well organised and had a good balance of views from scientists and the media. Very engaging speakers and really practical advice and information.”

“Really enjoyed the meeting and found it very informative.”

This is a gentle reminder that we are running a hands-on genetic engineering workshops on the 2nd, 9th and 16th of September. In the workshops, you can learn how to use a version control system for cell engineering, we have been building, to accelerate your research. The workshops are especially aimed at all PhD students and Postdocs operating in the wet labs. It would therefore be great to forward this email to all students and researchers who are not in the email list.

To register for the workshops, please go to https://tinyurl.com/portabolomics. 

The workshops will take place in the Devonshire building on Monday, September 2nd/9th/16th from 11:00 to 15:00 in room G20.

Delegate places are filling up fast for the Cancer Research UK–AACR Joint Conference on Engineering and Physical Sciences in Oncology in London this October. To avoid disappointment, book your spot by Tuesday 17 September.

Our exciting three-day programme features leading international scientists including Sangeeta Bhatia (MIT), Oliver Jonas (Harvard Medical School), Molly Stevens (Imperial College London) and Bern Pichler (University Hospital Tübingen).

Sessions include:
• Detect: Monitoring disease state
Chair and speaker: Kevin Brindle, CRUK Cambridge Institute, UK
Focussing on new technologies to monitor all aspects of disease state, from therapy response to resistance detection in both clinical and preclinical settings
• Understand: Cancer research in the big data era
Chair and speaker: Dana Pe’er, Sloan Kettering Institute, US
Highlighting how big data and artificial intelligence can accelerate cancer research
• Treat: Novel therapeutic approaches
Chair and speaker: Angela Koehler, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US
Discussing emerging therapeutics and therapeutic technologies that can help in the fight against cancer.

FW_ Your guide to upcoming cancer conferences

Dear colleague,

Welcome to your quarterly events update from Cancer Research UK.

Here you’ll find a round-up of the upcoming scientific events we and our partners are hosting.

If you’re organising a cancer-related conference or event that you’d like us to share, do get in touch at researchevents@cancer.org.uk.

Many thanks,

Cancer Research UK’s Events Team

HNRC-25-Anniversary

The Human Nutrition Research Centre (HNRC) is 25yrs old this year!  To celebrate we are holding a 25^th Anniversary Conference on “Global Nutrition Challenges in the next 25 years”.  The conference will be held on Wednesday 23rd October in the Urban Sciences Building, Helix site.  Please see the attached poster.

For further information and registration please go to the conference website at the following link: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/hnrc/events/conferences/

It is with pleasure that we now open the Call for Proposals (due 1 Nov. 2019) for the upcoming 5th Network Gender & STEM biennial conference – in Sydney Australia for the first time (previously at Amsterdam, Berlin, Newcastle UK, Eugene USA).

– Conference theme: ‘STEM Education for the New Work Order: Policy, practice and partnerships’

– Dates/location: 30 July – 1 August 2020 at The University of Sydney, Australia

– Website (including proposal guidelines and submissions): www.genderandSTEM2020.com.au

Key dates for your diaries:

– Proposals: due Friday 1 November 2019 – formats include Symposia, Individual papers, Posters, Workshops

– Acceptance decisions: early December 2019

– Registration will open: February 2020

The focus of the conference is on tackling the issue of girls’ and women’s under-representation in STEM, through the pipeline beginning with early school experiences until the workforce. The 2020 Network conference represents a partnership with the STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy to bring together researchers, educators, policymakers, industry representatives and the public to interrogate person-in-context influences towards, or away from, diverse STEM pathways across stages and settings. What are the needs for a STEM workforce of 2030? New, interdisciplinary drivers are transforming work and education policy and practice in response to social and environmental challenges and technological advancement. What is the role of STEM for the new work order, and how can we engage and prepare all young people including girls and women?

Themes will include:

– individual, family, teacher and peer processes which impact STEM engagement and participation;

– key factors and good practices to promote vs. deter STEM engagement and learning within school, university and workplaces;

– positive action measures: STEM initiatives, schemes, networks and organisations;

– developments in STEM & preparing workers for the future;

– the role of higher education institutes, government, industry, public policy and career development policies to enhance women’s and men’s participation in STEM research, commercialisation and public impact.

Keynote speakers include Professors Sue Thomson (Deputy CEO Research, ACER), Ana Deletec (Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, UNSW), Mustafa Özbilgin (Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Brunel Business School) and Network Patron Jacquelynne Eccles (Distinguished Professor, UC-Irvine).

Further details will soon be available including the conference registration and dinner, a third email will be sent out at that time. For now – we hope to welcome you in Sydney in 2020!

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us: info@genderandstem2020.com.au

Please find attached a training opportunity forwarded from the Engagement and Place Team centrally which may appeal to PhD students, PGRs /early career researchers right through to senior academics. It is to join a NU-KESS (Newcastle University Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series) workshop focussed on the presentation of research to local decision makers. The deadline for applications is the 31^st July and further information can be found in the attached document.

NU-KESS Open Call document June 2019

“Annual Combined Northern and Yorkshire Rheumatology Meeting

National Railway Museum, York

Wednesday September 25th 2019 – please see the website for further information at https://conferences.ncl.ac.uk/nyrm2019/ (best viewed in Chrome)

To register for the meeting:

The National Railway Museum is a short walk from the railway station. On-line registration is available now via the following URL link (or copy and paste into browser):

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/25th-northern-and-yorkshire-rheumatology-meeting-2019-registration-57004160980

To submit an abstract:

Please e-mail your abstract to janet.herdman@ncl.ac.uk by 29^th August at the latest (late submissions will not be considered). Your abstract should be presented on a single side of A4. One figure or table may be included.

If your abstract is a clinical abstract for the morning session:

Clinical cases for the morning presentations would be greatly appreciated including the sort of cases seen as urgent ward or out patient referrals. If you have a suitable case that you would like to present it would be helpful to discuss with Mike Green on mike.green@hdft.nhs.uk.

This is a prompt to encourage you to consider submitting an abstract summarising basic, translational and clinical science in the rheumatology field, as well as clinical cases and audit findings; remember, there is a prize for the two best abstracts, which will be presented in the final session! Abstracts submitted to the ACR or EULAR 2019 may be submitted, and we encourage submissions from students and Fellows.

We also particularly encourage rheumatology trainees from around the region to submit abstracts of notable clinical cases (in general rheumatology as well as SpA management conundrums) for presentation and discussion. If you are a trainee, please consider doing this. IF you are a consultant please provide encouragement; you are of course welcome to present cases yourselves!) It’s a fantastic opportunity to exchange expertise with interested peers and gain experience of presenting. Please also ensure that trainees working at your centre are able to cancel their clinics for the day, mindful that the date is shortly after the rotation date for some.

If you have any queries about the meeting please contact janet.herdman@ncl.ac.uk ”