Committee of Anaesthetic Trainees (CAT)

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of the Committee of Anaesthetic  Trainees (CAT) is to represent the views of all anaesthetists in training within the College. It is the means whereby our voices are heard and how we have an input into our training on a formal level, as well as being our involvement  in the governance of the College and in the shaping of the future of Anaesthesia in Ireland.

Challenges Ahead:

With the advent of the recent Medical Practitioners Act, huge changes have come about in the structure of medical training in Ireland. These are reflected in some of the changes that have already occurred for us in Anaesthesia e.g. the logbook, the maintenance of a PCS record and the setting of 6 monthly training goals. There are many more proposed changes on the way, not least of which is the shortening of the scheme by one year. This will place huge emphasis on achieving competencies and the rigorous completion of modules. In the face of service provision, this will obviously present many challenges. It is up to us to have our say on how our training should be structured in the future and to influence our working conditions going forward. We must ensure that our training is prioritised above all else as the Health Service eventually moves from a consultant-led to a consultant-provided model of service provision.

Committee Members:

The inaugural meeting of the Committee of Anaesthetic Trainees (CAT) of the College of Anaesthetists of Ireland was held on Thursday 15^th December 2011.  Committee members were drawn from those who were in attendance as well as from those who had responded to the  open invitation for participation that was sent to all trainees . These positions will be reviewed in 6 months – 1 year and we hope to hold formal, countrywide elections to the committee in the future. Each hospital has a designated trainee who will liaise with the CAT on a regular basis. We would encourage everyone to express their views, either by contacting the committee directly or via their designated trainee representative.

Below is the current composition of the committee:

Chairperson: Dr Roseita Carroll

Secretary: Dr Karina Fitzgibbon

Treasurer: Dr Hugh O’Callaghan

Representatives to the Training Committee: Dr Sheila Duggan, Dr Tomas Hitka

Representatives to the Education Committee: Dr David Cosgrave, Dr Caroline Larkin

Representative to the Examinations Committee and ICS Committee: Dr Rory Naughton

Representative to the JFICMI: Dr John Davis Coakley

Representative to the Pain Committee: Dr Mona Mubarak

GAT Representative: Dr Ateeq Ghafoor

Trainee Liaison Officer: Dr Kingsley Enohumah

Specific Tasks:

Our first task is to provide the Training Committee of the College with a considered trainee response to the proposed changes in training structure. We urgently invite everyone to communicate their opinions to us at our email address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) , from which we will collate a document to be presented to the Training Committee. The aim of the CAT is to represent all trainees but we can only be a truly representative  organisation  if you make the effort to contact us and voice your opinions.

We look forward to representing  you.

Dr Roseita Carroll

Chairperson CAT