Deputy Convenor | ROBuST Courses

ROBuST Deputy Convenor

ROBuST Convenor

Senior Vice President, Global Health

Honorary Director of Events

Three years, commencing May 2025

The ROBuST Deputy Convenor will support the Convenor will oversee the whole of ROBuST programme, including delivery of the RCOG courses including training of faculty to deliver ROBuST franchised courses locally and the quality assurance of the RCOG and franchise run courses.

The course is currently run at the College 6-7 times a year and franchised to various UK and overseas centres. There are currently approx. 35 franchise courses per year.

ROBuST Course Content: The Convenor and Deputy Convenor are responsible for ensuring that the ROBuST course materials remain fit for purpose and are updated regularly. The Convenors should develop the course content in line with the College Curriculum, and liaise with the Curriculum Committee to ensure that any updates to the Curriculum are reflected in the course as well as changes in clinical practice within the speciality. The Convenors will update the course content in line with the College’s franchising principles.

Course Faculty and Training of Trainers: The Deputy Convenor will assist in the development of a pool of faculty for the course, including the approval of individuals who request to join the teaching faculty. This includes the organisation of the regular training / update sessions for UK course faculty.

The RCOG courses are for Trainers and Trainees combined and the Convenor and Deputy Convenor are responsible for developing appropriate materials and methods to train faculty to deliver the course at local franchises centres. It is expected that the Convenor and Deputy Convenor will share the responsibility to lead the ROBuST courses held at the College.

Quality Assurance: The Convenors will be responsible for the quality assurance of all ROBuST courses both in the UK and internationally.  Written feedback is obtained from all courses then benchmarked and will be forwarded to the Convenor for review, and to take appropriate steps to assist courses who are underperforming.

Regular update reports and meetings are encouraged with the Senior Vice President, Global Health to ensure oversight and alignment with RCOG curriculum and strategy.

• ROBuST Convenor
• Senior Vice President, Global Health
• Vice President, Education
• Honorary Director of Events
• Director of Events and Exhibition Sales
• Events Co-ordinator

Organising the ROBuST courses requires someone who is enthusiastic, willing and able to commit the time to organise this important series of courses.

Course preparation time, teaching on the courses, reviewing of feedback and course development all need to be factored in to the amount of work.

This role reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop the role description will be reviewed and be subject to amendment in consultation with the post holder.

The role description will be re-evaluated at the end of the term.  

The next deputy convenor will normally be appointed 3-6 months before the end of the current holder's term of office and they should work closely together during this time in order to facilitate a smooth take-over period.

Essential

• MRCOG/FRCOG
• Registered with a licence to practice with GMC, in good standing
• Permanent post as consultant/SAS/LE doctor in obstetrics and/or gynaecology in UK NHS Practice
• Evidence of annual appraisal
• At least one fully completed CPD cycle
• Evidence of equal opportunities and diversity training within previous 3 years

Essential Criteria for retired Obstetrics and/or Gynaecology Consultants:

• Member (MRCOG) or Fellow (FRCOG) of the RCOG and be up-to-date with membership fees
• Retired consultant in Obstetrics and/or Gynaecology - up to three years post retirement
• Current equal opportunities and diversity training certificate (within the last 3 years)

Essential

• Trained as ROBuST course faculty at RCOG course
• Acted as previous lead of RCOG ROBuST course and/or acted as lead of a local franchised ROBuST course, and have extensive experience of leading and facilitating courses  
• Involvement in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, training and assessment
• Punctuality and ability to complete tasks by prescribed deadlines

Desirable

• College Tutor or Educational Supervisor experience

Information about the RCOG CPD Framework can be found here.

Committee Chair/Member/Course Convenors and Organisers

If within your committee role or work as course convenor or organiser you gain knowledge which enhances patient care or leadership and technical skills (including, for example, giving presentations, teaching sessions or mock examining) credits can be claimed as an ‘Experiential Learning Event’.

CPD users can now freely select and record the number of credits for all their CPD activities. For Experiential Learning Events, a Reflection is required to claim the selected credits. In addition, 1 or 2 credits can be claimed for an action following the learning (1 credit for a simple action, 2 credits for a complex action). To claim credits for an action, the individual needs to demonstrate how they have applied their learning to their practice, the service they provide and/or the potential impact of the learning.

For those who prefer to follow RCOG recommendations, the CPD Framework still provides a suggested number of credits that can be claimed for different CPD activities.

Further information can be found in the RCOG CPD Framework document.