Registrar Doctor in Sarcoma Surgery

This post is intended for surgical trainees who wish to dedicate further time to training in specialist surgical oncology. For this reason, this post is likely to be most suitable for those who are at the latter stages of or have completed their Specialist Training Programme. The successful applicant will work on the Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) and malignant melanoma (MM) units at The Royal Marsden Hospital. Approximately eight hundred new cases of STS are referred to the RMH every year and are treated by a multidisciplinary team. All new cases are reviewed at a weekly multidisciplinary meeting where management is discussed. This provides the Registrar with an unparalleled experience. Surgical management includes soft tissue tumours of the limbs and limb girdle, intra-abdominal and trunk, and minimally invasive surgery where appropriate. About 5% of these patients will require reconstruction of skin and soft tissue. There will be opportunities for clinical research and the preparation of papers for presentation and publication.

Main duties of the job include involvement in a multidisciplinary team handling patients with malignant melanoma. There will be ample opportunities to learn techniques of lymph node dissection, isolated limb perfusion and laser vaporisation of in-transit metastatic melanoma, and the administration of intra-lesional therapies. The unit provides a diagnostic service for patients referred under the suspicion of sarcoma through a series of linked diagnostic centres in the region who initially assess patients and suspicious cross-sectional imaging is reviewed in a dedicated diagnostic MDT on Friday morning. Patients with likely diagnoses of sarcoma are then brought for assessment at the Royal Marsden. The successful applicant will be involved in this diagnostic pathway.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital. At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do. At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees' work-life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our ongoing achievements.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities include a major Thursday afternoon outpatient joint oncology clinic with all consultants and other oncological specialties and a Friday morning new patient clinic for suspected or confirmed sarcoma and melanoma patients. There are clinics on Monday morning in both Chelsea and Sutton seeing a mixture of new and follow-up patients. Multidisciplinary team meetings for sarcoma are held weekly on Friday lunchtime and fortnightly on Thursday lunchtimes alongside the weekly diagnostic MDT. The melanoma multidisciplinary meeting alternates with the Thursday sarcoma meeting. The registrar will have the opportunity of attending any of the other weekly meetings held at The Royal Marsden Hospital. For example, there is a Friday morning breast audit meeting as well as a weekly hospital radiology meeting. Other educational opportunities include the Departmental Journal club, Hospital Grand Rounds and Schwartz Rounds. Other units hold meetings where patient management is discussed and for a registrar committed to surgical oncology, all of these will provide excellent training opportunities. The registrar can interact freely with colleagues on the other surgical units gaining valuable clinical experience.

On-call duties may vary depending on the requirements of the department and will be confirmed prior to the successful candidate’s start date. Where on-call duties are applicable, international medical graduates will be expected to be competent to participate in the on-call rota after six weeks of employment, following completion of the required induction and departmental sign-off.

Person specification includes eligibility for Registration with the GMC, MRCS or equivalent, BSc / other related degrees/qualifications, FRCS or equivalent. Experience required includes completed ST6+ or equivalent and surgical experience in sarcoma and melanoma. Personal skills should include the ability to work without direct supervision where appropriate, clear logical thinking, showing an analytical approach, appropriate level of clinical and scientific knowledge, awareness of own limitations, ability to organise oneself and own work, commitment to personal development, and breadth of experience and awareness in and outside of the specialty.

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Please ensure your information is accurate to avoid errors with processing your application. All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff: At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease. The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the utmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.