Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctors are senior physicians with at least four years' postgraduate training, including two or more within their specialty. It is a career path with a strong clinical focus and offers an alternative way to progress in geriatric medicine without training to become a Consultant or GP.

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We are keen to find new ways of connecting with our SAS grade members and encouraging their active participation in the work of the Society. I would like to thank all our SAS grade members for the vital role you play in the life of the NHS. I know you have a great deal of experience to bring to the many issues in which the Society is now engaged. So I look forward very much to hearing your views. - Dr Jennifer Burns, BGS Past President (2020-22)

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Welcome message

Dear colleagues,

A few months ago, I became aware of a vacancy in the BGS Education and Training Committee for a SAS doctor. With trepidation, I applied for the post. I was pleasantly surprised when the position was offered to me.

I have been a SAS doctor for more than fifteen years now. I was happy in my own cocoon, primarily due to family demands and my personal wish for a work-life balance. My kids are now grown up, one already at university and the other on the verge of entering university. I now feel that I can come out of the cocoon and contribute to those areas I have not been involved with before. I have some insight into the problems and needs of SAS doctors from my own experiences. But I feel it is no good representing you without knowing you and what your needs and expectations are.

Therefore, I would like to hear from all of you - about you. Usually, this kind of information is gathered by surveys, but I thought about survey fatigue and the often-inadequate responses to a survey. I am inviting you to contact me via the BGS office to express your views on how the Society can support SAS grade doctors in the future. Please send me an email via somsuj.b@gmail.com

At this moment, we have almost an empty canvas for us within the BGS. I consider this to be an important opportunity, a chance to shape how we wish to engage with the BGS. I want to do it collectively – together with you. There are so many things we can do! We may design a system of mentorship for those who want to take the route of CESR. I believe that knowledge is power. The only limits are those we impose on ourselves.

I am looking forward to an exciting time ahead. Are you too?

Kind regards,

Dr Somaditya Bandyopadhyay
BGS SAS Grade Lead

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Resources for SAS doctors

Resources for SAS Grade Doctors

Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctors are senior physicians with at least four years' postgraduate training, including two or more within their specialty. These resources may assist those currently, or thinking about, taking up a career as an SAS grade doctor.
08
Jul
2021

My Brilliant Career…as an SAS doctor

Even as a medical student I was drawn to elderly patients, but as a Senior House Officer (SHO) in a busy London hospital I soon found that I did not thrive on the acute ward.

The new Portfolio Pathway in Geriatric Medicine and General Internal Medicine

From November 2023, the CESR route for Specialist and GP registration changed to the new Portfolio Pathway. Dr Amit Arora (BGS Vice President, Workforce), Dr Saniya Naseer (SAS doctor) and Dr Somaditya Bandyopadhyay (SAS doctor) met with the General Medical Council (GMC) to clarify some common issues and questions for the benefit of our many SAS doctors.