Please join us in thanking our departing JAG Training Lead, Miss Sarah Mills, who will be handing over her role to Dr Paul Dunckley this month.
Sarah took up her role as Training Lead in 2022, navigating the significant challenges for endoscopy training presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, she has collaborated with Endoscopy Academies and JAG Regional Training Centres to develop innovative approaches to training, such as immersion training, as well as incorporating new JAG training and certification pathways into JETS and developing a dashboard for Academy leads to target training opportunities for local trainees.
A particular highlight of Sarah’s tenure was chairing the JAG strategy day on ‘The Future of Endoscopy Training’, held at the RCP in 2023. She recalls the ‘highly spirited and passionate debate’ amongst stakeholders, and believes the day provided JAG with ‘a blueprint that I have no doubt that my successor, Dr Paul Dunkley, will implement successfully during his tenure.’ She is confident that ‘the future of endoscopy training will be safe in his capable hands!’
Please also join us in welcoming Paul, who has extensive experience in leading endoscopy training, having delivered over 250 training courses since qualifying as a consultant gastroenterologist. Paul has sat on the JAG Training Committee since 2008, where, as a former Clinical Lead for JETS, he oversaw the development and UK-wide rollout of the platform, as well as JAG’s transition to digital certification pathways in 2011. In addition to publishing over 30 peer-reviewed papers on endoscopy training, Paul is the Director of both the Gloucestershire Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and the South West Endoscopy Training Academy, where he has sought to enhance training for his region’s wider endoscopy workforce.
Looking to the future, Paul notes ‘the significant challenges facing endoscopy training, with stretched endoscopy services, the ongoing impact of the pandemic, workforce gaps and the reduced length of training programmes.’ Nevertheless, he believes that ‘it is a very exciting time – with the advent of the regional endoscopy training academies, the release of JETS Workforce, and the increasing focus on training administrative and clerical staff in endoscopy. I look forward to working with JAG’s stakeholders to continue developing and quality-assuring endoscopy training in the UK.’
