ATACC

Diploma & Fellowship

For those wanting something beyond the ATACC course, as an accredited Royal College of Surgeons, (London) Surgical Education Centre, we are delighted to have launched both our Diploma in Anaesthesia, Trauma & Critical Care (DipATACC) and the Fellowship in Trauma & Critical care (FFTACC).

This course is ideal for anyone working in a Trauma Centre, Trauma Unit, or prehospital enhanced care services including eg HEMS, Advanced Motorsport medicine, PHEM or HART, Critical Care paramedicine

For those wanting something beyond the ATACC course, as a Royal College of Surgeons, (London) Education Centre, we are delighted to have launched both our Diploma in Anaesthesia, Trauma & Critical Care (DipATACC) and the Fellowship in Trauma & Critical care (FFTACC).

ATACC Council Logo

OVERVIEW

For many years, candidates who have successfully completed the ATACC course, have been asking ‘what’s next’, is there anything beyond ATACC, based on the same roadside to critical care philosophy and as current but even more in depth, than the course.

I am delighted to announce that through our status as a Royal College of Surgeons (London) Education Centre, together with our large international ATACC Faculty, we have now been able to establish both a Diploma and a Fellowship qualification.

These qualifications will be facilitated and awarded through the newly established Faculty of Trauma & Critical Care Council.

‘After 25 years of evolution, this was the logical next step in the ATACC journey and I am absolutely delighted that we can now offer these two qualifications, that demonstrate a high level of understanding and achievement in any trauma & critical care provider. This course is ideal for anyone who may manage or lead major trauma and critical care both in hospital and prehospital.’

Dr Mark Forrest
President of the Faculty of Trauma & Critical Care

COURSE SUMMARY

The Diploma and Fellowship examinations will run twice each year and candidates will be expected to demonstrate, not only a wide knowledge of trauma & critical care, but also the ability to perform independent review, critical appraisal and produce a dissertation for submission. This will be formally assessed by the examiners prior to the examination day, where candidates will also deliver a short presentation of their work. This is an important part of our assessment as presentation quality and style has always been a key part of ATACC education and the Faculty have adopted a ‘TED style’ approach, which is well prepared and rehearsed.

Standard entry to the Diploma Examination requires a pass on the ATACC course, within the last 10 years. Holders of the Diploma will be able to apply for the Fellowship examination after a further 2 years. However, the Chief Examiner, in exceptional circumstances, will consider individual applications from highly experienced individuals, deemed ready for the Fellowship.

The Diploma and Fellowship examinations will run twice each year and candidates will be expected to demonstrate, not only a wide knowledge of trauma & critical care, but also the ability to perform independent review, critical appraisal and produce a dissertation for submission. This will be formally assessed by the examiners prior to the examination day, where candidates will also deliver a short presentation of their work. This is important assessment as presentation quality and style has always been a key part of ATACC education and the Faculty have adopted a ‘TED style’ approach, which is well prepared and rehearsed.

Standard entry to the Diploma Examination requires a pass on the ATACC course, within the last 5 years. Holders of the Diploma will be able to apply for the Fellowship examination after a further 2 years. However, the Chief Examiner, in exceptional circumstances, will consider individual applications from highly experienced individuals, deemed ready for the Fellowship.

Faculty of Trauma & Critical Care Council

Dr Mark Forest

President – Dr Mark Forrest

Dr Mark Forrest BSc Hons MB ChB FRCA FICM FFSEM FFTACC is our Medical Director. He is an NHS Associate Medical Director and a Consultant in Anaesthesia, Critical Care and HEMS Consultant. He is the Medical Director for numerous UK emergency services and his broad experience includes diving & hyperbaric medicine, critical care transfer, ECMO and paeds retrieval, extrication and tactical medicine.

Mark is also the Founder of ATACC and has spent more than 25 years tirelessly delivering world-renowned teaching, innovating, simulating and making the impossible seem to happen.

Chief Examiner – Prof Mansoor Khan

Consultant Upper GI and Trauma Surgeon. Actively involved in Trauma research, international trauma training and corporate advisory roles. Course Director for multiple trauma courses including the Definitive Surgical Trauma Skills Course, Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Trauma advisor for numerous health care providers world wide. Scientific Advisory Board Member for the FIA University. Experienced in Trauma Surgery, Prehospital Medicine in Austere Environments and Disaster Medicine.

Mansoor Khan at the ATACC group

Lead Examiner – Prof Simon Carley

Professor Simon Carley MB ChB, PGDip, DipIMC (RCS Ed), FHEA, FAcadMed, FRCEM, FTACC, MPhil, MD, PhD is a consultant in emergency medicine in Manchester and a HEMS consultant with North West Air Ambulance. He is currently the Dean of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and an Associate Dean with Health Education England. He is a visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University. Simon also responds as a volunteer with BASICS on the NWPCCC scheme.

He has extensive experience in medical education, with a particular interest in online and social media enabled education through projects such as St Emlyn’s and BestBets.

Treasurer – Dr Jason Van der Velde

Dr. Jason van der Velde is a Prehospital Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Retrieval Physician working as the Clinical Lead for the Irish Health Service Executive’s National 24 hour Emergency Telemedical Support Unit, MEDICO Cork.

Based in the Emergency Department in Cork University Hospital, he has a Masters Degree in Disaster Medicine and over 25 years experience providing Prehospital Critical Care around the world. He is the Medical Director of West Cork Rapid Response and Assistant Medical Director of ATACC. He is the Vice Chair of the Prehospital Emergency Care Council of Ireland.

Danny Ambler at ATTACC Group

Director – Danny Ambler

Danny is the Managing Director for The ATACC Group and oversees the day to day operations, course delivery and International Partnerships

Trainee Representative – Dr Halden Hutchinson-Bazely

Halden is a registrar in Intensive Care Medicine and Pre Hospital Emergency Medicine. He has been active in pre-hospital care for over 15 years and has military and civilian experience in a wide range of roles starting initially as a CFR, and subsequently ambulance service, SAR, BASICS and HEMS.

He is an assistant medical director of ATACC, a university associate lecturer in pre hospital critical care, and an instructor on international level courses in pre hospital endovascular resuscitation.

Halden Hutchinson-Bazely at The ATACC Group

COURSE SUMMARY

Diploma Fellowship
Eligibility ATACC successfully completed in last 10 years.
MCQ results > 70%		 Minimum 2 years since completing Diploma.

Dip ATACC/DipATACC (MM) within the last 10 years

  • In good standing with the Faculty fees
  • Clinical log/appraisal
  • Dissertation topic approved

Admission by special application will also be considered for applicants with a minimum of 8 year’s experience in the field of trauma & critical care. Such applications will be considered for admission by the Faculty Council.
The Examination Entry criteria from ATACC within last 10 years

Dissertation: 5,000 words

Presentation of the dissertation (10 mins)

Viva (15×2 mins):

  • One on General Trauma
  • One on clinical care scenarios
 Evidence of DipATACC >2years ago

Evidence of current practice in trauma & critical care eg appraisal

Dissertation: 10,000 words

Presentation of dissertation (20 mins)

Trauma theory Viva (15×2 mins)

  • Dissertation viva,/li>
  • General Trauma

Trauma in practice viva (15×2)

  • Clinical scenarios
  • General trauma
Cost of application £500 £1000
Attempts 3 maximum
(potential for 1 further after application to Faculty Council)		 3 maximum
(potential for 1 further after application to Faculty Council)
Failure feedback Available on written request to the Chief examiner Available on written request to the examiner
Post nominals Dip ATACC
Diploma in Anaesthesia, Trauma and Critical Care		 FFTACC
Fellow of the Faculty of Trauma and Critical Care
Annual subscription £100 £200
Members benefits (current) Use of Post-nominal
Recorded on the National register
Alumni membership
Newsletter/Journal of ATACC
Access to Diploma merchandise		 Use of Post-nominal
Recorded on the National register
Member’s lounge access at Examination
Alumni membership
Journal of ATACC
ATACC Manual Membership
Access to Fellowship merchandise

 

COURSE SUMMARY

Diploma:

Eligibility: ATACC successfully completed in last 10 years. MCQ results > 70% from November 2023 onwards.
The Examination:
Entry criteria from ATACC within last 10 years

Dissertation: 5,000 words

Presentation of the dissertation (10 mins)

Viva (15×2 mins):

  • One on General Trauma
  • One on clinical care scenarios

Cost of application: £500
Attempts: 3 maximum (potential for 1 further after application to Faculty Council)
Failure feedback: Available on written request to the Chief examiner.
Post-nominal: Dip ATACC Diploma in Anaesthesia, Trauma and Critical Care
Annual subscription: £100
Members’ benefits (current): Use of Post-nominal Recorded on the National register Alumni membership Newsletter/Journal of ATACC Access to Diploma merchandise

Fellowship:

Eligibility:
Minimum 2 years since completing Diploma.

Dip ATACC/DipATACC (MM) within the last 10 years

  • In good standing with the Faculty fees
  • Clinical log/appraisal
  • Dissertation topic approved

Admission by special application will also be considered for applicants with a minimum of 8 year’s experience in the field of trauma & critical care. Such applications will be considered for admission by the Faculty Council.

The Examination:

Evidence of DipATACC >2years ago

Evidence of current practice in trauma & critical care eg appraisal

Dissertation: 10,000 words

Presentation of dissertation (20 mins)

Trauma theory Viva (15×2 mins)

  • Dissertation viva
  • General Trauma

Trauma in practice viva (15×2)

  • Clinical scenarios
  • General trauma

Cost of application: £1000
Attempts: 3 maximum (potential for 1 further after application to Faculty Council)
Failure feedback: Available on written request to the Chief examiner.
Post-nominal:FFTACC Fellow of the Faculty of Trauma and Critical Care
Annual subscription: £200
Members’ benefits (current): Use of Post-nominal
Recorded on the National register
Member’s lounge access at Examination Alumni membership Journal of ATACC ATACC Manual Membership Access to Fellowship merchandise

APPLY HERE

Applications are now open.

Diploma & Fellowship FAQ’s

Much like other Diplomas and Fellowships run at the Colleges, we will be sticking to a twice yearly format and simply increase the number of days, as demand increases

After successfully passing the Diploma, we would like candidates to continue to develop themselves and to further extend their knowledge, before they return for the Fellowship. The Examiners are willing to consider direct communication requests to sit the examination earlier, but these will only be by exception, in highly experienced individuals, to avoid unnecessary failures.

No. However, in exceptional circumstances, candidates with a significant level of knowledge and experience from their clinical work, can apply through the direct application to the Chief Examiner, for recognition of their prior learning or experience, to allow entry without completing ATACC

Yes. All Fellows have an open invitation to attend every sitting of the examination, to listen to the Diploma and Fellowship candidate presentations. Some Fellows may also wish to proceed to become examiners.

Anyone with the Fellowship can become a Diploma examiner. Fellowship examiners are initially only by invitation from the Faculty Council

If you are unwilling to pay the annual fee, then like other similar qualifications, you will no longer be eligible to use the post nominals and as no longer in ‘good standing’ you will be removed from our register. You will still have your certificates to prove that you have passed the examinations.

You have 12 months to submit your dissertation from the date of thesis approval. This will be stipulated in writing by email.

In the early years the presentation and viva examinations will all take place in London, at the Royal College of Surgeons, unless some circumstances do not allow this at the time.

From 2023 onwards candidates will be advised of their MCQ result. Candidates who passed the ATACC course prior to the date are all eligible to apply.

Cost of application for the ATACC Diploma: £500 (inc VAT)

Cost of application for the ATACC Fellowship: £1,000 (inc VAT)