scanning access/training

Hi All, I apologise for the length of this email but there is a lot of information to convey. Changes in the staffing level and responsibilities within YNiC and the increased no. of groups with external funding have created a situation where certain users are now finding it difficult to access the MRI scanner. There are number of discrete components to this situation which, when we were relatively quiet and better staffed, were not generally problematical. The situation is now different and the combination of these components has now stalled certain aspects of our work here. There is, unfortunately, no magic bullet to the problem. However the following actions should go some way to resolving the immediate crisis we seem to have and put in place some the framework for ensuring we don't end up here again. Short term. This is where our biggest problem lies, we have a no. of projects which are internally funded and are therefore only able to book 1 week in advance. Some of these are near completion and it is therefore entirely unreasonable to expect these groups to train a level 1 and level 0 operator to allow them to scan out of hours. Solution: I have set aside 5 hours per week (Mon - Fri 9am - 10am). Only the following projects have been identified as qualifying for these time slots. P1285,P1259 and P1229. Bookings have to be made by telephone call to reception who will amend the booking slot to contain your project details. If you believe your project qualifies please email Tony Morland to make your case. Medium Term. In order for projects/groups to be able to perform their own scanning in unsupervised time they need to be able to access appropriate supervised training. The existing training programme for level 1 operators has certain inefficiencies, which if correctly addressed should allow us to 'accelerate' the training without compromising safety. Solution: Discrete training sessions will be set aside (3hours per week) for console training during which multiple trainees will be able to go through the process of safety screening, positioning, protocol set up and data acquisition multiple times to 'embed' the process more quickly (several done in quick succession is far more valuable than a larger no. done over a longer time period). It must be stressed these sessions are for training only, project data will not be acquired in 'training sessions'. Once this initial training exercise has been adequately completed. The project will then be allowed to book into 'ring fenced' training slots where project data can be acquired and for which they will be charged at the appropriate rate. I have set aside a further 4 hours per week where booking is restricted to those groups that have been involved in the 'bulk' training sessions and which will cover off project specific set up etc. Only once the supervising level 2 operator is satisfied with the trainees competence will they be signed off as an operator. Long Term Hopefully once our current 'crisis' of availability is passed the need for the 'short term' proposal reservations will diminish if not disappear altogether. The requirement for an ongoing training programme will remain, however, the amount of time we need to commit to it will be depend upon nos of new projects and availalability of operators within labs. Proposal: All new projects whether PhD, externally funded internal or external will need to declare whether or not they have a trained operator available for the proposed duration of their study. Internally funded PhD projects will be required to identify their own operator or an appropriate individual to be trained as such. Appropriate 'initial bulk' training sessions and PhD training slots will be determined probably at the start of each term. Kind regards Ross