Sleep medicine is a fascinating and ever-growing area of medicine, as I am sure many of the readers of the Hoot would agree. But as a trainee paediatrician, finding opportunities to gain experience and training in sleep as a paediatric subspeciality has been a bit of a challenge with general paediatric training including virtually no emphasis on paediatric sleep medicine.

For readers who may be unfamiliar with the UK Paediatric Training Programme, there are two options for subspeciality training. One option is to complete additional training in a Special Interest (SPIN) module, which involves gaining additional training and clinical experience in a specific area while completing the training programme. The main role of the SPIN modules is to help support improved knowledge and experience of various sub-specialities for general paediatricians who have an interest in a particular area. This creates a secondary care network of paediatric mini-specialists, leading more localised care in paediatric subspecialities and effective liaison with tertiary services.

Recently, through the British (Paediatric) Sleep Society, paediatric sleep medicine has been added to the list of SPIN options. With the tireless support of the brilliant paediatric sleep department at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, I was able to complete the requirements of the SPIN programme as part of a clinical fellowship and I am now the first person to have completed a formal RCPCH-accredited qualification in paediatric sleep medicine, the first of its kind in the UK.

This has been an invaluable opportunity, a fantastic experience, and will be an essential tool as I take my next steps in a career in sleep medicine. It also represents a significant step forward in recognising sleep medicine as an independent sub-speciality and in continuing to emphasise the importance of good understanding of sleep medicine in the context of general paediatrics.

Although having a formally recognised qualification is much needed progress in the world of paediatric sleep medicine, there is still scope to develop training further. The next level of training in the RCPCH is a subspeciality training programme, undertaken during senior registrar training, which used to be called “GRID”. Once complete, trainees are eligible to enter on the GMC specialist register as a paediatrician with a sub-speciality. Currently there is no GRID programme available in paediatric sleep medicine, however, but if it were established, a formal paediatric subspeciality training programme would provide future trainees aspiring to enter the field with dedicated training to build their expertise and ultimately foster the next generation of paediatric sleep specialists.

In the meantime, I would heartily encourage any paediatrician interested in sleep medicine to apply for the SPIN; and to the growing group of paediatricians whose SPIN is already well under way, I wish you all the very best of luck.

Written by Tom Maycock 12.07.2024