Andrew Watson

Associate Dean

Having been born in Bury, schooled in Bolton and being a lifelong fan of Burnley FC I was pleased to return to the region from Yorkshire to take up my post as Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Tameside Hospital in 1998.

My clinical interests are around benign gynaecology including the management of pelvic and vulval pain, colposcopy and hysteroscopic (keyhole surgery) techniques for the management of menstrual problems. My research interests are centered on evidence based medicine and this includes being an editor of the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group.

I was Chairman of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Specialist Training Committee from 2007 in the Deanery having been Programme Director for a number of years prior to that. In 2010 I became the first Head of School of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in this Deanery. I stepped down from this to become an Associate Dean in 2013.

I am Chairman of the Specialty Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). This is the Committee that sets and monitors national standards in training in the specialty. As part of this role I review all O&G applications recommended by the various Deaneries to be placed on the Specialist Register by the GMC.

I sit on various committees at the RCOG relating to medical education at the RCOG, and am an examiner for the MRCOG exam that all trainees in O&G have to take.

My portfolio as Associate Dean consists of three main bodies of responsibility. These are:-

• Supporting the Directors of Medical Education at Blackpool and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust.
• Supporting the Heads of School and Training Programme Directors running the training programmes in Anaesthetics, Intensive Care Medicine and Radiology.
• Coordinating from a deanery perspective formal academic training for all grades of medical trainees including the Academic Foundation Programme, Academic Clinical Fellows, and Academic Clinical Lecturers. I work closely with the representatives Universities of Lancaster and Manchester in this role.