What are the expectations for attendance?
GP trainees in hospital placements are expected to visit their trainer/educational supervisor (ES), at their ST3 training practice, for 4 sessions every 6 months. This could be 4 half days, 2 full days or a mixture of both, but needs to include a session at the end of the placement. This is considered mandatory training.
How do I notify my attendance?
As regular attendance at the half day release teaching programme is required for a successful ARCP, it is vital you notify the GP education team that you have attended your training practice. This will then be added to your attendance record. To do this you must email Ugo Iheme-Madukairo after each session.
What is the aim of these sessions and what should I do?
The sessions are great to meet your educational supervisor and the team that you will be part of in your ST 3 year. It can also help to remind you of where you want to get to! The sessions can be whatever you want them to be. Towards the end of your hospital attachments you will have to spend part of the session completing your end of placement review but the rest of the time you can spend as constructively as you want. You may want to sit in on your trainer’s surgery, do your own surgery or sit in with an allied health professional. This can be really useful if it links with your current attachment (e.g. spending time with the health visitor during paediatrics, visiting the local physio during an orthopaedic placement or an antenatal clinic during O&G) If you’re really organised you may be able to forward some cases to your trainer to look at before the session so you can do a CBD whilst your there.
Ideas for sessions:
- Sitting in on your trainer’s or another partner’s surgery
- Doing your own surgery
- Doing a shared surgery with your trainer
- Doing a CBD, planning your PDP with your trainer
- Sitting in with the; physio, community mental health worker, community paediatrician, midwife, practice nurses, district nurses, health visitor, attending a local poetry/art group set up for patients with mental health problems, primary care substance misuse team, chronic disease clinics, smoking cessation clinic, school nurse, counsellor
- Spending time with the receptionists, practice manager or the local pharmacist/dispensary.
How do I arrange these sessions?
Time has been written into the GP VTS calendar to visit your training practice. These are mandatory sessions and are part of the half day release programme, therefore all consultants know you have to attend. Ideally you will attend on the Wednesday afternoon specified in the calendar, however, this may not always be possible. If you or your trainer are unavailable or you want to attend a community clinic that only runs on another day then anytime in the week is acceptable. However do try to spread the sessions out.
You will need to email your trainer a few weeks in advance to check they are available, confirm times and let them know what you would like to do in the next session. This will give them some time to prepare. After the session don’t forget to email Ugo Iheme-Madukairo to register your attendance as it will be counted.