Study Leave/Budget

This page gives an overview of study leave allowance and budget for GP training in Guildford. For up to date information for London and the South East (LASE) please visit: https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/solutions/7000016490

A study budget is available through the deanery to fund educational courses that support GP training, develop skills and improve the care delivered to patients. There is no annual limit, although there is a maximum reimbursement per course.

Study budget will fund…

  • Courses and activities that support the GP curriculum
  • Courses to help prepare for postgraduate examinations (one course per exam, up to £600)
  • Aspirational courses (for trainees who have completed their exams, up to £1000)

Study budget will not fund…

  • Royal college membership fees
  • Postgraduate examination fees

The process to apply for study leave is outlined below. There is an application form for prospective approval to attend a course, then a separate expense form to claim for reimbursement after attending the course. This must be submitted within 3 months of attending the course.

Study Leave Process

An overview of the KSS process for study leave can be found here: Study-Leave-Process-Flowchart-2024

At RSCH study leave will only be granted for trainees who have >90% compliance with their Statutory and Mandatory training.

Forms are processed in paper format and require a “wet” signature from a TPD.

  1. Speak with your Educational Supervisor regarding any study course of interest to ensure it aligns with training objectives.
  2. Complete RSCH study leave form Study-leave-application-form-December-22 with course code General-Practice-Course-Codes-December-2023.
  3. Pass form to Educational or Clinical Supervisor to sign that trainee can be released from clinical duties.
  4. Hand the form/scan a signed copy to GP Manager Donna Stevens (donnastevens@nhs.net, x4926) who works Monday to Friday 8am – 4pm.
  5. On Thursdays, a TPD will review application forms and sign if they are approved.
  6. Trainee will be contacted if request is not approved/there is missing information.
  7. Approved forms will be passed to Study Leave Administrator Janet Whitehorn (janet.whitehorn@nhs.net, x4378) who will e-mail trainee to confirm approval. Janet works Wednesday and Thursday in the Education Centre.
  8. Once trainee has received confirmation of approval, trainee can book the course.
  9. Having attended the course, complete and submit a green expense form Travel-and-expenses-form-1 with proof of course attendance and expense receipts within three months of the study leave. This needs to be signed by your Educational Supervisor and handed to Donna Stevens.
  10. Donna will check the form and if complete, pass over to Janet Whitehorn to process reimbursement. This will be made through payroll.

The GP training programme is a continuing period of learning and development over three full-time years. The aim of Study Leave within the GP Specialty Training Programmes is to facilitate trainees in achieving full coverage of the GP Curriculum and success in the MRCGP assessment. Therefore, trainees are allocated 30 days study leave per year of training to pursue courses and activities related to the core GP curriculum, as well as attend local educational half days and GP practice days during hospital rotations.

  1. GP Practice Days for GP trainees in Substantive Hospital Posts. There should be a minimum one day in every four month substantive hospital post spent with the GP Educational Supervisor for ST1/ST2s. Whilst these GP Practice days have a number of aims, a principle one is to increase trainees’ understanding of General Practice and Primary Care during their hospital based ST1/ST2 years.
  2. Organising Educational Days in GP. Each term there are Educational half days on a Thursday for which study leave will need to be applied for. The provisional dates for these will be released at the beginning of the academic year. As soon as the dates are confirmed the trainee will need to complete a study leave application form for submission to the Medical Education Team.
  3. Thursday Clinical Updates 1-2pm. At the Royal Surrey there are weekly GP Clinical Updates led by GP Practices. These take place at Thursday lunchtime during term time in the Education Centre. Completion of study leave application forms is not necessary but 70% attendance is mandatory.
  4. GPST3 Specific Guidance. GP Specialty Training Half Day Release (HDR) uses 15 of the 30 day allocation in ST3. Trainees are invited to participate in two Residential Educational Workshops at Cumberland Lodge during their ST3 year. The costs for overnight accommodation involved should be personally covered by the trainees, whilst individual study leave budgets can be used for the educational components of these courses.

You must be able to link all educational activity to one of the course codes as outlined above. Any study leave you request where one of these codes is not applicable may be rejected.

Aspirational / Discretionary Study Leave

For trainees who are on track with the core GP curriculum (e.g. ST3 who has successfully completed both AKT and SCA examinations) may apply for aspirational study leave for approval by the Head of School. In some cases, ST2 trainees who have passed AKT and cannot yet sit SCA may be successful in applying.

The process for aspirational study leave is outlined by the deanery here: Process for Discretionary Courses 2024.

After discussion with the Educational Supervisor, the trainee should e-mail the GP manager and TPDs with the course details that they hope to attend, and confirmation that they have completed the core curriculum (e.g. exam completion, prescribing/leadership assessments underway). The TPDs will then submit the request to the Head of School and alert the trainee of the outcome.

Examples of aspirational courses include joint injection, minor surgery, and dermoscopy among others.