Thursdays are the key educational day throughout GP training. In ST1 and ST2 trainees will have Integrated Training Posts (ITP) which are spent part time in General Practice and part-time in a Hospital Specialty. During these rotations, there will be group teaching at the Education Centre led by each trainee in turn, who will bring a case to discuss, and some learning that flows out of the case.

​A key component of teaching throughout GP training is the weekly Clinical Update (see below). There are also termly whole group teaching for ST1s and ST2s, for which study leave will need to be applied. These take place on certain Thursday mornings on a range of topics.

Trainees are encouraged to attend departmental teaching whilst in hospital posts.

The GP Clinical Update is a major feature of the educational week at the Royal Surrey County Hospital’s Education Centre, for all Trainees and established GPs, to meet together on a Thursday 12:30-14:00pm and share learning.
This is bleep-free protected time and all trainees are expected to attend. In hospital posts, it has been agreed at faculty level that a colleague/senior will hold your bleep, even if this is the consultant.

The format for each session is for trainees at one practice to work together to present a topic from the GP Curriculum, with an emphasis on an interactive discussion rooted in primary care.

Visit the Events Page to find out what is on, or use the button for the programme overview.

Clinical Update 2023-2024

The Half Day Release (HDR) helps trainees to develop the key skills essential for General Practice, but also provides a nurturing environment for trainees to support one another and learn from each other as the year progresses.​

The Half Day Release programme is an essential and valuable part of the ST3 year. On the course we aim to help ST3s develop the core skills and knowledge base that form the GP Curriculum. We also help the Registrars to prepare for all aspects of the MRCGP examination, and to make best use of the ePortfolio.

The course runs on a Thursday, for 30 weeks of the year, and dovetails with the Thursday lunchtime lectures and independent learning, usually in small study groups. A typical day of face-to-face teaching would be as follows:

​09:00 – Coffee for a prompt start at 09:30
​09:30 – 12:00 HDR course
​12:30 – 14:00 GP Clinical Update
​14:00 – 17:00 Independent Learning / Study

The course is mandatory, and comprises half of the annual study leave requirement of 30 days for the ST3 year (counting as 30 half days). You are encouraged not to take annual leave or study leave during the course, as educational days missed during leave should comprise less than 20% of the course. 

We do need to keep trainers informed if their trainee fails to attend the course without notice, and so it is vital to let the Programme Directors know if you are planning to be absent. 

Please e-mail Donna Stevens at donnastevens@nhs.net to advise of any absence.

Visit the Events Page to find out what is on, or use the button for the programme overview.

ST3 HDR 2023-2024

There are two residential training session at Cumberland Lodge in the ST3 VTS Program. These are real highlights in the year, and a vital part of the course. Subjects are able to be covered in more depth in the beautiful, peaceful environment of high quality facilities in Windsor Great Park, and the sessions enable the training group to gel in a way that brings benefits to the entire training year.

Cumberland Lodge is a beautiful 17th Century house that has been the home of some significant historical figures – including Sarah and John Churchill (the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, the ancestors of Winston Churchill – the Duke was one of the finest Generals in his generation, with several remarkable campaigns against Louis XIV of France). It acquired its current name during the time when the son of George II, the Duke of Cumberland, was resident – the infamous Butcher of Calloden when he put down the last Jacobite rebellion in 1746. For a building first built by Oliver Cromwell in 1652, it is ironic that its patron is the Queen, who has bequeathed it for “Discussions aimed at the betterment of society”, and it is this generous gift that allows it to be used so much for educational purposes.

The residentials are funded from the trainee study budgets and are subsidised by funds from the scheme.