There are a wide variety of hospital posts on the Mid Sussex and Brighton GP Training Programme including:
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ITP)
- Paediatrics,
- Medicine,
- Accident and Emergency,
- Psychiatry,
- Ear Nose and Throat,
- Learning Difficulties,
- HIV Medicine.
All rotations have 4 months in General Practice in Specialty Training Year 1 (ST1) or year 2 (ST2). The final year, ST3 is a full year of General Practice. There are currently over 80 GP Trainers, some very experienced and some new, all of whom are enthusiastic about training and General Practice.
Your ST3 trainer will be your Educational Supervisor, and you will be informed who this is from the start of your programme in Mid Sussex and Brighton. They are there to guide and support you through your three years of training. Every six weeks or so, one trainer and their GP trainee run an evening session which is both educational and social – the GP Trainer/Trainee Evenings.
For 30 weeks of the year, GP trainees meet on a Thursday morning at the Education Centre in the Princess Royal Hospital (for Mid Sussex) and the Audrey Emerton Building (for Brighton trainees). A full teaching programme is provided in these sessions along with catering so that everyone can sit and chat informally over a meal. All trainees who are in a GP placement are required to attend the teaching sessions and those in hospital placements are encouraged to attend subject to study leave approval from the department they are working for.
We feel that learning with and from other trainees is invaluable.
The Thursday morning training sessions are planned around the stated needs of the trainees and the GP curriculum and provide a variety of learning experiences. The sessions usually start with a GP-based session, for example discussing cases that trainees wish to talk about, something interesting, something good that happened, something bad that happened, something strange that happened!
Mid Sussex and Brighton GPs and GP trainees have a good relationship with local consultants and often they will come and give a question and answer session on a subject relevant to General Practice. Occasionally, teaching is held outside of the Education Centre, for example in a local hospice. Check the teaching timetable for further details.
Each year there are two-day workshops, one at the end of the Autumn term and one in the Summer, with the option for an overnight stay, much enjoyed by all. A team building day is organised once each term allowing everyone to get together to share experiences and show off some of their skills outside of medicine. We have found that trainees learn more effectively in a supportive environment. There are of course additional social events throughout the year, usually organised by the trainees themselves.
Mid Sussex and Brighton trainees often report that they look forward to the Thursday morning teaching sessions as there is lots of fun to be had together with important learning. There is a strong social element to our training programme.
Most trainees want to work locally after completion of their GP Training Programme and stay in touch both with the Training Programme and with each other.
The Mid Sussex and Brighton GP Training Programme share hospital placements. The GP Training application is made to “Brighton and Mid Sussex GP Training Programme”. Applicants should be aware that there are many fewer places on the Brighton scheme than on the Mid Sussex scheme. Mid Sussex offers a fantastic training experience and the current and past trainees will testify to that.