Isle of Wight GP Training Scheme

The Isle of Wight has its own Specialist Training Scheme for General Practice (IWGPSTS) and we are proud of what we are able to offer our Specialist Training Registrars.

We live and work on a lovely island which offers much in terms of geographical and demographical variation. Our training practices provide primary medical care facilities to urban, semi-rural and rural populations.

ST1/2 Posts on the Isle of Wight

Our Island hospital provides the specialties you would expect at a District General, our training rotations include a selection of posts from the following specialities: A&E, O&G, psychiatry, paediatrics, medicine and palliative care. All our GPSTRs gain some experience in, ENT, Ophthalmology, Palliative Care and Public Health during their 6 month training module in General Practice done during ST1 or ST2.

Why the Isle of Wight training scheme is special

Our scheme is relatively small and, in our case, small is beautiful! We have a tight knit trainer group which meets regularly to discuss progress and develop/improve our training scheme. We all know each other pretty well and the Programme Director along with the Trainer group usually organises one or two educational/social events during the year to help the whole scheme (Trainers and Trainees) get to know each other. This helps to foster a mutually supportive ethos. General Practice and General Practice training can be a stressful business and we all need to help each other along at times.

On our training scheme, the GP Trainer detailed for your GPST3 year is your Educational Supervisor for the entire 3 years from day one. Your Educational Supervisor/Trainer will help you to settle into your training and give you advice on how to get the most out of each post you do. In addition, he/she will guide you through the e-portfolio and the various workplace based assessment tools you will use as you move through ST1, ST2 and ST3. This early association with your GP Trainer really helps to develop a strong relationship which is something that our trainees have told us over the years that they value very highly.

Allocation of posts

Allocation of trainees to our rotations is done by the Isle of Wight Programme Director based on selection centre scores, previous experience and the personal preferences of the individual trainee. The beauty of our ‘small’ scheme is that we can often be more flexible than our mainland counterparts, in adapting rotations to meet our trainee’s needs.

Who’s currently training on the Isle of Wight?

We have around 6 to 10 trainees in each specialist training year. Many of our ST3s choose to look for partnerships or salaried posts on the Island. In fact in recent years 60-70% of the GPs we have trained on the Island have remained here, enjoying a very good quality of life working and raising their families. With around 100 GP posts on the Island, there are always plenty of vacancies arising and Island trainees are often the preferred candidates at interview

Why you should join us

  • Smaller trainee numbers mean we can often alter rotations to meet individual needs.
  • Be part of a friendly close knit medical community.
  • Enjoy the pleasures of Island seaside and rural life.
  • Safe and fun place to bring up children
  • Affordable house prices

The Isle of Wight is not as far away as you may think, it only takes 10 minutes to get to Portsmouth on the Hovercraft and only 23 minutes from Cowes to Southampton. The car ferries take between 30 minutes and 1 hour depending on the route travelled.

For any further information please contact:
Tracy Dickinson