West Suffolk GP Specialty Training Programme - About West Suffolk Vocational Training Scheme and how to become a GP

Becoming a General Practitioner

Are you, or about to be, a fully qualified and registered doctor who is interested in becoming a General Practitioner?

There have been many changes in the organisation of General Practice in recent years but it is still a rewarding career. The challenges and satisfactions are different from a career in hospital medicine.
There is more contact with patients. That contact can span more than one generation of their lives giving you the opportunity of being involved with people as they grow up and develop, mature and expand their lives. Then there is the challenge of helping people through illness and their declining years.

Being a good general practitioner is probably more difficult than being a hospital specialist. The breadth of knowledge required is great. There is no branch of medicine that you do not need to have some knowledge of. You need to keep up to date as knowledge in those areas expands and changes. You need to be able to communicate with all sorts of people. You need to understand the NHS in order to enable your patients to get the most out of it. You need to acquire skills of management. But what do you need most? You need a good training scheme that can help you towards equipping yourself for this demanding career.

Requirements & Experience

Training programmes for general practice are now regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC) and are of 3 years duration. Satisfactory completion of this training leads to a CCT or Certificate of Completion of Training. Further details can be found on the GMC website as well as that of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
The 3 year programme must include:

at least 12 months full time employment in general practice
at least 12 months full time employment in hospital training posts approved for general practice

Several hospital posts are potentially eligible. These used to be divided into List A and List B posts, as below. The current guidance is that the training programme needs to be well balanced and include a reasonable range of experience. So, whilst List A and List B posts aren't formally recognised anymore, they still form a good basis on which to judge if an overall programme is well balanced.
List A

3-12 months of the following, usually between 4 and 6 months

A&E
Paediatrics or community paediatrics
General medicine or geriatrics or dermatology or GU medicine or rehabilitation medicine
O&G
Psychiatry or old age psychiatry
Palliative medicine

The maximum period in any one of the "listed" specialties that can count towards the hospital component of the training programme is 12 months.
List B 6 months maximum in the following (providing the overall programme is balanced)

cardiology or medical oncology or clinical oncology or gastroenterology or endocrinology and diabetes or haematology or nephrology or respiratory medicine or rheumatology or neurology or infectious diseases
child and adolescent psychiatry or psychiatry of learning disability
ophthalmology or ENT or ENT surgery or general surgery or paediatric surgery or urology or trauma and orthopaedic surgery
ITU
Public Health medicine

For further information see the GMC website

Programme Directors

Dr Janet Rutherford, e-mail: Janet@jksr.wanadoo.co.uk

Dr Claire Giles, e-mail:claire_giles@btinternet.com

Registrars Comments

Melanie Halliday - ST3

' I have already recommended the West Suffolk Scheme to several prospective trainees. The strengths of the scheme are the level of support you get from both programme directors and trainers. The scheme also creates an atmosphere where peers are keen to support each other which is brilliant. The organisation of the Wednesday VTS groups is also a real asset to the West Suffolk Scheme and our administrator is VERY helpful and informative.'

Kristie Bewers - ST1

' I think all the staff are very welcoming and very accomodating. Helping support learning, get experience where we think we need it and helping us achieve work -life balance

I think the scheme is friendly, thats the feel i get from it.

committed and enthusiastic teachers'

Firas Watfeh - ST3

' I think the scheme is great, a very good teaching programme and very helpful staff.

also the area is lovely especially for candidates with family.

Highly recomended'

Ruchy Gupta - ST3

' am really very pleased to be in this scheme as it is very friendly and the programme directors are very understanding and affectionate.

It is very good sceme for training and I am very happy to be a part of it.'

Gemma Atkins - ST3

Fantastic organisation.
Friendly scheme, with approachable trainers.
Well structured.
Good hospital posts.
Before the start of the programme you are told your job rotations for the whole 3 years.
Would definately recommend.'

Adwin Rooproy - ST1

' I like the constant teaching & training.

Would recommend the scheme.'

Jude Chapman - ST2

'Protected teaching time very useful and we have supportive and approachable staff. Would recommend.'

Diana Suresh - ST1

'Very well organised from the start with claear communcation and accesssible faculty. Excellent support system throughout training sheme. Recommended.'

David Stokes - ST2

'Friendly & approachable trainers and well organised programme. '

Marianne Simoes - ST3

' 'Likes':

Very supportive with very good training.
Relaxing, friendly environment, relationships.
Good quality of feedback.
would definately recommend.'

Emma Holland - ST1

' Ranking of jobs & preferences
Good relationship with trainers & programme directors.
whole day VTS training when in GP placements.
Very supportive with maternity leave.
Would recommend'

Peter Neale - ST2

'Excellent, supportive GP trainers. Well structured teaching programme. Would recommend.'

Ben McCann - ST1

'Excellent teaching in VTS & practice. Supportive working environment. Friendly approachable & sensitive.'

Statement of Ethos

This statement sums up the aims and philosophy of the West Suffolk GP Specialty Training Programme:

"The aim is to help training Registrars to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence and business acumen to become good General Practitioners.By the end of the course Registrars should have become competent caring doctors who have appropriate knowledge and skills to provide productive services to all their patients.

Personally they should be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, they should have developed the ability to be self-directed lifelong learners as well as the skills to audit and reflect on their professional working life. We hope to instil an interest in teaching and research and a commitment to mould the future of General Practice so that the standard of patient care will rise.

As a Trainer group we are still in touch with most of the Trainees who have completed the Scheme in the last ten years. We enjoy General Practice and want to teach and share this enthusiastic approach with our Registrars. We face changes and challenges in General Practice at present. With the right background training we believe it can be a rewarding and fulfilling career.”

Becoming a General Practitioner

Requirements & Experience

Registrars Comments

Statement of Ethos

Further Information