How to get your GP practice into training
Is your practice a training practice?
There are more and more opportunities to host training within your practice; Pharmacy Students, Nursing Students, Medical Students, Paramedics, Foundation Doctors, GP Speciality Trainees and others.
What training your practice can offer will depend on the mixture of staff, practice resources (time and financial), enthusiasm amongst the practice as a whole, current practcie commitments and a honest appraisal of the pros and cons. GP practice education is rewarding on the whole; occasionally though, training can be very demanding on a practice, and its staff, if you have a trainee in difficulty.
But is it something I could do?
Sometimes people feel intimidated about the idea of training and educating others. Most members of the primary care team spend the majority of working day training, facilitating and educating in 10 minute chunks. Most patients are "adult learners", and the everyday skills you have in helping patients understand and manage their medical problems are the basis of the communication, explanation, planning and facilitative skills needed to help adult learners in primary care.
Where do I start?
Sketch out a timetable. The academic year generally runs from August to August, and most placements are arranged and sorted in the preceding February. This gives you the barest bones of a plan, the rest of which depends on where you are starting from and where you wish to end up. Although the Norwich GPSTS is concerned solely with GP speciality training, we will consider some of the other opportunities available to train in GP.
UEA Pharmacy Student day placements (occasional whole days)
What do you need to do this?
- A willing practice team of GP and Practice Manager
- Have a Senior Pharmacy Student (Year 3 or 4) sitting in on some consultations for the day.
- Allocate some GP and manager time to discuss medicines management in your practice with the trainee.
A small hosting allowance is payable
Further information from the School of Pharmacy at the UEA
Short GP Placements for Medical School Teaching (usually 2-4 weeks full time)
Various Medical Schools in the UK arrange 2-4 week full time residential placements for Senior Medical Students in Years 4,5 or 6. We shall mention 2 of the London Medical Schools here.
Imperial College School of Medicine
Runs a general practice student assistantship in year 6.
What do you need to do this?
- A willing practice team
- Ability to host one student for 12 days
- Sufficient patients willing to see students in some supervised surgeries
- Some thoughts about a small audit project the student might do.
- Accommodation (not essential, though more likely to get a student)
A hosting allowance is payable, with a small supplement if accommodation provided
Further information: ICL Med Website
University College School of Medicine
Runs a general practice assistantship in year 6
What do you need to do this?
- A willing practice team
- Ability to host one student for 21 days
- Sufficient patients willing to see students in some supervised surgeries
- Some thoughts about a small audit project the student might do.
- Accommodation (not essential, though more likely to get a student)
A hosting allowance is payable, with a small supplement if accommodation provided
Further Information: UCL GP Placement Co–ordinator
"…in our Student Surveys, the GP Practice placements are always the placements that the students rate highest for learning, experience & enjoyment…"
Training Opportunities
- UEA Pharmacy Student day placements (occasional whole days)
- Short GP Placements for Medical School Teaching (usually 2-4 weeks full time)
- UEA Medical School GP Hosted Teaching (whole day each week for around 16 weeks a year, or 3-4 week blocks)
- Foundation Doctor (F2) Training (4m placements)
- GPST1 or 2 as an Associate Trainer (3-6m placements)
- GPST1, 2, 3 or 4 as a Trainer (12m placements or longer)
UEA Medical School GP Hosted Teaching
(whole day each week for around 16 weeks a year, or 3-4 week blocks)
The UEA has a modular, integrated, Problem Based Learning Course.. Students spend a day in Primary Care, in groups of 10, during approximately 8 weeks of each module throughout the 5 year course.
What do you need to do this?
- A willing practice team
- A place to teach a group of 10 students.
- Space for student pairs to consult patients
- A bank of interesting and suitable patients willing to see medical students
- To be a trainer, associate trainer or to have completed the UEA Generic Educators Course (GEC)
The UEA pay a teaching and administration allowance to practices
Further information
A list of the year group topics and emails for practice development tutors is available on the EoE Deanery Website (bottom of page)
Foundation Doctor (F2) Training (4m placements)
Both the James Paget and the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital Foundation schools have 4m placements at F2 level in General Practice.
What do you need to do this?
- A willing practice team.
- You will need to be an associate trainer.
- Have sufficient space to be able to host a FY2 doctor for sufficient working hours each week.
- Have sufficient time resource to supervise and debrief the FY2 doctor.
- Have an understanding of their assessments and supervision requirements
- A host practice receives a grant of X if they host one FY2 doctor for a whole year
- The FY2 salary and employment contract are held by the Hospital.
- To be an approved trainer or associate trainer with the EoE Deanery
Further Information
A list of the foundation tutors for EoE Deanery hospitals and their email addresses is available on the EoE Deanery Website
GPST 1 Training (as an associate trainer)
The Norwich GP STS scheme has GP trainees hosted in practices at ST1 level where they are supervised by an associate trainer.
What do you need to do this?
- A willing practice team.
- To have attended an approved course.
- Have sufficient space to be able to host a ST1 doctor for sufficient working hours each week.
- Have sufficient time resource to supervise and debrief the ST1 doctor.
- Have an understanding of their assessments and supervision requirements
- A host practice receives a grant of X if they host one ST1 doctor for a whole year
- The ST1 salary and employment contract are held by the practice, with the salary reimbursed by the deaner.
- To have yourself and your practice approved for training by the EoE Deanery
Further Information
A list of the requirements to be an associate trainer is available on the EoE Deanery Website
GPST 1,2,3,4 Training (as a trainer)
The Norwich GP STS scheme has GP trainees hosted in practices at ST1,2,3 and 4 level where they are supervised by a trainer.
What do you need to do this?
- A willing practice team.
- To hold MRCGP or FRCGP
- To have attended an approved course to CertMedEd level or equivalent.
- Have sufficient space to be able to host a ST doctor for sufficient working hours each week.
- Have sufficient time resource to supervise and debrief the ST doctor.
- Have an understanding of their assessments and supervision requirements
- A host practice receives a grant of X if they host one ST doctor for a whole year
- The ST salary and employment contract are held by the practice, with the salary reimbursed by the deaner.
- To have yourself and your practice approved for training by the EoE Deanery
Further Information
A list of the requirements to be a trainer is available on the EoE Deanery Website
