Northern Lights

Here's another good reason to head to the North of Scotland!  This was the sky in Aberdeenshire at 9pm yesterday evening, we were treated to the most spectacular display of Northern Lights that went on for over 2 hours! This photograph does not really do it justice.  If you think this looks good, it will have been a lot brighter up in Orkney and Shetland!

So why not head to the land of the Northern Lights for your GP Training.

For some slightly more professional photos, go to the BBC website

Moray Firth, One of The Worlds Most Beautiful Coastlines.

The spectacular coastline of the Moray Firth has been named in the top twelve of the world’s most beautiful and unspoiled coastlines.

The Moray coast, stretching from Inverness to Peterhead, has been rated at eleventh place by a panel of 340 experts in sustainable tourism and destination stewardship in the prestigious National Geographic Society’s Travel magazine, ahead of the Dalmatian coast, the shores of Bermuda and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Read more in "The Scotsman"

So if you want to work in one of the most beautiful coastal areas in the world, why not look at our Caledonia program with rotations in both Inverness and Elgin and GP practice attachments in a number of the Moray coastal practices such as Forres, Elgin, Lossiemouth and Buckie.

Aberdeen, Top Place In Scotland To Live and Work

Aberdeen has been ranked the best city to live and work in Scotland – and second best in the UK – in the 2013 Good Growth for Cities index.

The report places Aberdeen second only to Reading and Bracknell, both in Berkshire, in the national index, with Edinburgh – the only other Scottish city to make the UK top ten – in third place.

Read more in this Article from The Scotsman

So if you are interested in coming to one of the UKs most competitive and buoyant cities why not take a look at out Grampian rotations.

Rural Track Program

Lewis and Harris has been named as the best island in Europe by the international travel site Tripadvisor.
It also beat rivals in Thailand, Chile and Madagascar to be included in the top five islands in the world.

Scotland featured several times on the list with Orkney and Isle of Mull also named in the European top 10.

Read more on the BBC Website:- Lewis and Harris named as Europe's top island by TripAdvisor

So why not consider our Rural Track Programs, we have rotations based both in Stornoway on Lewis and also in Kirkwall on Orkney.  To get a feel for what its like to be on our Rural Track program why not read Kate Dixon's blog, Kate is now in her second year on the Western Isles rotation.

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining!

Moray Put On Alert For GP Crisis

It is a good time to be training as a GP in the North of Scotland.  An article in one of our local newspapers this week has highlighted the shortage of GPs that is starting to occur in the North and how this is likely to increase in the coming years.

As well as an increasing number of partnership vacancies we also have a career start scheme that offers the opportunity to develop a special interest whilst also working in one of our local GP practices. This year we have 4 posts in Aberdeen City and 7 posts in Aberdeenshire, the posts being part funded by NHS Grampian and  the local GP practices.  These posts have an educational component are an excellent opportunity to find your feet in general practice.

So come to the North of Scotland, not just to train, but to stay for good!

Good Luck!

Good luck to those of you attending the Stage 3 selection Centre in Edinburgh next week.  It's now time to note your preference of training program so remember, North of Scotland consistently ranks at the top end of the GMC trainee survey for satisfaction with the GP component of the training program.  Not only that but Grampian, The Highlands, Western Isles and Northern  Isles all rank right at the top of quality of life surveys, Grampian particularly rating as one of the top places to live in the UK.

Details of Rotations

Don't just take our word for it, why not read what our trainees say about their experience in the North of Scotland, just go to our trainee blogs.