Aberdeenshire - Voted in 5 Best Places to Live in UK!

Friday Evening Junior Training at Peterhead

Not only does the North of Scotland offer the best GP training in the UK, it is also one of the best places to live!  Don't take our word for it, Aberdeenshire has been named the best rural place to live in Scotland and home to the highest quality of life, it is a great option for those looking to move north.

Read this article in Country Life where Aberdeenshire was voted as in top 5 places to live in the UK..........then come and join us!

Have a look at this article on the BBC website.  It quotes the Bank of Scotland survey that looked at quality of life across the whole of Scotland.  Aberdeenshire came top, also up there in the top 10 were Orkney and Shetland.  So why not combine the two with one of our 4 year programs that are based in Aberdeenshire but also include 6 months experience in a rural general hospital in Orkney or Shetland.

North of Scotland Training Practice Named "UK Practice of The Year"

Congratulations to the Maryhill Practice in Elgin, one of our Training Practices, who have been named UK Practice of The Year.

General Practice Awards 2012

North of Scotland Posts, Final Numbers for 2013

We have now finalised the number of posts we will be offering in the North of Scotland for the August 2013 intake to GP Training.

Program	3 Year Posts	4 Year Posts	Total
Grampian	16	10	26
Caledonian	17	9	26
Rural Track - Fort William	0	2	2
Rural Track - Caithness	0	2	2
Rural Track - Western Isles	0	2	2
Rural Track - Orkney	0	2	2
Rural Track - Shetland	0	2	2

So we have 26 posts in each of the Grampian and the Caledonian programs, comprising of a mixture of 3 and 4 year posts.  The Rural Track Program has 10 posts, all 4 year rotations.

Details of all the specific rotations will be available at the selection centre or for a flavour of what we offer, go to the "Our Programs" page

New Emergency Care Centre Opens At ARI

The new Emergency Care Centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary opens today with the move of the first of the specialties across to the new unit.  This exciting new state of the art development will involve many of our ST1 and ST2 trainees during the hospital phase of their training.  The new combined A&E and GMEDs GP Out of Hours unit on the ground floor will also involve our ST3s.

Training in Oban

Want to know what its like to train in one of our Rural General Hospitals?  Have a look at this short video created by Mike McIver, one of our GP trainees currently in Oban, Lorn and The Isles Hospital.

West Highland Yachting Week off Oban

Snow's Up!

In large parts of the UK the arrival of snow just means long miserable cold journeys to work, gridlocked roads etc etc.

Not in the North of Scotland, the arrival of this weeks snow has had many of us dusting off the skis and checking out the web cams ready for the first weekend skiing of the season.  All of Scotland's 5 ski areas ore situated in the North of Scotland Deanery area.  We have Glenshee just over an hour up the road from Aberdeen, the Lecht mid-way between Aberdeen and Inverness and Aviemor just 45 minutes down the A9 from Inverness (with its own GP Training practice!).  Trainees in FortWilliam have Aonach Mor just 10 minutes up the road and Glencoe only about 40 minutes away.

So if its skiing you love, come and join us!

See what its like now!

Lecht Saturday 8th December

Only Two Days Left!

If you want to start GP training in August 2013 you have just 2 days left to apply! Applications close on Friday December 7th at mid-day. 

Time is running out.  Want the most varied and rewarding career in medicine?  Go to the GP Recruitment Website to make your online application.

Rural General Practice

Emily Tait, a 4th year medical student at Dundee University, has published this e-book following a student module travelling around rural Scotland.  If you are interested in our Rural GP Training Program this book gives a really good feel for some of the issues facing  Scottish Rural General Practice.  A must read for anyone considering the Rural GP Training program.

Remote and Rural Medicine,  Emily Tait

The Harbour

Want to get a feel for the North East of Scotland?  Watch "The Harbour" on BBC Scotland.  Here is a link to the latest episode.

The Harbour Episode 5

North Of Scotland Deanery Voted Best In UK for GP Training!

In the 2012 GMC Survey  trainees voted the North Deanery as best in the UK for the general practice component of GP Training

Deanery	Mean
NHS Education for Scotland (North Region)	92.76
NHS Education for Scotland (East Region)	92.28
NHS Education for Scotland (South-East Region)	91.90
South West Peninsula Deanery	91.38
Wessex Deanery	90.76
Yorkshire and the Humber Postgraduate Deanery	90.61
Northern Ireland Medical & Dental Training Agency	90.57
Northern Deanery	90.09
NHS Education for Scotland (West Region)	90.01
Oxford Deanery	89.37
Severn Deanery	89.28
Wales Deanery	88.99
London Deanery	88.40
Mersey Deanery	88.25
North Western Deanery	87.49
East of England Multi-Professional Deanery	87.08
Kent, Surrey and Sussex Deanery	86.90
East Midlands Healthcare Workforce Deanery	86.50
NHS West Midlands Workforce Deanery	86.05
Defence Postgraduate Medical Deanery	84.27

So don't take our word for it, look at what our trainees are saying!

Six Days to Applications Opening for GP Training in Scotland

Applications for GP Training open Monday November 12th.  For details of GP training in Scotland follow this link:-

Scottish GP Training

Closing date is midday Friday 7th December so you have four weeks to get your application in. Have a look at our page on "10 Reasons to Love General Practice" to see why there is only one specialty to apply to!

North of Scotland GP Training Programs

Here is some info about our North of Scotland GP Training programs:-

We have a variety of programmes including, the Grampian programme, the Caledonian programme and the Rural Track programme

The Grampian programme centres around Aberdeen with training posts in and around this vibrant city. The city and the semi-rural communities of Aberdeenshire provide a wide variety of general practice training experiences. Secondary care experience centres around Aberdeen teaching hospitals, with a state of the art Emergency Care Centre scheduled to open in 2012.

The Caledonian programme has a two centre focus around the rapidly growing cities of Inverness and Elgin. Both have excellent District General Hospitals and a mixture of urban and semi-rural training practices. Additionally, some attachments to rural general hospital posts are available.

The Rural Track programme provides bespoke training for those considering a career in remote and rural general practice. Traditional GP training will be enhanced by remote and rural experiences, both in the UK and abroad.

All 3 programmes are supported by a committed GP Deanery team who provide a well evaluated education programme, regular small group learning activities and online forums for learning and discussion.

Click on the link below for the North Deanery website: North of Scotland GP Training

GP Recruitment Opening Soon

Applications for GP Specialty Training 2013 is opening soon!  Dates for your diary. 

Online applications opens on 12th November and closes at noon Friday 7th December 2012. Stage 2 (the Machine Marked Test) is on 7th January,Stage 3, the selection centre will be from 4th - 11th Feb 2013 (inclusive) and will again be held at the Hilton Hotel, Edinburgh Airport.

To apply go to gprecruitment.org

For more information on Scottish GP Specialty Training recruitment go to Scottish GP Training Recruitment

Move to 4 Month Posts in ST2

We have moved to 4 month postings in ST2.  The North of Scotland scheme now has 3 x 4 month rotations in the hospital posts in ST2.  This allows you to experience a greater variety of training posts  with those posts being more relevant to GP training.  We now have new posts in paediatrics which are going really well.  We are going to have a new post in the infections unit and probably an additional post in Obs and Gynae as from next year.

Welcome to the North of Scotland GP Training Blog.  Want to come and train in the most beautiful and vibrant part of the UK...........read on!