Aberdeen University Medical School Ranked Fifth in UK

Aberdeen University Medical School has been ranked fifth in the UK in the latest Complete Universities Guide. This also ranks it as top medical school in Scotland.  The tables are based on, entry standards, student feedback, research assessment and graduate prospects.

Complete Universities Guide
Aberdeen University News

Changes At The Balfour Hospital, Orkney

Due to Orkney’s geography, General Practice has always been pretty self-sufficient; used to taking on extended roles within Primary Care, dealing with emergency presentations on the single-handed  outer isles and taking on a broad spectrum of roles within the Balfour Hospital.  We also have a strong tradition of GP training both within Primary Care and the hospital.

Working on Orkney, Sharmina Begum

I am currently doing a GPST rotation at Balfour Hospital, Orkney. When I was first advised that my 2nd GPST rotation would be in Orkney, I was devastated. The main reason for this was that I had to leave my family in Aberdeen. I have two young children and it is difficult to move with whole family only for six months. I really considered leaving the GP training because I could not bear the thought of living apart from my family for six months. However, now I am in the 3rd month of my rotation and I am glad that I am here!!!

Life On The Caledonian Program. Marc Quinn

I'm from Northern Ireland and studied in Queen's Belfast as well as doing my FY1 and FY2 in Northern Ireland. Most Irish seem to stay at home, with a small group heading to Australia for some reason (apparently it's particularly good for A&E and anaesthetics). I know of a few colleagues who went to the "mainland" UK by choice for a bit of a change, but most who go (in my year at least) seemed to have no other option.

I got my second choice deanery for GP training, which I hadn't given much thought to when choosing, thinking Scotland sounded a bit better than England or Wales. I had no idea where "Caledonia" was when I was given my rotation.

After spending about 9 months in the North of Scotland I've come to love it, and I don't think I'll be heading back home long term. It's just like home except there is better night life, better transport links, more mountains, more beaches, more forests, more castles (like 100 times more), and not a single person here as asked me what religion I belong to, or used those really obvious probing questions to try to find out. It's so refreshing to have found such a nice part of the world where I can feel comfortable, and it's just a quick flight home if needs be.

And just to add, on average, about a dozen times a day I'm informed that the person I'm speaking to "just loves" my accent. That never happened at home...I'm staying here :)

Marc

Orkney Network of Care

So how do you provide a modern primary and secondary care service to a population of 20,000 when it is spread over 17 islands?  Here is the NHS Orkney solution!

Orkney is an archipelago composed of a large central island (the Orkney mainland) and approximately 70 surrounding smaller islands, 17 of which are inhabited. The total population of Orkney is around 20,000 of which 3,300 live on islands without land access to Kirkwall. The Balfour Hospital is situated in Kirkwall, which is the main centre of population. Providing efficient and effective medical services to these island communities is a challenge faced by NHS Orkney.

In 2010 NHS Orkney had the opportunity to re-design the way primary care services are provided to the outer isles. The Isles Network of Care is the result of this work and has been created to achieve the following criteria:

• Be clinically safe with a strong clinical governance structure that avoids clinicians working in isolation.
• Provide continuity of care to the individual island communities.
• Be a model that can be recruited to and sustained.
• Provide the communities with the opportunity for input into the way their services are delivered.
• Provide efficient and effective use of clinical time.
• Be affordable within the budget of Orkney Health and Care.

The network of care includes General Practitioners on the isles of Westray, Stronsay, Sanday Rousay and Hoy and Nurse Practitioners on Papay Westray, Eday, North Ronaldsay and Flotta.

Individual practitioners are appointed to island practices to be the principle providers of care to each community. When on leave they are backfilled by another practitioner, including Rural Fellows, employed by NHS Orkney. In order to provide continuity of care the aspiration is that the same individual will provide cover to the same island for most of the time.

Posts Available In Round 2

We have now finalised the posts we will be offering in Round 2 of GP Recruitment 2014.  They are as follows:-

• Grampian 3 Year Programme - 1
• Caledonian 3 Year Programme - 4
• Caledonian 4 Year Programme - 5
• Rural Track Orkney - 2
• Rural Track WI - 1
• Rural Track Shetland - 1
• Rural Track Caithness - 1

Full details can be found under the Rotations Section.  So why not come and join us in 2014 and enjoy the fantastic lifestyle and training opportunities on offer in the North of Scotland.  Want to know more about what it's like to train here?  Read some of the testmonials that our current trainees have written.

Good luck, we look forward to seeing you in August!

Life On The Caledonian Program. Jess Ledingham

Jess Ledingham is in the first year of the Caledonian program having first moved up to Elgin as an FY2.  Here is her take on her experiences in Elgin.