Round 2 Recruitment

If you were not fortunate enough to gain a place to join us in August in round 1 of recruitment, fear not, all is not lost!  Round 2 of recruitment opened yesterday on the 24th March.  At present all our Grampian and Caledonian 3 year program slots are accepted however these will not quite finalised. We do however have:-

• 3 Grampian 4 year program posts
• 3 Caledonian 4 year program posts
• 9 Rural Program posts, consisting of
• Shetland 1post
• Orkney 2 posts
• Western Isles 2 posts
• Caithness 2 posts
• Fort William 1 post
• Oban 1 post

Decision Day

For the those of you who have  been successful in GPST recruitment and who are currently holding on offers of posts in the North of Scotland, today is decision day.  You have till 1pm today to make that all important decision to enter GP Specialty training.

So let the sun rise on your career in general practice and accept that offer of a place in GP Specialty Training in the North of Scotland!

Some Positive Feedback

Dolphins at Aberdeen Harbour (Within the Kincorth practice area!)

Kincorth 5th year medical Student GP attachment

Here is the very positive feedback from one of our medical students on her GP placement – Kirsten is now considering GP for her speciality training.

"My GP attachment far exceeded my expectations. I was provided with numerous learning opportunities and all staff were very supportive, helpful and willing to teach. At the beginning of my attachment I expressed an interest in doing solo surgeries and was very grateful to have had the opportunity to do 113 solo consultations. Throughout the 7 weeks, I worked with a different GP or member of the health care team every session. This allowed me to observe a wide range of professionals and obtain feedback from these individuals which has been very valuable. I felt very welcomed and very much part of the practice team and I really appreciated that I was regarded as a "young professional". Whilst I was very keen to take on this role initially I did feel a little nervous. However, I was very well supported and always had opportunity to ask for help or to have a debrief discussions with doctors.

I was delighted that I had the opportunity to give 40 flu jags at the flu clinic, assist in minor surgery, assist with acupuncture and give intraarticular and subcutaneous injections. I feel a lot more confident in doing procedures that I had very little experience of before.

I have learned a great deal from my GP placement and am very grateful to have had such a well organised teaching opportunity. My main learning points were:

• Learning how to tailor consultations and examinations to specific presentations, including ruling out sinister causes
• Gaining experience and insight into how to deal with difficult patients. 
• Learning about the complexity of managing diseases in the community. 
• Gaining experience and learning how to be a member of a professional team

I am so grateful to have had such an educational GP placement, it has given me a wealth of experiences and the opportunity to be part of a team , under supervision but with my own responsibilities, has been very valuable.

Kirsten Cumming"

Life as a Less Than Full Time Trainee in Grampian

Despite having heard of nothing but positive experiences/feed back from previous less than full time trainees (LTFTTs) it was still with some trepidation that I made the phone calls to my trainer and the deanery to tell them I was pregnant. However any anxiety I had was very quickly laid to rest when I got nothing but a positive response, everyone seemed genuinely happy for me and I was quickly and efficiently guided through the process of applying for maternity leave, less than full time training and all the other necessary bits and pieces.

Transferring Deaneries from Manchester to Grampian

I am Samantha, a GPST2 just transferred to Scotland deanery from the North West in England. I’m going to share my experience of transferring to hopefully help anyone considering applying for a transfer or coming to work in Grampian.

I’m Aberdonian, trained in Aberdeen and moved to Manchester to start my foundation training and subsequent GP training. My partner unfortunately lost his job in Manchester and found employment in the oil capital, Aberdeen. We tried long distance for a year but found it difficult personally and financially.

The Work/Life Balance on the Caledonian Program

I'm a GPST2 within the Caledonian programme. After FY2 I spent 3 years out of training doing mostly A&E work in New Zealand and latterly in Elgin. The decision to come back to live and work in the Highlands was an easy one...friendly district general hospital and the opportunity to get involved in rural and pre-hospital medicine. But one of the biggest attractions was access to the outdoors. Inverness is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery, forests and beautiful coastlines. For me, running is the perfect way to get out and explore.

Thirty Years on Skye!

Charles Crighton is a GP Educational Supervisor in Portree on Skye, he has been there for 30 years, here are his reasons for staying.

After 30 years, there must be a good reason for staying.... Perhaps it’s:

1. The work itself. Consider the variety, from an urban GP-type day with the fascinating spectrum of patients’ and their problems, to a ferry trip to the weekly branch surgery on the island of Raasay, to a day in the community hospital doing a ward round and attending to all sorts of clinical presentations in A&E. If I want interesting and challenging clinical work, I’ve got it here. After 30 years, you’d think I’d be bored....