Get a Feel For Aberdeenshire, Part of The Grampian Program

If you are not familiar with Aberdeenshire, here is a video produced by the local Council that shows off some of the strengths that contribute to the region's award-winning quality of life. A look at some of the top class industries in Aberdeenshire, including oil & gas, tourism, fisheries, food & drink, and the stunning history & heritage of Aberdeenshire.

A Wee Tour of Aberdeen

If you are interested in coming to Aberdeen to join our Grampian program but are not familiar with it then have a look at this video to get a feel for what its like.

A wee tour of Aberdeen from Roy Stewart on Vimeo.

It's not just about Aberdeen, within an easy drive of Aberdeen you can be in the heart of the Cairngorms or Royal Deeside.

My Dear Paradise in the Highlands FB promo from Roy Stewart on Vimeo.

2015 GMC Trainee Survey

The results of the 2015 GMC Trainee Survey are now available on line.  The survey is a valuable source of feedback for us and allows us to see where are programs are working well and where we need to improve them.

Unfortunately, now that Scotland is considered as a single deanery we are no longer able to separate out the North of Scotland however looking at Scotland as a whole, this years survey continues the very positive message that trainees have given us in the past.

Looking at the GP component of our training programs we are ranked second in the UK for overall satisfaction, just being pipped by Health Education South West who scored 90.7% compared to our 90.6% !  Looking at the GP component of training in more detail we were consistently ranked near the top in the UK.

• Educational supervision:- Top
• Clinical Supervision:-       Second
• Induction:-                        Second
• Supportive environment:- Second

So why not come and join us in one of the UK's top Deaneries for GP training!

Relocating From London

My name is Harriet and I'm a newly qualified GP just returning to work after my maternity leave. Relocating to Aberdeen from London just before my son was born, I was completely new to the area, personally and professionally. I confess to some anxieties about the transition but so far, the decision to move to Scotland has proved to be one of my best.

The Final Wednesday

For most of our GP training (and especially during our GP placements) we've had ‘day release’ on most Wednesdays, and today was our final session.

For those reading this who aren’t yet GP trainees, day release is the time in the week where we get a reprieve from our clinical responsibilities and have an opportunity to meet up with our peers in small groups to see how things are going.

Of course, there is a bit more structure to it than what I am describing at the moment. We usually did a PBSGL module (short for Problem Based Small Group Learning) where we had discussions around a particular topic that we had identified as a learning need. In addition to this, part of the session was facilitated by a GP who helped us to grapple with various concepts related to general practice as well as various difficult cases we had seen.

But the most useful thing by far was to use the session as a means of providing mutual support in dealing with the stresses of learning how to be a GP and with life in general.

In short, it was always nice to have a bit of a breather in the middle of the week. I’m quite certain it has been a sanity saver on many occasions, especially in the lead up to our various assessments, reviews and exams.

Anyway, today was our final Wednesday. Everyone had brought along various breakfast goodies and extra time had been allotted so we could consume it all and have a generally nice time. The whole thing was making me feel quite nostalgic. The last four years had been hectic, especially the last 12 months. But we had done it! High fives all round!

For me, the experience of GP training has changed me for the better. It has not been passive ‘learning by osmosis’ type of training, but an active, challenging, mind over matter kind of experience. Considerably harder than I had expected, but far more worthwhile too.

Today though, the overwhelming feeling among us (as far as I could tell) was one of optimism. Sure, we were being plunged into an area of medicine where massive challenges lie ahead. But isn’t that part of the fun?

One thing is for certain though, I’m definitely going to need some kind of substitute for Wednesday day release. Is anyone up for organising something?

David Lovell

Timetable for ST1 Recruitment for August 2016

ST1 Recruitment for August 2016

Advert appears	Thursday 5th November 2015
Applications open (10am, UK time)	Wednesday 11th November 2015
Applications close (4pm, UK time)	Thursday 3rd December 2015
Longlisting completed by	Tuesday 15th December 2015
Stage 2 invitations sent out	No later than Monday 21st December 2015
Stage 2 Assessment Window	Saturday 2nd January – Saturday 9th January 2016
Stage 3 invitations sent out	No later than Wednesday 20th January 2016
Stage 3 Selection Centre and local ACF Interview Window	Monday 1st February – Friday 12th February 2016
First Offers released	Tuesday 23rd February 2016
Holding deadline	(1pm, UK time) Thursday 17th March 2016
Upgrading deadline	(4pm, UK time)Thursday 24th March 2016
Feedback to candidates	Following completion of Round 2

No sooner have we completed the inductions for the August 2015 entry to GP Specialty training than the whole process starts all over again!  The timetable for GP Specialty Training commencing August 2016 has been released and is shown above.  So now is your opportunity to make that life changing decision and come to the North of Scotland for your GP Specialty training.

Aberdeen "Second Best Place To Live In The UK"

Aberdeen has been voted the best city in which to live in Scotland, and second best in the UK.

The Granite City came second only to Reading and was judged as being a better place to live than Glasgow or Edinburgh.  A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and think-tank Demos found that Aberdeen scored highly in a number of categories, including jobs, health, income, skills, work-life balance, house prices and travel time.

Aberdeen Second Best Place to Live in UK