We are a Training Practice, which means that we introduce qualified doctors to general practice for a period of anywhere between 4-12 months. This grade may be as a Registrar who has completed several years of hospital training, and is in a final supervised year in General Practice before becoming a fully qualified GP. More recently, changes to junior hospital doctor training has meant that more doctors are being exposed to General Practice at an earlier part of their medical career. These doctors are called F2s, and will alternate with Registrars. Another type of doctors in supervision and training is a Returner. These are usually experienced GPs who have taken a career break from front line general practice, and have taken the decision to return. This requires a minimum period of supervised assessment at a training practice.
In a training practice, consultations are occasionally video-recorded for teaching purposes to see how consultations can be improved. You will be invited to give your written consent to this at the time of the consultation both before and afterwards (and we fully understand if you decline). Video recording of consultations are maintained under the same strict rules as ordinary medical records, and are deleted once their teaching purpose has been realised.
In addition to doctors in training, we usually have a cohort of Medical Students attached to the practice as part of their first year teaching for a day a week either in the Autumn or Spring term. It is an important part of their course to observe consultations and patient experience in a general practice setting. Approximately 50% of medical graduates will go on to become GPs, and it is also vital for the remainder to learn how primary care accounts for around 70% of health care activity within the NHS. Therefore patients may occasionally be asked if they agree for medical students to sit in during their consultation, or if they will consent to a face to face interview about their health experiences.We hope you will feel able to help train doctors for the future, but of course you may decline.
If you are a prospective registrar, F2, returner or medical student and would like to learn more about GP training then please follow this link
