Introduction: Training for General Practice in Wigan
We are looking for enthusiastic doctors who are excited about training for general practice in a well-organised scheme. The Wigan GP Specialty Training Programme is fully integrated; highly general practice orientated; and has strong links with the local training practices.
Wigan and Leigh Trust can offer you:
- Pleasant working environment in a hospital that has undergone major new development.
- Improved and newly renovated accommodation.
- Friendly and supportive staff.
- An active medical institute and 24 hour library access.
- A flexible training scheme where you chose your rotation.
Live in an area:
- With excellent leisure facilities, including an international size swimming pool, several country parks, theatre, large cinema complex.
- Watch Premiership football and Super League rugby.
- Famous for sport, with a major new sports complex which includes the JJB stadium, indoor tennis and 5-a-side football, and Robin Park athletics stadium.
- Which is well known for its active nightlife.
- With easy access to Manchester, Liverpool, and the Lake District by train or car.
Wigan GP Specialty Training Programme
The Wigan GPSTP aims to provide you with a breadth and quality of experience and education that will help you to become a proficient general practitioner.
We are able to offer a variety of training tracks within the Wigan Vocational Training Scheme to meet your educational needs. These are all standard three year GPST tracks, which consists of:
- Three six-month hospital posts: the hospital posts available include combined acute medicine/care of the elderly or acute medicine/rheumatology; obstetrics and gynaecology; paediatrics; accident and emergency; and psychiatry
- 2. Six-months based in general practice either as an integrated training post linked to a specific specialty or with in-reach to hospital clinics to meet your educational needs.
- A GP Registrar year based in a local training practice.
All the posts are educationally approved. Some posts based in primary care may located in the Bolton area.
There is a well organised teaching and study leave programme which aims to support you through your training. We are continually reviewing and revising how we deliver the training, looking to innovate and improve, and are moving towards a modular teaching programme with different modules and themes for each year of your training.
ST Year 1: Laying The Foundation
- Induction, using the e-portfolio
- Adult learning and learning styles: how to make the best of your training
- Skills of giving feedback
Basic Consulting Skills
- Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
- Initiating the consultation
- Information gathering
- Explanation skills
- Negotiating a management plan
- Safety netting
Basics of Chronic Disease Management
- Cough and wheeze
- Asthma
- COPD
- Hypertension
- IHD
- Hyperlipidaemia
- Diabetes
- Heart failure
- CKD
- Minor illness
- Eczema and Psoriasis
Introducing the GP Competencies
- Ethics: ethical principles
- Clinical governance and Patient safety
- Audit
- EBM: How to read a paper
- EBM: Gathering evidence session 1
- EBM: Gathering evidence session 2
- EBM: Using evidence in clinical practice
- Guidelines and protocols
- How general practice works: PCT and NHS structure
- Understanding funding for primary care: nGMS, PMS and APMS
- Presentation skills
ST Year 2: Developing Knowledge And Skills
Consultation Skills Course
- Consultation models session 1
- Consultation models session 2
- Changing patient behaviour
- Angry and aggressive patients
- Breaking bad news
- Telephone consultation skills
- Triadic consultations
- Video consultations session 1
- Video consultations session 2
- Role play with actors
Common problems
- Headache
- TATT
- AF
- Upper GI symptoms
- Lower GI symptoms
- Prostate problems
- Behavioural problems in children
- Erectile dysfunction
- Eyes: red eye, acute visual loss
- Travel advice
- Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
- Common shoulder problems and back pain
- Osteoporosis
- Acne and Skin lesions (SCC, BCC, MM etc)
Womens Health
- Menstrual problems
- Menopause and HRT
- Breast problems
- TOP
- AKT statistics
- Sickness certification
- Death certification and other certification
- Myers Briggs: how our personality impacts on how we work
ST Year 3: Becoming A GP
Higher Level Consultation Skills
- Developing consultation skills:
- CSA preparation sessions with actors
- Mock CSA
- Video analysis
- Narrative learning and consulting
- Neuro-linguistic programming: an aid to consulting
- Occupational health and Illness behaviour
- Working on out of hours
Additional Skills:
- Resuscitation training
- Palliative care
- Child protection
- Sexual advice referral centre
Psychiatry module
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Alcohol misuse
- Dementia
- Psychotic illness
- Introduction to CBT
- Using CBT in practice
- Mental health act
- Mental capacity
Management module (Residential)
- Management of change in organisations
- Working in groups and teams
- Leadership models, styles and skills
- Chairing skills
Practice Management
- Practice Management
- Complaints
- Risk management
- Recruiting staff and interviewing skills
- Behavioural styles and motivating people
- Practice finance and tax
- Stress and time management
- Ethics revisited
- Nuts & Bolts course of educational supervision
Evidence Based Medicine: AKT Revision module
- Critical reading
- Guidelines and EBM
- AKT statistics
Getting a Job
- CV's
- Continuing professional development
- Future roles in General Practice
- Finding the right practice:
- Practice visit preparation
- Practice visit
- Practice visit debrief
The Hospital Component of the Scheme
Your education during the hospital posts is mainly a matter of reflection and active learning, based on the experience you gain in that post. This means thinking about, reading about, and discussing the matters that arise in your work.
Educational Support
There are various educational activities that are available to help you with your learning.
- Each of the clinical specialities has its own educational programme.
- Within each specialty post you will have a clinical supervisor who will meet with you regularly to review your progress.
- You will have an educational supervisor, who will be your GP trainer in your ST3/GPR year. He/she will meet with you every six months to review your e-portfolio. He/she will be available to give advice and support throughout the three years of your training.
- During each six month post you are encouraged to take study leave to spend time in your training practice. You will be able to begin learning about how the practice works, the primary health care team, and start consulting with patients.
- There is a structured teaching programme which runs on a Thursday afternoon. The teaching for ST1 and ST2 occurs on alternate weeks to allow the teaching to build on previous learning during the teaching programme. The aim of the ST1 teaching is to cover some of the building blocks for working in primary care to prepare you for your GP based six months in general practice during ST2, while in ST2 we the move on to look at some more complex areas and higher skills.
A Brief Description of the Posts and their Educational Opportunities
Acute Medicine, Care of the Elderley and Rheumatology
These are six month posts based at Wigan Infirmary, Wrightington Hospital and Leigh Infirmary. During the post you will do a three months rheumatology or care of the elderly and three months acute medicine in either respiratory medicine, cardiology or working on the medical assessment unit. They all include time doing acute general medical on-call. These posts give exposure to the full range of acute medical conditions that are important in general practice. On Wednesday afternoons from 2.00pm - 5.00pm, there is protected teaching except for the SHO covering admissions and emergencies. You are released for the fortnightly Thursday afternoon GP teaching session.
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
The post is based in the new obstetric and gynaecology unit at Wigan Infirmary. It involves combined obstetrics and gynaecology for the full six months. There is an in-house teaching programme on a Friday afternoon (2.00pm - 5.00pm). You are released to the GP teaching on a Thursday afternoon. There is good exposure to gynaecological problems through outpatients and on-call work. Trainees in post are encouraged to attend the Family Planning Theory Course at Manchester (study leave). There is the opportunity to practice your family planning skills at the on-site family planning clinic.
Paediatrics
This post is based at Wigan Infirmary. You are exposed to a wide range of general paediatric experience. The department is friendly, with supportive senior staff and consultants.
There is a protected teaching programme with short teaching sessions spread through the week. The program includes the theory course for accreditation for Child Health Surveillance. You are able to gain the necessary practical experience for accreditation during your GP attachments. There are opportunities to attend community based clinics such as enuresis clinics and developmental delay clinics. You are released for the monthly Thursday afternoon GP teaching session.
Accident and Emergency
The department, based at Wigan Infirmary relocated to a purpose built combined accident and emergency and assessment floor (including all the other specialities) in the summer of 2004 with excellent facilities. The staff are supportive and helpful, and there is a full compliment of on-site registrar or consultant cover 9.00am -1.00am daily.
There is a two-day induction course. Educational time is provided to do self-directed learning with educational material provided, and regular meetings with your clinical supervisor. You are also released for the monthly Thursday afternoon GP teaching session.
Psychiatry
This post is based at Leigh Infirmary and the department is part of the 5 Boroughs Mental Health Trust. There is excellent educational support, with weekly afternoon protected teaching, and a weekly educational meeting with your educational supervisor. You are released to the psychiatry for family doctors course, which runs one day a week for 8 weeks.
Integrated Training Post in General Practice and Dermatology
This innovative post involves working as a GP registrar in a training practice for 3 days a week, and spending the other two days working as an SHO in the dermatology department at Leigh Infirmary. The dermatology sessions are all out-patient bases and the experience includes some minor surgery. Most SHOs attend the regional minor surgery course during this post. This post will be particularly useful for someone who has already had some experience working as an SHO and is looking for a rotation that will complement their previous experience.
Integrated Training Post in General Practice and Paediatrics
We have developed an innovative post in paediatrics which involves working as a GP registrar in a training practice for 3 days a week, and spending the other two days working as an SHO in the paediatric department at Wigan Infirmary. This post will compliment any paediatric experience a doctor will have had in FY training. You will be able to undertake training and certification for child health promotion during the post.
Integrated Training Post in General Practice and Ophthalmology
We have had an ophthalmology component available on the Wigan GPSTP for a number of years and this is being converted to an integrated training post. Eye problems are common in general practice and are not covered well in medical training. This post will help you become confident in assessing common ophthalmic problems.
Integrated Training Post in General Practice and Psychiatry
Psychiatric problems form a significant part of general practice. These posts aim to allow more doctors on the Wigan GPSTP to include psychiatry as part of their training. The psychiatry component will be out-patient based and give experience of working in the community mental health team.
Rotations Available
Wigan GPSTP: GP ST1 Training Tracks 2009-2011
Contact Details and Further Information
For more detailed information on the posts and about the Trust contact Medical Staffing at Wigan Infirmary, requesting an information pack for Wigan GPSTP and giving your name and address to send the information to by:
- Fax: 01942 822232
- Email: Lynne Roden
Alternatively, please visit the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust
website at www.wwl.nhs.uk.
If you would like to discuss any aspects of the scheme please contact the Wigan GPSTP Programme Director, Dr. Mike Pollard.
Credits
This page was last updated on 2nd January 2009. Website designed and maintained by Steve Bradburn © 2003-2009