Specialist Training for General Practice on the Isle of Wight:
August 2012 Start 

Yes, the Isle of Wight has it’s own Specialist Training Scheme for General Practice (IWGPSTS) and we are proud of what we are able to offer our Specialist Training Registrars (STRs).
 
We live and work on a beautiful island which offers so much in terms of  geographical and demographical variation. Our training practices provide primary medical care facilities to urban/semi-rural/rural populations. Our Island hospital provides the specialties you would expect at a District General and consequently, our training rotations include a selection of posts from the following core specialities:  A&E, O&G, psychiatry, paediatrics and medicine (respiratory, gastro, cardiology, stroke & rehab and elderly). All our GPSTRs gain some experience in Dermatology, ENT, Opthalmology, Palliative Care and Public Health during their 6 month innovative training module in General Practice done during ST1 or ST2. Additionally, our paediatric post includes experience in Rheumatology and Dermatology and we now have 6 month post in Palliative Care which features in two of our training rotations. Details of the eight GP Specialist Training rotations available on the Island for the August 2012 start are given at table 1 below.
 
Our scheme is relatively small and, in our case, small is beautiful! We have a tight knit trainer group which meets regularly to discuss progress and develop/improve our training scheme. We all know each other pretty well and the program directors usually organise one or two educational/social events during the first 6 months to help the whole scheme (Trainers and STRs) get to know each other. This helps to foster a mutually supportive ethos. General Practice and General Practice training is a stressful business and we all need to help each other along at times.
 
On our training scheme, the GP Trainer detailed for your GPST3 year is your educational supervisor for the entire 3 years from day one. Your Educational Supervisor/Trainer will help you to settle into your training and give you advice on how to get the most out of each post you do. In addition, he/she will introduce you to the use of the e-portfolio and the various workplace based assessment tools with which you will develop a love/hate relationship as you move through ST1, ST2 and ST3. He/she will encourage you to spend periods of study leave in the training practice so that you can begin to focus the experiences you are gaining in your secondary care training modules onto your eventual role as a GP. This early association with your GP Trainer really helps to cement a strong learner/teacher relationship which is something that our STRs have told us over the years that they value very highly indeed. The email addresses of some of our current GPSTRs are given in Table 2 below. Any of them would be happy to answer your questions about the Island / the training scheme and their experience(s) of both.

TABLE 1

On our Training scheme, the rotations (including the training practice for ST3) are laid out from day one (see Table 1 above and note 1 at the end). Allocation of STRs to these rotations is done by the Program Director(s) based on selection centre scores, previous experience and the personal preferences of the individual STR. We currently have a happy and well motivated ST2 year (6 girls and 4 boys) who want to be here and are enjoying their training plus the educational and personal support they get on our scheme. In ST1 there are 7 doctors (2 girls and 5 boys) who have settled into their training since starting in August this year. They all seem to be enjoying the Island and the various training posts they are doing here with us. In our current ST3 we have 4 doctors (2 girls and 2 boys). 2009 was a poor year for recruitment nationally. All 4 are navigating a very busy year in order to gain their CCTs. The majority of them are planning to look for partnerships on the Island once they have their CCTs because, they like it so much here they want to stay and work in our medical community.
 
In the last 11 years 60 -70% of the GPs we have trained on the Island have remained here. They are settled in partnerships enjoying a very good quality of life working and raising their families. Work as a GP on the Isle of Wight is professionally stimulating and satisfying. Sure, it is busy and stressful just as being a GP is anywhere in the country but, the quality of life is good and it is possible to achieve a reasonable work life balance. This is vital as a GP career can span 30 years (more now that the pension age is has been increased beyond 60 years).
 
The Isle of Wight is a wonderful place for children. Serious crime rates are very low here. The quality of the schools is good (in the main) and there is a tremendous amount for children to do. It is a holiday Island and the activities/ facilities reflect that. So far we have been able to accommodate LTFTT (less than full time training) for those of our STRs who have introduced maternity events into their training programs.
 
So, the bottom line is this; The Isle of Wight is a really great place to learn General Practice and to spend 3 years (or more) of your life. Beware, there is a strong chance you’ll love it here and want to stay. When you live here, all of your relatives suddenly want to come and visit (even the ones you haven’t heard from for years!). It only takes 10 minutes to get to Portsmouth from Ryde on the Hovercraft and 15 minutes on the high speed Catamaran. Southampton is only 23 minutes from Cowes by fast Catamaran. The car ferries take between 30 minutes and 1 hour depending on the route travelled. What I would say to anyone contemplating training here is to come and live here for the three years. Commuting is a really bad idea and like all commuting gets to be a real drag after a few months especially when you are a doctor and work funny hours.

TABLE 2

Check out the Island training practice details on this website (most are up-to-date!).  Email us: Richard Williams or Katy Smith, IWGPSTS Program Directors on: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   ring us ; Richard on 07971 084960 or Katy on 07792 266613 for a chat or more information (we might have to call you back if we’re in surgery or on a home visit – voicemail available).  Really, what have you got to lose?
 
[Note 1 – We list our full rotations in order to enable you to make an informed choice about our training scheme.  Wessex Deanery policy is that this is not done as generally, across the Deanery, posts for ST2 cannot be guaranteed. On the Island Scheme, whilst nothing can be guaranteed, of course, the posts comprising a particular rotation are most unlikely to change, although, some of the contractual detail, eg : HR terms and conditions,  pay banding etc, might change slightly and we therefore apply this caveat. Feedback from our STRs over the last few years has told us that knowing the rotations on offer is helpful to people who are making important career decisions and that accepting the possibility of minor administrative changes to an individual post is preferable to not knowing the rotation you are likely to get at the start of the training.
The posts which have Paediatrics in blue are those which will be paediatrics if our plans come to fruition. If we are to be able to have more paediatric posts on our scheme come August 2013, then rotations 2, 3, 5, 7 & 8 will contain these posts. If our plans do not come off (and there is a great deal of work to be done to try to make this happen), then the posts for the rotations listed will be as is in black type in table 1. If further clarification is needed, ring either Katy or Richard on the numbers given above.]


Richard & Katy

Updated 21st November 2011