Specialist Training for General Practice on the Isle of Wight, August 2010

"Did you know that 70% of the GPs who have trained on the Island
in the last 10 years are still there as partners and enjoy an enviable quality of life?!"

Yes, the Isle of Wight has its 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 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 specialties:  A&E, O&G, Psychiatry, Paediatrics and Medicine (Respiratory, Gastro, Cardiology, Stroke & Rehab and Elderly).  All our GPSTRs gain experience in ENT, Ophthalmology, Palliative Care and Public Health during their 6 month innovative training module in General Practice done during ST1 or ST2.  Additionally, some of our rotations offer experience in Rheumatology and Dermatology and we have a new 6 month post in Palliative Care which now features in a couple of our training rotations.  Details of the GP Training rotations available on the Island for the next start (Aug 2010) 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 Programme Director sets up educational/social events at intervals during the year to help the whole scheme (Trainers and STRs) to 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 at your ST3 training practice becomes your educational supervisor for the entire 3 years from day one.  Your 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 ePortfolio 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

Training rotations (including the training practice for ST3) are clearly laid out from day one (see Table 1).  Allocation of STRs to these rotations is done by the Programme Director based on selection centre scores, previous experience and the personal preferences of the individual STR.  We currently have a fantastic ST2 year (6 girls and 2 boys) who all want to be here and are really enjoying their training, education and the close personal support they get on our scheme.  In ST1 we have 4 doctors, 2 great lads who joined in Aug this year and 2 lovely girls who have dropped back a year as a result of maternity issues.  We missed out owing to the poor recruitment round this last time and were only able to appoint to 1/3 of our rotations.  In ST3 we have 5 doctors (3 girls and 2 boys) negotiating a very busy year in order to gain their CCTs, however, despite the pressure they are under they are, in the main, very happy to be training with us and at least 2 of them are planning to look for partnerships here next August.

In the last 10 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 65 for those starting since 2005).

TABLE 2

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.  As long as a little compromise can be agreed on both sides and all of our lady doctors don't get pregnant at the same time, we should be able to continue to work with our "Mums-to-be" to everyones benefit!

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.  I often go up to London to catch a show in the West End and we are invariably checking into our hotel about 2.5 hours after leaving home.  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.

Check out the Island training practice details on this website (most are up to date!).  Email me: Richard Williams, IWGPSTS Programme Director on: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or, ring me on 07971 084960 for a chat or more information (I might have to call you back if I'm in surgery or on a home visit - voicemail available).  Really, what have you got to lose?

November 2009