Hopefully, the scheme should have provided you with your hospital post rotation.   If this isn’t the case, get in touch with either the GP administrator for your scheme or one of the Training Programme Directors (which are called TPDs for short).

Then, get in touch with your hospital department´s secretary and/or consultant.  Write a little paragraph introducing yourself and then ask them if you need to do anything further.

The department is likely to send you an induction pack, a timetable and some preparatory homework to do before starting your first day.   This preparatory material will help the department and your consultant to determine how to settle you in nicely as well as some educational stuff like identifying your educational needs.

For those of you who are part-time or coming back from sick or extended leave, PLEASE make contact with your department/rota-coordinator EARLY (at least 6 weeks before) to make sure any special arrangements required are all in place, and if not – gives them time to fix.  Ask to see the timetable.

Good question.  But actually there are a lot of positives from hospital post training that will help prepare you to become a good GP.    Here´s a list of things we could come up with …

• You will gain a lot of useful specialty-specific clinical knowledge
• You will learn a lot about prescribing and safe prescribing
• You will learn how to work with teams and the value of a multidisciplinary approach to patient care (and learning to handover safely)
• You will come into contact with the patient´s family and understand a bit more about family dynamics (how families behave)
• You will learn communication skills – not only between colleagues, but with patients and their relatives
• Sometimes things will go wrong, or there will be near misses, and you will learn from these.
• And of course, you will understand more about the hospital-GP interface as you recieve calls from GPs, contact them whilst you have a patient under your care  and write discharge letters.  You will also become familiar with the referral pathways that will be available to you as a working GP.
• And in doing ALL of this, you will be exposed to some ethical dilemmas and issues that face us as doctors.

All of these things will help build skills that a transferable to the world of GPs.  Having said that, while working in hospitals doing busy shifts at unsociable hours, it is easy to forget that you’re training to become a GP.  Have a think for a moment – what can you do to keep grounded and remember where you’re ultimately heading?

Just bring your stethoscope.  Anything else will be provided.   Hopefully, you´ll get an up to date copy of the BNF to help you prescribe safely.  Carry it with you at all times .

• You won’t be thrown in at the deep end – there will be an induction period, so don’t worry too much.  
• Rotas vary from department to department.  Therefore it is difficult for us to comment exactly how your rota will look and whether you will be doing full, partial or split shift.   What is certain is that you should not be breaking European Working Time Directive Rules (just type EWTD into google).  
• EWTD in a nutshell:
  
  • • • The EWTD was developed in order to improve health and safety at work.  Previously, doctors were working long hours and this could put patients at risk from tired doctors.
      • No more than an AVERAGE of 48 hours per week  (calculated over 6 months)
      • 11 hours rest a day
      • A day off each week
      • A rest break if the working day is longer than 6 hours
      • 5.6 weeks paid leave each year.
• If you have any concerns voice them with your Hospital Consultant and Rota Coordinator early.  Also involve your TPD.

Of course you’re going to be worried.  Who wouldn’t be.  It’s completely understandable.  The way you are feeling is quite normal for ANYONE who starts a new job – except that you will be starting “a new post” every 6 months or so!!!   So, here are a few tips to lessen that worry, to help reduce the risk of medical error, to help keep patients safe and thus reduce the chances of medico-legal action on you.  

1. First of all, know your medical/surgical emergencies for that department.    Clearly, you cannot be expected to know all the clinical knowledge for that hospital specialty from day 1.  Otherwise, there would be no point to training!    And the TOTAL clinical knowledge for any hospital specialty is VAST.  Hospital consultants and other high grade doctors did not acquire that knowledge over night; so, you can’t be expected to either.   But what you can focus on are the emergencies for that specialty.   There are only ever a few handful of emergenices for most hospital specialties (except for A&E).   Find out what the common emergencies are.  Read up about them.   Find out what the usual protocol is and digest that information.  Most hospital specialty departments have a handbook for new clinical staff detailing this sort of stuff.  If they don’t, they can usually tell you where to look.  Ask!
2. Know your limits.   Try not to be the hero and pretend you know everything when you know that you don’t.     Seek help from others when you are out of your depth.    On a practical level, this means knowing which seniors are available to you at all times during your work (and of course, knowing how to contact them).
3. Use your work colleagues around you.    For example, the Sister or Charge Nurse of the ward usually knows all the protocols and the individual likes and dislikes of each consultant.   They also know where things are kept.   And they like to be asked!   Make a special effort to be kind and nice to them.   Get them to like you and they will go the extra mile to help you – especially when the going gets rough.   In fact, treat all those around you with kindness and respect and they too will go the extra mile. 

First of all, there is the mandatory things you HAVE to do – called Work Place Based Assessments (WPBA) – like miniCEX’s, Case Based Discussions (CBDs), Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) and the Clinical Supervisor’s Report (CSR – done 2 months before the end of the post).   For more information on WPBA and the numbers you have to do for miniCEXs and CBDs – see under the ‘MRCGP intro’ button located in the main Mega Menu.

But what trainees in hospital posts often get confused about is what to write as log entries.   Hopefully, you will have an initial meeting with your Educational Supervisor who will TRAIN you and build up your reflective and learning skills.  If they haven’t, PLEASE ASK THEM – “Would you mind going through reflective learning log entries and how to write one up that is meaningful and reflective?”.

Here are some of the things you can write about while you are in a hospital post.  This list is not exhaustive. I’ve put down the appropriate RCGP’s Professional Competency heading in brackets next to each one, so you have some idea what competency you are demonstrating or talking about.

• Your history and examination technique.  History and examination tips that are helpful for specific illnesses.   Lab results and how to interpret them in the context of the patient.  (DATA GATHERING & INTERPRETATION)
• Your differentials and how you came to your diagnosis.  (MAKING DECISIONS & DIAGNOSES)
• Clinical management and protocols.  If talking about the standard management protocol, this becomes CLINICAL MANGEMENT but if talking about why you chose one particular management route over another, this is then MAKING DECISIONS.
• Safe prescribing.  Remember to be extra careful when prescribing for children.  (MAKING DECISIONS)
• Managing multiple co-morbidites and how you manage one illness without adversely affecting the other etc (MANAGING MEDICAL COMPLEXITY).
• Communication Skills – not just with patients but with relatives, colleagues, other team members and in handover  (COMMUNICATION & CONSULTATION SKILLS)
• Medical Teamwork & Multidisciplinary teamwork.  Try and understand the roles of different team members, and write about them.  Especially other health professionals.  Respect their skills and contribution to patient care.  Work collaboratively.   (WORKING WITH COLLEAGUES)
• How an illness affects a patient’s life   (PRACTISING HOLISTICALLY)
• How families react and behave.  The consequences of a family members illness on them.  Many family interactions visible in hospital specialties especially A&E, Paediatrics, Medicine for the Elderly and Palliative Care. In General Practice, families are generally in the background – but in hospital they’re often there for you to observe.   (PRACTISING HOLISTICALLY)
• Ethical Issues around things like capacity to consent, informed consent, confidentiality, end of life issues, and also specialty specific issues like reproductive health issues if you are in an O&G post.  Take responsibility – if you have misgivings about a practice, even if it is well established, talk to your clinical or educational supervisor or TPD advisor  (AN ETHICAL APPROACH TO PRACTICE)
• Significant or Critical Events (or near misses).  Other than writing about what happened, remember to explore the feelings of everyone involved.   Review organisational systems.  Suggest changes to prevent a recurrence.   (MAINTAINING PERFORMANCE, LEARNING & TEACHING)
• The hospital-GP interface – understanding what secondary care has to offer.   Communication between GPs and hospital docs.    Understanding referral pathways, and what you’ll be referring patients for, when you’re a GP (COMMUNITY ORIENTATION)
• Any departmental teachings you have helped out with or done (MAINTAINING PERFORMANCE, LEARNING & TEACHING).
• Any research, audit or projects you have done for your specialty department (MAINTAINING PERFORMANCE, LEARNING & TEACHING).

There’s a wealth of things you can reflect and write about in your ePortfolio.    Whatever you write about, make it meaningful!   Rather than writing a description of what happened, write about why you chose to write about it, what effect it had on you, what it taught you or what it made you realise.

It’s likely that you haven’t registered and therefore you have no National Training Number (NTN) which is necessary to create an e-portfolio. Registration is  online with an initial registration fee which is confirmed by email. The  ePortfolio will be activated between 24 and 48 hours after registration with a  welcome pack sent approximately 10 days after. Once registered, you are then called an “Associate in Training” (AiT).   Register NOW.   Do NOT delay it.  

If you have a problem with the post, for example, the work load, difficulty getting time to go to HDR, someone not treating you right, rota problems, EWTD  etc, please speak to your hospital consultant first to see if things can be easily sorted at a local level.

ALSO talk to one of the Training Programme Directors (TPDs).  They are there to help you.   And especially get in touch with them if you feel uncomfortable talking with you hospital consultant.  TPDs can make things happen as well as providing a listening ear and a supportive hand.

• First of all there is Half-Day-Release (HDR) – all trainees on a GP training scheme should be released to attend HDR.  Whether you are in a GP or hospital post is irrelevant.  You should be able to attend at least 70% of HDR sessions (that includes times you don’t attend because of annual or sick leave).   If you have difficulty achieving this, PLEASE have a discussion with your TPD.
• Then there is the departmental teaching that happens in most clinical specialties.  When that happens, how long and the format will vary from department to department.   Please ask your consultant when these happen.   You may wish to enhance your teaching skills by doing a session.    
• Of course, you will learn on ward rounds and grand rounds.  So make sure you attend these. 
• And finally, don’t forget the mini-CEX and CBD assessments you will need to do in your hospital posts.  In addition to them being assessments, they also provide a good platform for building on your learning and development.

Simply dress smart.  You don’t have to wear a shirt and tie or an elegant dress.  Looking smart is the key. 

Most hospitals ban ties and often have a “bare below the elbows” policy.  White doctors coats are also banned these days (infection risk).  So please do make contact with your organisation if you have questions or anxieties.

• You are expected to attend educational sessions outside of the practice like Half Day Release and anything else the scheme has arranged for you.  You should attend at least 70% of these sessions.
• You will need to engage with the departments on-call rota.   However, make sure that the EWTD rules above are not broke.
• A special note about moonlighting.   Moonlighting is when somebody has already got a job but decides to do another job too, often because they want to earn extra money.   For example, a trainee who is on a Rheumatology post but who does locums for say A&E too in the evening.  Moonlight is NOT ENCOURAGED if you belong to a GP training scheme.   The reason we don’t encourage it is because there is simply a lot of things you have to do whilst doing GP training.  GP training is NOT EASY.  And doing another job on top will make it more difficult and very stressful for you to do your basic things like writing in your ePortfolio and getting assessments done.  You may end up failing a year and having to repeat it.    However, if you are full-time we can’t stop you from moonlighting – and if you decide to do this, PLEASE GET EXPLICIT AGREEMENT from your Hospital Consultant and TPD.  If you are part-time, then you are not permitted to moonlight because the very reason of allowing you to go part time in the first place was because there was a pressing health, family or life need.