Hospital Trainees
Hospital training posts are for doctors who would like to extend training to clear examinations or gain further training. These posts are no different from deanery training posts in terms of work or on calls.
International medical graduates are at a slight disadvantage given that they have to catch up on the UK practice of medicine, while settling into a new house, place and country. You also have to prepare for your examinations
What to watch out for
a) Training time _ There are competing priorities for the rota master and you may be pulled off your training time to go back on the ward. While this may be perfectly acceptable, you must insist that you are a trainee as well and that your speciality and educational needs are important. If this happens on a regular basis , you must have a discussion with your educational supervisor about the best way to ensure you have specialty work as part of your work. AS a junior clinical fellow you should get half day and as senior clinical fellow you should get a day towards your educational needs.
b) Adequate progression. – You will need to demonstrate progression from year to year and also show that you have acquired all the competencies to progress towards the next stage in your career. This is your responsibility but you will need support from your supervisors. This is a very important reason why you have taken this post.
c) Excessive on calls. It will be a temptation for you to do a lot of on calls as you will get extra payments for any extra on calls. This will put pressure on you and your family. While accumulating money is important to sustain your family and pay for your examinations and holidays, This can come later when you are through your examinations.
d) Unrewarding postings It is important to ask for opportunities to change to gain more experience in other specialities if all your postings are in specialities which have little educational value.
e) Considering Zero days as extra holidays – It is a temptation to take the zero days as holidays. These days are new due to the European working time directives and ahs significantly reduced training time.. You will get between 20 – 30 working days off per year which you can use towards improving your speciality experience. This needs to be something you take leadership and control of and ensure that by the end of your 2 years, you have enough on your CV to be a top candidate for the next stage of your life. I am sure you are no stranger to hard work. Maintain your ethos and you will climb quickly.