Our Foundation education training is run as a 2 year programme with both foundation years spent here in Dumfries.
We pride ourselves on providing a supportive, enjoyable and stimulating experience for young doctors. We are a rural area and thus offer a different experience from city hospitals. The scheme is particularly suitable for doctors wishing to gain a lot of practical experience. Those interested in rural practice will gain valuable insight into rural medicine, and those interested in academic spheres will have plenty of opportunity to develop skills in presentation and publication. Many of our previous juniors have published in academic journals while with us and have developed projects with the support of our Research and Development Department.
In addition to standard foundation education, ALERT & ILS courses are provided for our FY1 trainees with ALS courses provided for all FY2 trainees. Additional Scottish Neonatal Resuscitation Courses for Paediatric and Obstetric trainees, Emergency Radiology courses for Accident & Emergency trainees are also available.
Participants in our scheme are currently entitled to FREE single accommodation, and removal expenses of up to £1,000 if appointed for 12 months.
Trainees starting work in FY1 posts in August each year will attend a Shadowing week before taking up their post. During the week the trainees get to know one another and are introduced to hospital staff with whom they will work. They will learn about all the important aspects of working in Dumfries and have the opportunity to join current FY1 doctors during their work. We aim to give a thorough grounding in the life of an FY1 doctor so that trainees feel confident to start their new roles as doctors the following week. We believe this also allows them to develop an FY1 team which will be mutually supportive throughout the coming year.
FY doctors joining us in August each year spend their first day learning about the hospital, our systems and facilities. This is always a pressurised day, but we hope it is also fun! In order to minimise the amount of information which we expect trainees to remember, we provide an electronic resource which can be used before commencement of the post to familiarise the trainee with our systems, and later as an aide memoir.
Doctors will spend 4 months in each of three blocks - medicine & surgery, and acute care, before moving to their FY2 year.
Doctors will gain experience in at least two different medical speciality wards and medical receiving, taking an active role in patient care. Rotas will cover day, evening and weekend work as well as weekend nights
The Department of Medicine runs an extensive teaching programme, in which all trainees are encouraged to actively contribute.
Doctors will gain experience in a general surgical ward, an orthopaedic ward and surgical receiving, taking an active role in patient care. Rotas will cover day, evening/weekend work and night shifts. Formal and informal teaching, led by consultants, specialty doctors and higher trainees takes place throughout your placement.
There is an opportunity for trainees to gain experience in caring for acutely ill patients during FY1. Doctors will be involved in medical and surgical admissions, ITU and anaesthetics, and work with the hospital-at-night team. This proves particularly popular with trainees, providing many valuable experiences in a well supported environment.
Doctors who have completed their FY1 year also spend Year 2 in Dumfries. They will spend 4 months in each of three blocks from general medicine, emergency medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry and general practice. NB - we aim to have every FY2 spend 4 months in General Practice.
Trainees will gain excellent experience in general medicine with rotations in general and specialist wards, the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) and Medical HDU. Time is spent on-call for unselected medical admissions, in-patient referrals and ward cover. We are a busy District General Hospital and there will be plenty of opportunity to perform practical procedures under the guidance of supportive senior staff. You will be supervised by enthusiastic and experienced seniors who will allow you to develop your skills and assume responsibility appropriate to your grade. Within some specialties there will be opportunities to attend clinics. There are weekly Grand Round and Journal Club meetings as well as regular morbidity & mortality/patient safety meetings and clinical skills teaching.
The Emergency Department covers a large geographical area and offers junior doctors excellent training opportunities. Experience is provided in the management of a wide range of undifferentiated clinical conditions from minor illness to life threatening injury. Trainees are supervised 24 hours a day by a combination of Consultant and middle grade staff. Feedback from previous trainees highlights the quality of supervision as well as recognising the department as a quality learning environment. Trainees receive a comprehensive induction programme along with weekly departmental teaching including clinical and x-ray tutorials, clinical simulation and bi-monthly morbidity & mortality meetings. The department's Consultants are actively involved in departmental education, and ample opportunities exist for teaching and audit.
Trainees will initially work in a general paediatric ward where they will learn to deal with all types of acute paediatric referrals, gain experience of the common conditions of childhood and how to handle children and their parents. Acute resuscitation training in paediatrics and neonates is provided, including the certificated Neonatal Life Support course. There is bleep free education on a weekly basis including half day Grand Rounds and CPD sessions and tutorial sessions presented by FY2 and GPST2 trainees. Trainees will experience some working at night, with good registrar support, in a joint scheme with Obstetrics.
Along with the challenge of providing care to patients across a large geographical area, trainees will experience a wide range of clinical activity during their time with the department. Gynaecology outpatient services include Hysteroscopy, Colposcopy and clinics for Gynaecological Oncology, Vulval Disease, Urogynaecology, HRT and Fertility. Obstetrics services include pre-natal diagnosis with ultrasound and amniocentesis and specialist clinics for women who have drug or alcohol addiction and for those with diabetes. The department is involved in the provision of Scottish Core Obstetric Teaching and Training in Emergencies (SCOTTIE) courses twice a year and there are weekly educational meetings with topics which vary from audit projects to the presentation of interesting or unusual cases.
Psychiatric services are based in Midpark Hospital in Dumfries, with Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT) working throughout the region. Mental health services are provided on an in-patient and out-patient basis by CMHT. Services include old age, general adult, rehabilitation, child and adolescent, addiction, forensic, learning disability, eating disorders and ECT. Trainees will be part of a team looking after in-patients as well as experiencing community psychiatry. The department has an internal training programme with a full induction and weekly teaching sessions.
Trainees undertaking the general practice block will be encouraged to take a full part in the practice team. They will develop relationships with their own clientele of patients and undertake consultations in the surgeries and at times in patient’s homes. Relationships between team members – doctors, practice nurses, district nurses, health visitor, receptionists and managers will be explored. The Practices involved are widespread across the region and therefore provide a variety of experience.
The Education Centre organise a mandatory lunchtime teaching programme for all FY1 & FY2 doctors. FY1 teaching is on Tuesdays and FY2 teaching on Thursdays hosted locally, rather than Glasgow based. These protected time sessions cover all aspects of the Foundation Curricula.
Each FY doctor will be allocated an Educational Supervisor. This person may follow them through the entire year, or for operational reasons sometimes the Educational Supervisor may change. The role of the supervisor is to help trainees to identify educational needs, and work out how to use the opportunities available to meet them. At some times the Educational Supervisor may be employed in a different department to the trainee - in this case the trainee is also allocated a Clinical Supervisor, responsible for supervising the trainee within that department.
Trainees must complete an ePortfolio throughout their time with us. It is crucial that this is kept up to date in order for doctors to complete the year successfully.
FY1 & FY2 Study Leave Guidance