The Royal College of General Practitioners’

Associates In Training newsletter

AiT

April 2007

Reminders

Information

Experiences

Signposting

Thought for the Day

April AiT Contents

Quick Links

The following has been taken from a past paper of the College exam.

Your practice is considering offering electronic communication to patients.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of e-mail consultations and booking appointments, via the internet?

Reminders

MRCGP / nMRCGP – changes to transition arrangements

nMRCGP – a Guide to the Clinical Skills Assessment DVD

Telephone Consulting

WONCA Europe

Career Profile from a sessional GP

Groups meeting in April

Reminders

VTR2 Forms must be logged with the Certification Unit. Get them signed off as you go and not at the last minute! Need a form? Download one here.

MRCGP / nMRCGP – changes to the published transitional arrangements for 2007 and 2008

The arrangements for transition between the current MRCGP examination and the nMRCGP assessment process have been amended to accommodate those who will not have time to complete the Workplace Based Assessment (WPBA) of nMRCGP, for example those starting their final year of training in February 2007. Read more.

nMRCGP - A guide to the Clinical Skills Assessment DVD

This DVD contains specific guidance together with sample cases, for all doctors teaching or preparing for the new Clinical Skills Assessment of the nMRCGP. AiT Members qualify for a discounted price of £20 + £2.50 P&P. Contact Carol White to purchase a copy.

Telephone Consulting

WONCA Europe & Junior Doctors

The RCGP has just published Telephone Consultations in Primary Care, a practical and essential guide for all primary healthcare professionals.

The book guides readers through the principles of telephone consulting, enabling them to approach such communication with greater confidence and self-awareness. Practical advice, training exercises and transcripts of telephone consultations are available throughout to help develop the unique skill-set required.

This is the first book of its kind to be published – it should therefore appeal to any primary healthcare professionals who have telephone communications with their patients.

Full details can be found on online here or by calling the RCGP Bookshop on 020 7581 3232.

Vasco da Gama movement is the WONCA Europe working group for young and future General Practitioners.

The movement’s aims are:

- Providing a forum, support and information for trainees and young GPs through access to WONCA Europe regional conferences and pre-conferences.

- Establishing a communication network between European trainees and young GPs and identifying their concerns, doubts and needs and helping to address them.

- Improving the quality of training programmes for general practice.

Read more about the Vasco da Gama movement here.

Find out more about the WONCA conference here.

Dr Penny Finn, Sessional GP – Career Profile

General practice is the most varied and variable of medical specialties.

In this section, we will be profiling various Members of the College’ careers in order to demonstrate the many possibilities open to you once you have qualified.

Your name?

Penny Finn

How long have you been in General Practice?

I worked as an assistant GP in the East End of London for about two years after completing house jobs. After the birth of my first son we moved and as I wasn’t ‘certified’ I could not continue with GP work. I worked as a clinical assistant in rehab medicine and artificial limb fitting and rehab then in A&E in a busy unit. I started my training in 1998 and spent 6 years working part time. During 2000-2003 I worked as a registrar and I have worked as a GP ever since.

What is different about being a locum to being a Principal/partner?

The good points are that you can walk away from the practice once all your clinical work is completed. The bad point is that you have no say in how things are run.

- You have to move from place to place as a locum where as a partner doesn’t have to learn ‘how to do it’ or ‘where is it’ each time.

- Locums have no security in their job or their health or if they fall pregnant.

- Locums have to complete all their own paperwork and sort out their pensions.

- Locums can take holidays when they like but partners can’t.

- Appraisal will be hard for locums as they are not in a ‘managed environment’.

- Locums can diversify if they wish