GP Placements

GENERAL PRACTICE (Foundation Year 2)

AIMS OF GP PLACEMENT

General Practice (GP) placements in the Foundation Programme provide F2 trainees with:
• an enhanced understanding and the ability to operate across the primary/secondary care boundary.
• a unique and broad perspective on the way in which the NHS can provide an integrated service to patients.
• a personalised, flexible trainee-centred educationSELECTION

55% of NCTFS F2 posts have a placement in General Practice. The London Deanery GP department choose clinical supervisors and fit their practices into a Foundation Programme.

ALLOCATION

Individual trainees are allocated to GP sites by either London Deanery's GP department (for London Deanery F2 posts) or by the relevant NHS Trusts (for East of England F2 posts).

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

The Contract of Employment is held by the relevant NHS Trust of the allocated Foundation Programme. They are responsible for paying salaries and other HR related issues. Each practice will sign an Educational Contract with each of its Foundation trainees. 

PRACTICES

Practices taking F2 trainees on placements are approved by the London Deanery GP department as suitable for training. All GP clinical supervisors will have undertaken a teaching course and regularly attend a F2 GP Supervisor Workshop.

Please note:

• the rotation in a practice is part of a programme.
• the Foundation trainee will not cover all competences during the GP placement.
• some competences may well be more readily met in General Practice than in some other rotations e.g. relationships with patients and communication skills.
• some competencies i.e. DOPs may be more difficult to demonstrate in General Practice.
• every practice is different and will offer different learning opportunities for their Foundation trainee. Therefore the F2 trainee is expected to be flexible to the working arrangements of individual practices and to discuss the timetable with the GP Clinical Supervisor.

WORKING HOURS IN GP PLACEMENT (please note this may vary between practices)

• 40 hours per week
• no banding therefore F2 trainees have lower salary
• 10 sessions per week
• a half day = 1 session = 4 hours
• 6-7 half days in consultation
• morning and evening surgeries are variable lengths of time in different surgeries
• lunch time meetings count towards hours usually there are 1 or 2 x/week
• an audit should be undertaken during GP F2 placement; work for this counts towards the hours
• the working day in a GP surgery is different, i.e. morning surgeries, gap in the middle of the day then eve surgeries. If lucky the practice does afternoon surgeries.
• free time in the middle of the day, not used for meetings is own time. If F2 trainees choose not to go home that is up to them.
• expected to stay some days later than 5.30pm.
• any time used during the day for private or exam study is own time. No study leave allowed for F2 trainees for postgraduate exams.

CONTACTS IN THE LONDON DEANERY

First point of contact for allocation queries - please e-mail GPFoundation@londondeanery.ac.uk

CONTACTS IN THE EASTERN DEANERY

Please contact the Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) centre at your allocated F2 hospital Trust.