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90 junior doctors start at local hospital Trust
Written by Communications Team   

This week, 90 junior doctors have joined Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust. They will complete a one year programme across a variety of departments, including medicine, surgery, A&E, intensive care, paediatrics, maternity, anaesthetics, radiology and psychiatry.


Dr Peter Martin, Consultant Paediatrician and Director of Education, explains: “After graduation all new doctors join a Foundation School and undertake a 2 year programme to bridge the gap between medical school and general or specialist practice. Junior doctors in the first year of the programme are referred to as F1s (Foundation Year 1) and those in the second year as F2s (Foundation Year 2).”
  
Dr Gregory Price (left) and Dr Toby Dean (right) working on May Ward at St Peter's Hospital
 
Dr Gregory Price (left) and Dr Toby Dean (right) working on May Ward at St Peter's Hospital

  
 
“We recruit our junior doctors from the South Thames Foundation School, which is fed by some top universities and medical schools such as Kings College London and St George’s University of London. We have more F1 and F2 posts than any other local hospital Trusts and are a popular choice because of the excellent teaching opportunities offered and convenient location of both hospital sites, being close to London.”

Dr Toby Dean and Dr Gregory Price have both joined as F1s and are starting their first rotation in the gastroenterology department. They have both worked at the Trust before as students so know what to expect.

Toby says: “The staff at Ashford and St Peter’s are always very friendly which is why I applied for the F1 post. It’s great to gain experience in a range of clinical areas and after this rotation I’m looking forward to moving on to geriatrics and then trauma and orthopaedics.”

Gregory adds: “There is a high level of senior support here and good systems in place to get feedback. All junior doctors are assessed on a continual basis by a range of colleagues, including superivising consultants and registrars and nursing staff, which really emphasises the importance of working as a team.”

In February this year, the Trust was visited and assessed by the South Thames Foundation School, which manages all F1 & F2 doctors (approximately 1700) in the South London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex regions. The follow-up report was very positive about the postgraduate education provided and highlighted several areas of ‘good’ or ‘best’ practice which have the potential for wider use in the NHS.

One such area is the appraisal system, whereby all junior doctors are reviewed halfway through the year by a senior consultant to make sure their progress is on-track. Another good idea is the organisation of a consultant-led careers fair, where junior doctors have the opportunity to find out more about the different clinical areas they are interested in specialising in.

The teaching offered at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals is closely mapped to a curriculum set by the NHS Foundation Programme. Dr Martin explains: “As you would expect, much of the teaching focuses on patient diagnosis and medical skills, but there is more to being a good doctor than clinical ability. Being able to communicate well with patients and colleagues is equally important and all junior doctors are encouraged to develop their ‘softer’ people skills.”

Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 15:55 )