Resources for junior doctors

Recruitment for Junior Doctors

Recruitment to our training posts, from Foundation to Specialty training, takes place annually, either through the Royal Colleges or Health Education South West. All specialties recruit through a national process.

Foundation Training

At the Royal Cornwall Hospital there are 51 Foundation Year One posts and 51 Foundation Year Two posts. Recruitment to all foundation posts is through the Foundation Programme. Visit the Foundation Programme website.

For more information on foundation training with Health Education South West, please visit the Peninsula Deanery website.

Core Training & Specialty Training – Years 1 & 2

The number of posts available in each specialty is given below:

  • Acute Care Common Stem – 16
  • Anaesthetics – 9
  • Core Medical Training – 16
  • Obstetrics & Gynaecology – 3
  • Paediatrics – 6
  • Ophthalmology – 1
  • Core Surgical Training – 7
  • General Practice – 60

For up-to-date information on vacancies, information on competition ratios and the ‘person specifications’ for all posts, please visit the Modernising Medical Careers website.

Recruitment Dates and Applications

For Core and Specialty Training recruitment dates, please go to the Peninsula Deanery website.

Academic Recruitment

Further recruitment information is available on the appropriate Royal College website:

Junior Doctors Induction

August Intake

Induction for the majority of junior medical staff takes place in July and August each year. Specialty inductions are also held at the start of each new rotation. Click on the link for Induction Dates.

On your first day of induction you will be introduced to the Postgraduate Education team at Royal Cornwall Hospital. You will be required to complete administrative and legal documentation to ensure that you are ready to start work, and to gain access to Trust IT systems.

Your induction programme will include Trust mandatory training and practical workshops on blood transfusion and basic life support. You will receive an Induction with your own Specialty on day two, and also each time you rotate to a new post.

Postgraduate Education will send you Induction details 6 weeks prior to your start date. This will include training documentation to be completed before you arrive and during your post with the Trust. It will also provide details of your training and induction programmes, and key contacts to help you settle in at Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust.

Post-August Intakes

If your post with Royal Cornwall Hospital commences after the August intake, Medical Staffing will ensure you receive information on your Mandatory Trust Induction date, scheduled for later in the year.

Study Leave

Study leave for junior doctors is set by Health Education South West to provide for the delivery of specific curriculum training requirements within each Trust and to help doctors:

  • Develop competences not achieved through other activities
  • Pursue training in support of the curriculum
  • Undertake a planned programme of private study (beyond F2)
  • Attend examinations within a training programme (see guidelines)
  • Arrange short-term attachments in other specialties i.e. Tasters

All doctors in training are entitled to annual study leave. Specific entitlements and study budgets for junior doctors at Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust (RCHT) are summarised below. For further details click on Study Leave Guidelines for Junior Doctors.

Application Process

All study leave is discretionary and must be applied for via Intrepid or in writing. It must also be approved by your educational supervisor as part of a personal learning plan and by your division/rota co-ordinator. For further information go to Study Leave Application Process for Junior Doctors.

Foundation Year One

There is no study leave allowance in Foundation Year One (F1), but F1s can take up to 5 days of the 30-day F2 allowance for Tasters and to attend a one-day career planning workshop offered by the Peninsula Deanery. Tasters provide an opportunity for F1s to gain an insight into the work of other specialties with a view to informing career choices for Foundation Year Two.

For further details & application forms, please see the bottom of this page.

Foundation Year Two

F2s have a study leave entitlement of 30 days and a budget allocation of £576 in Foundation Year Two. Part of this entitlement is pre-allocated for Study Days, Tasters, the ALS course and GP Learning Sets (where appropriate). Further details are available in the F2 Study Leave Guidelines.

GP Specialty Trainees

GP Trainees have a study leave entitlement of 30 days and a budget allocation of £300. Part of your entitlement has been pre-allocated for curriculum requirements. For further details click on GP ST Study Leave & Expense Claim Guidelines.

Support Services

The Postgraduate Team are aware that sometimes trainees may experience some difficulties with personal issues, career planning, health problems, stress or difficulties with colleagues & occasionally concerns about other colleagues.

Please remember that you do not have to deal with problems on your own. Peninsula Postgraduate Medical Education (PPME) and ourselves provide a number of services to help. We are also only too happy to provide a listening ear and appropriate direction when needed, so please contact any of the postgraduate team.

Director of Medical Education

Dr Chris Williams: chris.williams29@nhs.net

F1 Programme Director

Dr Kathryn Eccleston: Kathryn.eccleston@nhs.net

F2 Programme Director

Mr Tom Smith Walker

Clinical Tutor

Dr Carolyn Campbell: carolyn.campbell8@nhs.net

Careers Advice

At RCHT we have a number of clinicians who will be very happy to give careers advice in their specialty – please ask the Postgraduate Team for details.

PPME has a comprehensive careers service. A number of events are run throughout the year giving advice on Foundation and Specialty Training. Details can be found in the careers section of the PPME website: www.peninsuladeanery.nhs.uk. The website provides a wide range of information on Specialty Training.

The careers team run “Windmills” courses on career planning for Foundation doctors. They can also provide personal advice by e-mail (Pen.EAdvice@southwest.nhs.uk) and arrange personal meetings to support your individual needs.

Mentoring

The PPME provides a confidential mentoring programme for doctors in training as an independent source of support outside the assessment process. For more information see the PPME website or contact Lisa Baxter on mail@lisabaxter.co.uk or 07779 053948.

Coaching

The PPME provides a coaching service to facilitate development and improve the performance of its trainees. Referrals can be made by the trainee or by their educational or clinical supervisor. Appointments to see Lesley Seward can be made via lisa.nancholas@southwest.hee.nhs.uk or 01752 676147.

Counselling

Hammet Street Consultants provide a freely-available, independent short-term service for all doctors in training in the South West Peninsula. Counselling is a simple but effective way of dealing with issues, stresses and pressures of life. Having the opportunity to talk things through, with someone independent, may help us to cope with the work/life balance that we all strive for.

Anyone can self refer, and the service is completely confidential. For further details contact refer.hammetstreetconsultants.org or call 07918 170528.

Educational and Clinical Supervision

At Royal Cornwall Hospital we have over 35 educational supervisors and 60 clinical supervisors. Their roles and responsibilities are outlined below. For details of Supervisors & College Tutors at RCHT click on Forms, Guidelines & Links.

Educational Supervision

All junior doctors will have an educational supervisor whose role is to ensure the overall progress of the trainee through training across a number of placements.

The educational supervisor should:

  • Ensure that the programme is appropriate to the doctor’s needs
  • Support doctors by reviewing their learning needs in the light of achieved goals
  • Carry out and/or collate assessments from clinical supervisors, trainers and other assessors
  • Review the doctor’s learning portfolio
  • Conduct appraisals
  • Support the doctor through any difficulty
  • Show principled professional practice
  • Produce, with the trainee, an appropriate report of their education and professional progress (Personal Development Plan)
  • Give career advice and support as required

Clinical Supervision

The aim of clinical supervision is to ensure that the trainee is safe to carry out the clinical work expected of them within the department. A clinical supervisor will usually be the consultant that a doctor is directly responsible to for their clinical work, and there will be frequent contact with them. For some rotations, the clinical supervisor and the educational supervisor will be the same person and it is important that he/she understands the different roles. The clinical supervisor:

  • Is responsible for monitoring, supporting and assessing the trainee’s day to day clinical and professional work
  • Must offer a level of supervision of clinical activity appropriate to the competence and experience of the individual trainee
  • May delegate aspects of supervision to colleagues with appropriate training and experience
  • Remains responsible and accountable for the care of the patient and the actions of the doctor in training

Further information on educational and clinical supervision is available on the Peninsula Deanery website. There is also specific information on supervision, assessments, and doctors in difficulty for Foundation Educational Supervisors.

In recognition of the importance of good trainee supervision the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) requires that the Trust supports a Policy for the Supervision of Doctors in Training.

Supervisor Support

Other areas of this website contain information that will help with your role. The ‘Support Services’ section on this page (above) lists information on career advice, mentoring and counselling services that may be useful.

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding educational or clinical supervision please contact Dr Chris Williams at chris.williams29@nhs.net.

Training for Supervisors

As an educational or clinical supervisor you are required to have protected time within your job plan for providing supervision. You are also required to have appropriate training, which can be obtained through the Peninsula Deanery or at other centres.

Supervisor training is held at different hospital locations in the South West. For course dates and application forms go to ‘Faculty Development’ on the Peninsula Deanery website – see link below. If you have already undertaken training go to ‘GMC Accreditation’ on the Peninsula Deanery website to find out if this is recognised.

For further information click on the Peninsula Deanery website.

Forms, Links, and Guidelines

If you require assistance, please contact us directly.

Course and Training Forms

Study leave and Expense Claim Forms

Induction

Health Education South West Policies and Guidelines

RCHT Study Leave Guidelines for junior doctors

Supervision

Page last reviewed: 31 March 2023

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