Park Leys Medical Practice

Nearly 15 years ago the practice took the decision to become involved in the training of new GPs. GP Trainees, as they were then called, are fully qualified doctors who wish to become GPs. In order to become an accredited training practice it is necessary to meet very high clinical and managerial standards and the practice is justifiably proud of its continuing accreditation.

It is crucial that doctors aspiring to be GPs gain experience of the work under the supervision and tutelage of experienced and accredited trainers. The practice is lucky to have two enthusiastic and committed trainers, Dr Ruth Girvan and Dr Jerry Horn.

Equally vital is the support and goodwill of the patients who cooperate with the training programs and allow consultations to be recorded on video for training and assessment purposes. We would like to thank everyone who takes part in the training of new GPs. Without your support we would not be able to participate in the valuable role of training doctors who wish to become GPs.

At times there are as many as three registrars working in the practice, staying for six to twelve months, and many of our patients will have had consultations with them. At present we have two registrars working with us, Dr Anita Joshi and Dr Ragini Karnati.

Dr Anu Pandian completed her training as registrar with us in February 2007 and now works for the practice three days per week as a GP (so her training with us can’t have been too bad!). Dr Kothare, who trained at Park Leys in 2003 joined the practice in May 2005, and is now a partner. Other doctors, who have completed their registrarship at Park Leys are now working at other practices, either as salaried doctors or as partners, providing a high level of healthcare to many patients across Coventry and further afield.

The process of assessing doctors learning to become GPs is undergoing significant change, although patients are unlikely to be aware of this.

In the past, most GP Trainees have taken two sets of exams, one to qualify as a GP (called Summative Assessment) and the other to become a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP). As from August 2007 there will only be one set of exams for both qualification and membership. The most noticeable change for patients is that the Trainees will need to record fewer consultations on video, much to their relief! However, at times, one of the GP Trainers (Drs Horn and Girvan) may observe Trainee consultations, with patients' permission.

In the future it is likely that we shall participate in training doctors at other stages in their careers. Not all of them will be planning a career in general practice, but this illustrates that the skills obtained during a spell in General Practice will be useful in other areas of medicine.

We sometimes have medical students in the practice gaining some practical experience of General Practice under the close supervision of one of our GPs. When these students pass their final exams and become doctors they do two foundation years, working in various different departments, before applying for specialist training (eg surgery, general practice). We have been asked to have foundation year doctors (known as F2s) at Park-Leys in the future. We hope that most doctors in training will spend some time in general practice, so those who intend to work in hospitals will have some experience of what it is like to care for patients outside a hospital setting.

We feel that teaching doctors in training enlivens the practice, helps us keep up to date and gives patients more choice.