The Department of Postgraduate Medical & Dental Education The Triangle, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, OXFORD OX3 7XP
Medical Elective with the Defence Medical Services
for Specialist Registrars and GP Registrars
The Defence Medical Services (DMS) offer the opportunity for specialist registrars and GP registrars to spend up to three months on voluntary paid secondment to any of the Armed Forces. There is no obligation on the volunteer doctors to make any longer term commitment to the Services but they would be obliged to accept the responsibilities and duties that go wit temporarily being of officer status. The benefits to the trainee would be to develop skills in leadership, management and teamwork as well as to gain experience of the several and vane aspects of military medicine. The advantage to the Services is that a cadre of doctors who would have some experience of military medicine might subsequently encourage more doctors to support the Services and might, themselves, be willing to volunteer to serve again in future.
Specialist Registrars
Specialist registrars would be seconded with the approval of the Postgraduate Dean and the employing NHS Trust for up to three months. They would continue to be paid their existing salary by the Trust which would be reimbursed for the replacement locum costs by the DMS Any additional costs to the trainee would be borne by the DMS. The Trust would require due notice, at least three and preferably six months in advance, that the SpR was taking approve( time out of programme so as to enable the Trust to find the necessary locum. Up to three months on a SpR elective with the DMS would not lead to deferment of CCST provided that the requirements of the Specialist Training Authority (STA) were met (see attached letter from STA).
GP Registrars
GP registrars would not normally take time out of their GP programme but could spend an elective period with DMS as outlined to follow immediately upon completion of their GP year. Since they would have completed their training, they do not need to seek approval for educational purposes from the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP) but they should, nevertheless, plan the elective well in advance via their Postgraduate Dean. Payment arrangements for a GP registrar would need to be organised with the DMS but might be effected via the previous employer.
The project has the support of the Defence Medical Services, the NHS Executive, the Specialist Training Authority and the Postgraduate Deans. Specialist registrars or GP registrars who are interested in spending an elective period with the DMS should initially contact the Postgraduate Dean in their Deanery and supply their relevant details as per the relevant attached forms to the Postgraduate Dean and to the DMS.
WMG Tunbridge
Postgraduate Dean and Director PGMDE
25`h January 2002
Dear Colleague
Re: Medical Elective with the Defence Medical Services
for Specialist Registrars and GP Registrars
I enclose information about the above project which I outlined briefly to Postgraduate Deans at COPMeD in December 2001. I was very pleased by the support shown by Postgraduate Deans for the project. May I invite you to display the enclosed flyer in your Deanery and perhaps copies also could be sent to all your Postgraduate Centres together with copies of the enclosed information sheet, the letter from the STA and the relevant form for a SpR or GP registrar to express an interest in such an elective period with the Defence Medical Services (DMS). The details of the secondment from the DMS side would need to be worked out between Lt Col Wellington and the trainee but the plans would ultimately need your endorsement as Postgraduate Dean. You, I am sure, would wish to be satisfied that the trainee fulfils the usual requirements for out of programme experience which would, nevertheless, count for up to three months towards their higher specialist training. The Trust would need to be re-assured that it would be reimbursed by the DMS for the locum costs to fill the gap of up to three months so created by the absence of the specialist registrar who would, nevertheless, continue to be paid by the Trust as previously so as to simplify the bureaucratic arrangements. This project has been approved nationally by the DMS and the NHS Executive as well as by the STA.
I hope that you will encourage any of your specialist registrars or GP registrars who express an interest in such an elective to pursue this opportunity to broaden their experience. It has already received the support of the JCHST and I will also write to other Colleges to supply them with the same information. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you encounter any difficulties. It may take a little while for the availability of these electives to percolate through to everyone so it is particularly important that Chairmen and Programme Directors of Specialist Training Committees and colleagues responsible for training in general practice know about the scheme.
With good wishes.
Yours sincerely
Dear Dr Tunbridge
Three Month Specialist Registrar Electives With The Defence Medical Services r
I have been asked to thank you for your letter of 12 January
addressed to Lord Patel concerning the proposal to pilot Specialist Registrar elective periods with the Defence Services as part of CCST. training programmes.From the information you have provided the STA would have no objection to such three month electives providing:
i. the proposed training is compatible with the requirements of the CCST programme published by the Colleges;
ii. the placement and proposed training is agreed prospectively by the postgraduate dean;
iii. the trainee has a named supervisor during the elective period; and
iv. the supervisor provides a training assessment report which feeds into the RITA process at the end of the year.
.At some stage in the future it would be helpful to know whether the pilot project has been successful and how many trainees over a 6 or 12 month period volunteered for this.
Yours sincerely
MEDICAL ELECTIVES WITH THE DEFENCE
MEDICAL SERVICES FOR SPECIALIST
REGISTRARS AND GP REGISTRARS
A Joint project between the Ministry of Defence and the Postgraduate Deans is aimed at employing SpRs and GPRs for a specialist elective period of 3 months with the Defence Medical Services.
The aim is to raise awareness amongst SpRs and GPRs of the unique challenges and opportunities associated with Defence Medicine.
The 3-month electives have been recognised and approved by the Specialist Training Authority and may include working in the UK, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Germany or on benign. operations in the Balkans.
The time spent with the Defence Medical Services will develop personal leadership, management and team work skills.
The SpRs and GPRs will be employed on a civilian contract with officer status.
The familiarisation package is to include a briefing day with the opportunity to meet Defence Medical Services personnel.
For further information please contact your Postgraduate Dean or Lieutenant Colonel Vicky Wellington, Ministry of Defence, Tel: 0207 807 8399
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