Training Practice

Medical Students

Although we have been involved in undergraduate medical teaching in the past we are not currently doing so due to the expansion in the number of post graduate doctors being trained in the practice.

We occasionally welcome senior school pupils who are applying to study medicine and who must spend time in General Practice as part of this application process.  They will only be allowed to be present with the patient’s permission so please let us know if you would rather see the doctor alone.

Doctors in Training

General Practice Placements:  Post Graduate year 1 and 2

Once the Doctor graduates from University, most of their clinical experience is in the Hospital setting. A placement in General Practice will provide an opportunity for the Doctor to care for patients within their own communities.  This placement should allow the Doctor to follow patients through the entire patient experience – from the presentation of acute illness, through investigation, diagnosis and management, to recovery and rehabilitation.

There will be an initial induction, working with the GPs and members of other professions working in the community as well as seeing patients under appropriate supervision both in the surgery, and potentially in their own homes.

A GP in the Practice will be trained to supervise the Doctor’s work and ensure they gain all they can from the learning opportunities presented.

Specialty Training in General Practice

After Post Graduate year 1 and 2 the Doctor will consider choosing a Speciality. Specialist training for General Practice aims to produce doctors who, on completion of training will be able to provide personal and continuing care to individuals and families in the community.

The GP Speciality Programmes consist of 3 or 4 years’ experience and assessment, ultimately all those in training will spend 18 months in a general practice environment and the rest in the hospital setting. The final 12 months of GP specialist training is always in a General Practice post.

GP Training

As a training practice, we think that it is vital that the doctors keep themselves up to date and knowledgeable regarding advances in medicine, medical teaching and medical techniques.

All doctors must undergo annual appraisal via external review of our own education and “Fitness to Practice”.  In addition to this we must attend annual teaching events regarding teaching and assessment of our “Doctors in Training”.  We are regularly visited by Tayside Centre for General Practice to assure the quality of our teaching.

Our ethos is to constantly develop and improve.  The doctors have developed additional skills in the management of diabetes, women’s health, medical education, “minor surgery”, joint injections and complementary therapies such as acupuncture.   These developments do not occur without some commitment (courses, meetings), but we think that our patients deserve our best effort.