Herefordshire VTS: Half-day release scheme

The Herefordshire VTS Portfolio has been designed to meet the changing needs of GP trainees. This portfolio contains up to date information about each post, study leave and maternity leave as well as tools to help you gain the most from educational opportunities you will be offered. Both formative and summative elements are important to training and education therefore each trainee post in the hospital scheme has a section containing guidelines on the educational elements required for general practice training. These are put together to allow you to assess your confidence levels at various times in your training. There are also top tips from recent SHOs who have completed the posts. We suggest you review the sections on each job prior to change over. It is important to organise your study and annual leave early in certain posts.

Herefordshire has been chosen to be involved with changes to the future of UK general practice training. Previously the scheme was made up of four posts of six month training based at Hereford hospital. As the learning needs have changed so has the development of GP training. You will now undergo training in at least six different specialities with four months spent in each one. A large study was undertaken to establish the length of time needed to obtain the learning goals, this is considered to be four months. You should now be able to enter your GP registrar year better enabled to meet the diverse challenges of your patients. In addition most SHOs will spend two training posts based in the community with 'secondment' like attachments to hospital - at present these include women's health and chronic disease management.

Hereford County Hospital

Future general practitioners do still need experience in hospital posts, which are relevant to their later careers. Each has to be able to acquire experience in hospital of some of the types of problems that will be encountered in the setting of general practice.

Flexibility in service commitments should enable trainees on the vocational training scheme to attend regularly half-day/ full-day release sessions. The VTS scheme provides fifteen full days of study a year (thirty half days). All hospital based SHOs have the same study leave allowance and the VTS is part of this. Attendance is important to provide continuing contact with general practice and to help appreciate the relevance of specialist hospital work to future responsibilities in general practice. A register is kept of the attendance; a minimum of 70% is required.

A residential is organised at the beginning of the autumn term to establish the learning plan for the year as well as to form peer support groups. The colleagues you meet on the VTS are likely to be those who you may work with later in life as a fully-fledged GP. Make use of the others experiences in their SHO posts to allow you to maximise your time in these specialities. You might like to link up with an SHO in your next post to allow a chance to shadow them before you change post!

There are currently four course organisers running the Vocational training scheme. They all work as general practitioners with an interest in medical education. There is also a clinical tutor based at Hereford hospital who maintains responsibility for the education components of the hospital posts. In addition you should be assigned an academic supervisor with each post. They will help you define your learning needs for these posts. In addition you will be attached to a GP Practice throughout your three year training programme. Aim to visit them three times a year