Hospital Jobs
See what recent SHOs have said...
First of all, why come to Hereford? Well, I came because I heard it was friendly and had great drug lunches. I've now been here almost 4 years and I love it. Yes, it is very friendly and, yes, it does have great drug lunches, but it's also a beautiful place, a great hospital and has a Mess that's second to none.
Paediatrics is so good because its Consultants are the best. They each have a different approach to the subject and are easy to get along with. The patients are so varied. We see a whole variety of diseases and deal with the majority in Hereford. The Consultants have their particular specialties within Paeds and there is always opportunity for good teaching. You are allowed to handle much of the work on your own, unless you want help, and the Consultants are always there for you if you need them. SCBU is quite a challenge, but you're never on your own and the nurses both in SCBU and the children's ward are great. But don't just take my work for it - come and see for yourself!
WG
The A&E Department in Hereford is situated at the General Hospital; it is a small, friendly Unit seeing about 25,000 cases per year. The GP VTS trainees work in the department as some of the 5 SHOs and all are well supported by middle grades, the A&E Consultant and the Nursing staff.
The weekly rota includes protected study time and some emergency on-call commitment with a long-range pager.
Due to the wide geographical area covered and the mixture of city and rural life, the case-mix is both varied and interesting. With the help and support of senior colleagues, there is ample opportunity to learn new, practical techniques whilst in this post.
RS
Age Care Medicine in Hereford is probably the ideal way to combine the ethos of General Practice with a hospital medical job, with the emphasis on a holistic approach to medicine.
The Department consists of 3 Consultants, a Specialist Registrar, a Staff Grade Geriatrician, 4 SHOs and a number of specialist nurses. The SHO job is split between two sites at the County and General hospitals, with 4 SHOs rotating around one 'acute' Age Care medical ward at the County and one rehabilitation and two other single-sex wards at the General Hospital.
The Age Care and General Medicine rotation are combined for on-call, enabling a 1:6 rota for on-call after 5.00 pm, and all admissions, medical and age care, are admitted to the Medical Admissions Unit at the County Hospital. Whilst on-call overnight, the Age Care Medicine SHO is the middle tier of a 3-tier system which includes a House Officer, a junior SHO and a Senior SHO - thus allowing scope for each tier to get a certain amount of rest during the night - hopefully!
As well as providing a sound basis in acute general medicine and the scope to manage a variety of common medical conditions in a safe, friendly environment, Age Care Medicine is an ideal way to learn about the problems specific to an elderly population, with ample opportunity to visit community hospitals and attend clinics.
It is a great chance to see how a multidisciplinary team aims to integrate patients from hospital with support services as they return to the primary care setting.
SJ
The GP VTS SHO in Hereford is fortunate enough to be able to choose from a fairly wide range of SHO posts. When I started the scheme I had already completed several SHO jobs, and so chose Ophthalmology simply because it was something I had not done.
The Victoria Eye Hospital is currently located on a separate site, about 15 minutes' walk from the main County Hospital. There are three Consultants, each of whom has a very different style and, without exception, are enjoyable to work with. In addition, there are two middle grades and two career SHOs and an extremely supportive staff of experienced nurses.
As the GP SHO, one is involved in all aspects of care. Very little time is spent in theatre but I did not see this as a disadvantage. All surgery is completed on a day-case basis and the nurses take on much of the pre-op clerking duties. The on-call is not at all onerous and can be done from home. The days are usually extremely busy. An aspect I particularly liked was the freedom I was given to work up to my level of competence whilst always feeling well supported by the senior staff. Do not worry at all if you have little knowledge of experience of eyes, I felt utterly at sea at the outset but one's skills develop very quickly.
Teaching comes high on the agenda at VEH, adding to the value and enjoyment of the job. There are lunchtime clinical meetings twice a week for all the medical team, and consultant teaching for junior staff once a week. Much learning, however, is done on the job and senior staff are always willing to review patients alongside the SHO. All tuition is of a very high standard.
Another bonus is that the Ophthalmology option includes two sessions a week in Dermatology outpatients at the County Hospital. The variety enhances the job, and is also extremely useful experience for General Practice.
I came out of the job feeling well-equipped to deal with the eye problems in General Practice, from treating the red eye to explaining procedures surrounding operations, and so on. One sees a fair amount of ophthalmology in General Practice, and to be competent in this field is extremely satisfying and also quite a relief!
I enjoyed this job so much that I went back and did another six months. I think any GP SHO should grab this training opportunity with both hands.
SH