This is a 2 year programme involoving all the acute trusts in the West Midlands. The trusts are grouped into training zones:
- Birmingham (98)
- East (Heart of England & Good Hope)
- West (City & Sandwell)
- South (UHB)
- Hereford & Worcester (11)
- Coventry & Warwick (41)
- Staffordshire & Shropshire (53)
- North (UHNS)
- East (Mid Staffs & Burton)
- West (Telford & Shrewsbury)
- Black Country (26)
Hospital | Number of CMT posts* |
City Hospital | 13 |
George Eliot Hospital | 5 |
Good Hope Hospital | 5 |
Heartlands Hospital | 24 |
Solihull Hospital | 9 |
Manor Hospital (Trust) | 5 |
New Cross Hospital | 14 |
Queen's Hospital, Burton | 7 |
Russell's Hall Hospital | 12 |
Sandwell General Hospital | 10 (Including academic posts) |
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham | 35 (Including academic posts) |
UHNS NHS Trust | 21 (Including academic posts) |
UHCW NHS Trust | 27 (Including academic posts) |
Warwick Hospital | 8 |
Worcestershire Royal Hospital | 2 |
Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust | 10 |
Alexandra Hospital, Redditch | 4 |
Hereford County Hospital | 5 |
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital | 7 |
Princess Royal Hospital Telford | 7 |
*Numbers are approximate
During the two years each trainee with rotate through six posts each lasting for four months. For the second year the programme tries to give trainees bespoke rotation based on specialty and geographical preferences.
On-call Experience
On-call experience includes participation in the acute medical take and emergency ward cover out of hours. This provides satisfaction derived from the acute delivery of care leaving in many cases to a rapid improvement.
Training Days
Dedicated teaching occurs on average for three hours each week. The delivery varies from zone to zone. Some zones have integrated monthly teaching sessions in which trainees from all the Trusts in a given zone attend one session once monthly. In other zones there are weekly sessions in each Trust with occasional sessions being held at one location.
Hospital | Teaching |
City Hospital | Wednesday afternoon |
George Eliot Hospital | Wednesday afternoons at the Clinical Sciences Building UHCW |
Good Hope Hospital | Thursday afternoons. Rotates between Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull |
Heartlands Hospital | Thursday afternoons. Rotates between Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull |
Solihull Hospital | Thursday afternoons. Rotates between Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull |
Manor Hospital (Trust) | Wednesday afternoon |
New Cross Hospital | Wednesday afternoon at the Wolverhampton Medical Institute |
Queen's Hospital, Burton | Zonal in Staffordshire & Shropshire. CT1s 1st Wednesday and CT2s 3rd Wednesday of the month. Teaching lasts the entire day |
Russell's Hall Hospital | Wednesday afternoon |
Sandwell General Hospital | Wednesday afternoon |
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham | Weekly, 3 hour teaching programme, rotating between year A and B topics. 120 formal teaching per year with breaks for Christmas, Easter etc. Regular PACES sessions within the programme timed to fit in with the PACES exam |
UHNS NHS Trust | Zonal in Staffordshire & Shropshire. CT1s 1st Wednesday and CT2s 3rd Wednesday of the month. Teaching lasts the entire day |
UHCW NHS Trust | Wednesday afternoon |
Warwick Hospital | Wednesday afternoons at the Clinical Sciences Building UHCW |
Worcestershire Royal Hospital | Mandatory curriculum teaching occurs in Worcester |
Alexandra Hospital | Mandatory curriculum teaching occurs in Worcester |
Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust | Zonal in Staffordshire & Shropshire. CT1s 1st Wednesday and CT2s 3rd Wednesday of the month. Teaching lasts the entire day |
Hereford | Mandatory curriculum teaching occurs in Worcester. Weekly PACES teaching by Consultant that week to facilitate attendance. Journal Club Thursdays, Grand Rounds, including X-ray teaching, Tuesday lunchtime |
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital | Zonal in Staffordshire & Shropshire. CT1s 1st Wednesday and CT2s 3rd Wednesday of the month. Teaching lasts the entire day |
Princess Royal Hospital Telford | Zonal in Staffordshire & Shropshire. CT1s 1st Wednesday and CT2s 3rd Wednesday of the month. Teaching lasts the entire day |
Most trusts provide formal teaching for the PACES examination of the MRCP.
Additional Opportunities Available
The formal requirement for each trainee to embark upon a Quality Improvement Project provides an opportunity to lead service development and gain a better understanding of management in the NHS. Beyond potentially improving patient care and safety there is then the opportunity to enter the project for presentation at an annual national meeting and/or submit the work for publication.
Integral to the training programme is the expectation that the trainee develops teaching skills by delivering formal teaching sessions and receiving feedback. This is an enjoyable and valuable way for the trainee to not only develop teaching and communication skills but also to reinforce the trainee’s underlying medical knowledge.
There is no formal requirement for research at this stage. However, most of the placements will be able to provide the opportunities for motivated trainees to embark upon some research or write articles for submission to medical journals.
Supervision, Appraisal and Assessments
During each 4 month post the trainee will have an educational supervisor with whom there will be appraisal meetings at the beginning, middle and end. In addition, the educational supervisor will be available to provide weekly supervisory meetings either in a clinical setting or to review and support the trainee’s progress.
The ARCP occurs at month 12 and month 23. In addition there are interim “ARCPs” at month 8 and month 16 usually conducted by the local Royal College of Physicians Tutor. For each ARCP there are clearly defined objectives which are stated on the “ARCP decision guide”, available on the E-portfolio and the JRCPTB website http://www.jrcptb.org.uk/trainingandcert/Pages/ST1-ST2.aspx#cmtcurricassess
Examinations
The trainee will need to have passed Part 1 MRCP to achieve satisfactory outcome at the 12 month ARCP and the complete MRCP to achieve satisfactory outcome at the 23 month ARCP.