During your ST2 year in a 4 month GP attachment or during the final 4 months of your ST3 year you are welcome to create an Innovative Training Post, where part of your week is spent in a medical speciality you have no experience of and part in the practice. GPRs have enjoyed ITPs in Dermatology, Psychiatry, Palliative Care, ENT, GU Medicine, pre-hospital care, CCG management and Paediatrics to give a few examples
If you wish to do this, you need to begin arranging at least 4 months prior to start of the ST2GP placement. The ITP should be fully signed off, 2 months before the ITP begins. This opportunity is only available to GP registrars who are making at least satisfactory progress in all domains and is currently only possible if you work full time.
Firstly, you need to identify a speciality and discuss ITP plans with your Educational Supervisor as well as contacting the Clinical Supervisor in the GP post you will be working in to confirm with them which days they feel are mandatory to be in practice. Next, create a PDP relating to the speciality incorporating SMART objectives and contact your lead PD to tell them you are thinking about an ITP.
You should then make contact with a supervisor in the non GP specialty and discuss your plans with them. If the specialty are happy to accept you, draw up a timetable with them for 4 sessions in the hospital and remainder of week in GP practice.
Do not forget to agree plans with the practice manager and host CS at your GP placement. They will need to accommodate your absence on rotas and check for scheduling of joint tutorials, debriefs etc.
Remember each week you are supposed to have 7 clinical sessions and three educational session i.e. 1 self directed study, 1 half day release and 1 practice delivered education (tutorials/debriefs etc). Many GPRs choose to make their hospital sessions 3 "clinical" and 1 "personal study" so having 4/5 clinical sessions per week in GP practice (4 on a week where there is day release and 6 where there is none). If you are doing CBDs and formal tutorials in the non GP side of the post the practice may reasonably reduce your practice delivered educational component time pro-rata for this.
When all this is achieved, you should contact your ST2 GP placement Clinical Supervisor, to discuss timetables.
Once PDP and timetable have been drawn up and agreed by all who need to provide approval, email documents to the lead PD for your year group for Programme Director authorisation. The PD will review your plans and if agreed send to our patch APD for final approval.
Last step towards your ITP, is obtaining a Letter of Authority from the GP Programme Office. Without this, you are not covered to work outside of the GP setting.
For a letter to be produced, you will need to provide crhft.gpst@nhs.net with the following details:
Name of ITP specialty
Clinical Supervisor’s name & title during ITP
Duties to be undertaken during ITP
Beginning and end dates of ITP
Two copies of the letter will be produced, both of which you will be required to sign prior to ITP start date. One copy will be retained by programme office and the other you will need to keep.
If you would like to discuss your ITP proposal further please contact the lead PD for your year group.
ITP Proposal