Working in Wales as a junior doctor

Hey! I hope everyone got what the desired deaneries! I managed to get Wales! So, I was just wondering if anyone would be kind enough to provide any details with the hospitals in Wales. Which are the one that has a good foundation year training? I am definitely looking at Cardiff hospital, but I was just wondering if anyone could provide insight with regards other hospitals especially the DGHs.

Thank you!

I'd strongly recommend Llanelli - fantastic place to work as a junior!

Hey thanks for replying. Is there a particular reason why Llanelli is a good place to work?

Hey thanks for replying. Is there a particular reason why Llanelli is a good place to work?

I've heard it's great too. There's a relatively small number of F1s there and so you get quite close and sociable with them from what I've heard. I've spent a few months doing various rotations at the hospital in Carmarthen which is closely linked to the hospital in Llanelli, and I had a wonderful time there. The staff are great and are so keen to teach. They really do try and attract the students back as F1s, and it's worked on me - Carmarthen & Llanelli are near the top of my preference list.

I have experiences/knowledge of the majority of hospitals in Wales if there's anything more specific you want to ask.

It was just a really friendly place to work. Small enough that you get to know everyone, consultants all know who you are and are approachable, great mess atmosphere.

Hello there! Ah, it is really good to know that you have had a great experience working in Wales. So, Wales is really not too bad after all. Need to reshuffle my list of UoA!

"So, Wales is really not too bad after all".

You forget that even Doctors can be judgemental, but you can't use lack of education as an excuse unfortunately!

Ah, that's great! Thanks for replying. Carmarthen & Llanelli both sound like a good place to be. How about the city hospital? I've heard that UHW offers good teaching as well. I am just so lost when it comes to job ranking. I don't know if I should rank my choices based on the location or jobs. From the looks of it, I will have to figure out my preference in terms of living in a big city or living in dgh areas with a good team.

I will start off fresh in Wales. So, I will definitely have to take into account the social factor. Hmmm

I've tended to avoid placements at UHW as it's just too big. I've also heard that as an FY1 the size of the hospital just makes for a difficult working environment as it's just too busy. The Royal Gwent in Newport and the hospitals in Swansea I think are a little quieter though if you were looking for a city hospital, but one which is a little less busy.
The DGHs aren't in the middle of nowhere either, they're all located in busy towns where there's plenty to do. Even if that particular town doesn't have something, as Wales is quite a small place anyway you won't have to travel far to find it. This is especially true of the hospitals in West Wales, where the cities of Swansea and Cardiff are just a short trip down the M4 away.

Morriston hospital is about 5 minutes off the m4, Llanelli 10 minutes and singleton 20 minutes (all rough distances). Swansea as a place is great to live in (I've lived here for more than 2yrs already and am quite keen to stay here longer!

Conversely if you go to north Wales you are pretty close to a lot of English cities. My brother did foundation in Wrexham, loved it, and spent a lot of time in Chester and Manchester as well

I see. Sounds like it's another good option to bear in mind! Thanks! Hope this doesn't sound silly but is it true that most people in North Wales primarily speak Welsh? Just in case, I'm not suggesting that they don't speak english but will language be a problem? Sorry if it's not true. Just trying to clarify what I've found out so far.

A lot of people in West Wales speak Welsh, up in North Wales the vast majority will speak Welsh and many as a first language. But I did not encounter anyone who could not also speak English (although they do exist). I've never been to Wrexham however I imagine as it's so close to the border you'll find that the number of people speaking Welsh there is significantly lower than that in North West Wales. Having said all that, it poses no problem at all, as I said everyone I encountered spoke English too.

Hi all,

I am in an similar position to Mun91 and I am in the process of trying to rank jobs!

Would anyone be able to share any experiences of the Swansea hospitals?

It would also be interesting to hear of any good or bad surgical, emergency medicine, anaesthetic or paediatric jobs that people have had at various hospitals and any recommendations you could make.

Would there be any advantages of heading to some of the large hospitals that Cardiff has to offer?

Many thanks,

Chris

I've worked in both singleton and Morriston in anaesthetics - love them both, having a fantastic time. Really friendly staff, keen to teach and get you involved.
Also done specialties medicine at Morriston - rheumatology day job, renal/Neuro on calls... (Core medical job so not likely to be available at foundation level) Less enjoyable but still learnt a lot.

Hi Hygeia,

Thank you for your reply. Out of interest would you recommend a job in aesthetics as an FY1 or are you limited in what you can carry out at that stage in your career?

Also do the hospitals have decent enough libraries and IT facilities?

Thank you for your advice