Scottish foundation school

Ive heard larbert is good

Forth Valley is a random choice (above poster) though friends there seem to be finding things okay. I think some people are finding the new Southern General not so good, but it probably depends on who you speak to.

Depends what you want. Edinburgh and Glasgow are more competitive and have more and bigger hospitals than Aberdeen and Dundee. There are still research opportunities in Aberdeen and Dundee, juniors are probably less career minded in the less competitive areas.

I am in a Northern Deanery programme chosen because I enjoy outdoor activities and knew I really liked living in Inverness (from being a student), so it was between an Inverness & west coast programme or a Glasgow programme (Glasgow being close to the West Highlands), but I am well aware that to someone else my programme might seem like hell!

North and East deaneries have 2 year programmes, whereas South East and South West you apply to 1 year then choose the 2nd year whilst in FY1.

I made a huge spread sheet, marked out each job by colour (I like blue so jobs I liked like A and E, GP, paeds were marked out in shades of blue, ones I didn't want like histopathology in browns and murky colours) to work out which programmes had more of the jobs I was interested in, but also then looked at the locations and thought about where I'd prefer to live.

There tends to be a lot more 'going on' in the central belt, however it depends what you are interested in, and its not so hard to use transport to get down there for weekends. There are even clubs in Shetland and Stornoway, so though the nightlife might not be so good in some places there is always something!

Forth Valley is a random choice (above poster) though friends there seem to be finding things okay. I think some people are finding the new Southern General not so good, but it probably depends on who you speak to.

Depends what you want. Edinburgh and Glasgow are more competitive and have more and bigger hospitals than Aberdeen and Dundee. There are still research opportunities in Aberdeen and Dundee, juniors are probably less career minded in the less competitive areas.

I am in a Northern Deanery programme chosen because I enjoy outdoor activities and knew I really liked living in Inverness (from being a student), so it was between an Inverness & west coast programme or a Glasgow programme (Glasgow being close to the West Highlands), but I am well aware that to someone else my programme might seem like hell!

North and East deaneries have 2 year programmes, whereas South East and South West you apply to 1 year then choose the 2nd year whilst in FY1.

I made a huge spread sheet, marked out each job by colour (I like blue so jobs I liked like A and E, GP, paeds were marked out in shades of blue, ones I didn't want like histopathology in browns and murky colours) to work out which programmes had more of the jobs I was interested in, but also then looked at the locations and thought about where I'd prefer to live.

There tends to be a lot more 'going on' in the central belt, however it depends what you are interested in, and its not so hard to use transport to get down there for weekends. There are even clubs in Shetland and Stornoway, so though the nightlife might not be so good in some places there is always something!

I am in a Northern Deanery programme chosen because I enjoy outdoor activities and knew I really liked living in Inverness

I'm quite interested in the Northern Deanery (for next year). Are you able to stay in one city for the whole of foundation, or is it more like one placement in Inverness, then Caithness for a placement before coming back to Inverness? That seems to be the structure for a lot of the programmes and I'm a bit unsure about having to move such large distances

Thanks for replying.
I like the colour coded idea. I may do that. I was considering either the west or the south east deanery actually... with the west as the first choice. I guess I am also concerned about how good the training or supervision is in these hospitals. I've been out of medicine for a while so would ideally like to choose somewhere with good support.

The majority of the programmes are one year Aberdeen and one year Elgin/Inverness (with the Aberdeen year being either FY1 or FY2). There are a few which are all Aberdeen except from one 4 month stretch in Western Isles/Shetland/Fort William rural district generals. Then there is the rural track - FY1 year in Inverness FY2 either Fort William/Oban or Oban/Lochgilphead. The academic programme is also different with 3 jobs being 2 years in Inverness, and presumably some being 2 years in Aberdeen.

Hi, I've got one of the academic jobs you mentioned and will be working in Inverness/Fort William for the next two years.

Just wondering how you've found Inverness as a place to live/work?

Is there a good social scene in the hospital + is the staff accommodation bearable?

Thanks

The majority of the programmes are one year Aberdeen and one year Elgin/Inverness (with the Aberdeen year being either FY1 or FY2). There are a few which are all Aberdeen except from one 4 month stretch in Western Isles/Shetland/Fort William rural district generals. Then there is the rural track - FY1 year in Inverness FY2 either Fort William/Oban or Oban/Lochgilphead. The academic programme is also different with 3 jobs being 2 years in Inverness, and presumably some being 2 years in Aberdeen.

Hope that helps. All the Scottish deaneries seem to involve some degree of travel - for example the Edinburgh jobs are often split between Edinburgh city and Fife or the borders, Dundee jobs split with Perth, Glasgow split with Forth Valley and Dumfries and Galloway.

Its difficult to advise on that. I guess it may help to be in a smaller place as you are more likely to know and be closer to your FY colleagues, and you are more likely to be known by the consultants, however there are disadvantages to that too if there are people you have a problem with!

That's very useful, thanks. Is it easy to get reasonably priced hospital accommodation then?

I'm most interested in small DGHs in rural locations (preferably by the sea!) and just thinking about where might be the best fit for me

I'm a bit confused about how FY2 is allocated for the West deanery. I know that only FY1 is allocated at this stage for the West deanery- but when you are choosing FY2 jobs, do you choose from those within your own programme group or can you be allocated to an FY2 job from a different programme group?

Thanks for replying.
I like the colour coded idea. I may do that. I was considering either the west or the south east deanery actually... with the west as the first choice. I guess I am also concerned about how good the training or supervision is in these hospitals. I've been out of medicine for a while so would ideally like to choose somewhere with good support.