Postgraduate

Each year, 292 Junior Doctors are recruited to training posts within Cornwall, 264 of which are Junior Doctor posts at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, with the remaining 28 working in General Practice, Psychiatry and Community Hospitals.

Useful contacts

Foundation Programme Director (F1)

Dr Kathryn Eccleston: Kathryn.eccleston@nhs.net

Foundation Programme Director (F2)

Mr Tom Smith-Walker: thomas.smith-walker@nhs.net

Head of Peninsula Foundation School

Sarah Rawlinson: sarah.rawlinson@southwest.hee.nhs.uk

Foundation School Manager

Trudi Geach: trudi.geach@southwest.hee.nhs.uk

Foundation School Administrator

Simulation Administrator

Sarah Lampshire: Sarah.lampshire@nhs.net

The Postgraduate Medical Education Centre

The purpose-built Postgraduate Centre has excellent facilities with a fully equipped Simulation Suite, Clinical Skills Centre, 150-seat lecture theatre, meeting rooms, dining area and state-of-the-art video conferencing facilities.

The Knowledge Spa is also an excellent venue for training events and has an extensive library available to all staff.

The Postgraduate Centre also provides a wide range of specialist skills courses for clinical and non-clinical NHS staff in Cornwall. These include Resuscitation and ALERT Courses, study days in specialist clinical subjects and for staff grade, associate specialist and specialty doctors.

Each year the Centre hosts an MRCP/ PACES Exam for the Royal College of Physicians in October and a PACES Revision Course for Core Medical Trainees in the Peninsula, in May.

Clinical Skills Training

The David Gould Clinical Skills Centre is the base for most of our resuscitation courses and several other multidisciplinary courses such as the Acute Illness management (AIMS) course and PROMPT.

The centre opened on 9 August 2005 and the opening was a celebration of the work of Dr David Gould, Consultant Dermatologist and Director of Medical Education.

It is now used by practice development and other allied healthcare professionals to provide skills-orientated mandatory training to the multidisciplinary team.

The centre stocks a range of low-fidelity simulation equipment for training in specific procedural skills for the Foundation Programme.

F1 generic skills sessions provide training in treatment of acutely unwell patients and updates on resuscitation are provided by our resuscitation trainers. Core and Specialty Trainees also benefit from training in procedures such as chest drain placements and suturing techniques. We also host regular postgraduate dental study days.

F2 study days provide training in skills such as advanced airway management and central line insertion.

With the appointment of the Clinical Skills Fellow we now provide booked and drop-in sessions on specific skills as requested by our junior doctors.

Core and Specialty Training

Specialty Training at the Royal Cornwall Hospital is coordinated and administered by Dr Chris Williams.

CT1 & 2 level posts

CT1 & 2 level posts are available with the following rotational placements:

  • ACCS – Anaesthesia, Critical Care Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Respiratory Medicine & Medical Admissions.
  • Anaesthesia – Anaesthesia & Critical Care Medicine.
  • Medicine – Critical Care Medicine, Cardiology, Neurology, Eldercare, MAU, Gastroenterology, Medicine, Renal, Haematology, Endocrinology, Rheumatology, Respiratory and General Medicine at West Cornwall Hospital (WCH).
  • Surgery – Critical Care Medicine, ENT, T&O, General Vascular, Urology and Emergency Medicine.
  • ST GP VTS – Emergency Medicine, Eldercare, Rheumatology, O&G, Psychiatry, Cardiology, Paediatrics, General Medicine (WCH), Oncology, Ophthalmology, ENT, Medical Admissions, Palliative Care, Rehabilitation, Dermatology, Gastroenterology and General Practice.
  • ST1 & 2 posts are also offered in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Paediatrics & Ophthalmology.

More information

Higher Specialty Training Posts

Higher specialty training posts are offered in the following specialties through the Peninsula Deanery.

  • Anaesthesia
  • Gastroenterology
  • Paediatrics
  • Cardiology
  • General Surgery
  • Radiology
  • Critical Care
  • GU Medicine
  • Rehabilitation
  • Dermatology
  • Haematology
  • Renal Medicine
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Histopathology
  • Respiratory Medicine
  • Care of the Elderly
  • Neurology
  • Rheumatology
  • Endocrinology
  • Obstetrics & Gynaecology
  • Trauma & Orthopaedics
  • ENT
  • Ophthalmology
  • Urology

For further details visit the Peninsula Postgraduate Medical Education website.

Supervision and Training

You will have an allocated Clinical Supervisor for each placement and an Educational Supervisor allocated by your Specialty Tutor. The majority of your training will be provided by in-house specialty teaching sessions.

Foundation Year One

The Foundation Year One (F1) Programme is directed and administrated by a team that includes Dr Kathryn Eccleston, and Katherine Trevorrow. They endeavour to ensure that you have appropriate education and pastoral support throughout your F1 year.

All F1s have an Educational Supervisor for the entire year and a named Clinical Supervisor for each speciality placement (details are available from the Postgraduate Centre).

F1 Teaching

There is F1 teaching every week on a Tuesday lunchtime. The programme is designed to cover acute medical and surgical topics that are particularly relevant to F1 doctors covering all aspects of care of the acutely-ill patient listed in the F1 curriculum. View a sample F1 Teaching timetable.

F1 Generic Skills

There is also a six-week rolling programme of F1 Generic Skills that ensures all other aspects of the curriculum are covered, particularly concentrating on the non-clinical attributes of a good doctor. It also offers small group teaching in practical skills and acute care training using simulation. View a sample F1 Generic Skills timetable.

All F1 doctors will also complete a one-day AIMS Course.

F1 Rotations

Our rotations ensure that you will be able to achieve all competencies and sample a number of specialties. For more information, please look at a sample F1 Rotation. You will also be offered a taster of up to a week in a specialty that is not included in your rotation.

Please be aware that we cannot give specific details of rotas and banding, because rotas change in response to monitoring. However, further details will be available from medical staffing when you’re issued with your contract and terms of employment. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust Strategic Plan may mean movement of some wards and services around the hospital, so your job plan may be subject to change before you start work in August.

Applying for a Foundation job

All applications for Foundation jobs are made through the
Foundation Programme website. You will find all you need to know about the Foundation Programme on this website.

Useful Links

  • BMJ Learning have launched an online learning service which is aimed at the new intake of F1 & F2 trainees and free to users.

Foundation Year Two

Welcome to Foundation Year 2 at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. The Foundation Year Two (F2) Training Programme is directed and administered by a team that includes Mr Tom Smith-Walker and Katherine Trevorrow.

Our aim is to build on the knowledge, skills and attributes developed in the first year of your Foundation Programme.

The focus of F2 training is the assessment and management of the acutely-ill patient. Training also encompasses the generic professional skills applicable to all areas of medicine; team work, time management, communication and IT skills.

F2 Teaching

A well-structured education programme has been designed specifically for F2s. F2 Teaching is held at the Postgraduate Centre at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, and can now also be accessed at our West Cornwall Hospital site via a video link.

F2 Rotations

Our F2 Rotations are designed to cover most medical preferences. All trainees will get a broad training experience and will be offered an early opportunity to gain experience in their preferred clinical area.

Primary Care, Acute Care, Medicine, Surgery or small specialities, we will aim to find a rotation to suit your needs.

Learning on the job is a key feature of the Foundation Programme here at Cornwall. Besides formal teaching sessions, you should consider every activity a chance to learn something new. You will be encouraged to continually build on your portfolio of competences and to develop new clinical skills.

F2 Study Days

F2 Study Days held throughout the year for F2s allow trainees to further improve their clinical skills and offer preparation, and interview advice for recruitment and selection into speciality training.

Simulation

Two SIM afternoons are arranged for every F2 trainee to practice their skills and learn about the importance of human factors in safe patient care.

Taster Weeks

Taster weeks working in a speciality not offered in your F2 programme are available to help you make informed career choices.

Advice and support

Advice and support in planning your career is available throughout Foundation Training. This guidance will seek to align your aptitudes and aspirations with the employment opportunities and future workforce requirements of the NHS.

Come to Cornwall for your F2 training

Cornwall is a fantastic place to be. The unparalleled coastline, the surf, fresh air and Cornish culture mean that our Foundation doctors hugely enjoy their time away from work. Living and working here is a unique experience.

Applying for a Foundation job

All applications for Foundation jobs are made through the
Foundation Programme website. You will find all you need to know about the Foundation Programme on this website.

Useful Links

  • BMJ Learning have launched an online learning service which is aimed at the new intake of F1 & F2 trainees and free to users.

Local Courses and Teaching

Our courses and teaching sessions are designed to meet the specialist skills and postgraduate training requirements of medical & clinical staff working for the NHS.

We deliver regular weekly teaching and mandatory training for junior doctors, as well as skills based clinical courses and updates for medical professionals.

Click here for Who to Contact to find out more.

Regular Teaching at the Postgraduate Centre

  • F1 Teaching – Tuesdays 13:00-14:00
  • F1 Generic Skills – Thursday 14:00-17:00
  • F2 Teaching – Wednesdays 13:00-14:00
  • F2 Study Days – Monthly
  • F2 GP Learning Sets – Wednesdays 14:15-16:15
  • F2 GP ST Teaching – Wednesdays
  • Grand Round – Thursdays 13:00-1400

Simulation Training

Contact number: 01872 252633

  • For course details, see the information under the ‘Simulation’ heading at the bottom of this page.

Specialty Training for Junior Doctors at RCHT

Life Support Courses

Contact number: 01872 252124

  • AIMS – Acute Illness Management Course
  • Advanced Life Support
  • Advanced Paediatric Life Support
  • Advanced Trauma Life Support
  • General Instructors Course
  • Immediate Life Support
  • Immediate Life Support Re-cert
  • Paediatric Life Support
  • Newborn Life Support

Go to the Resuscitation Department site for full course details.

Other Courses and Mandatory Training

Contact number: 01872 252633

  • Sepsis Courses
  • SAS & Trust Grade Study Days
  • Mandatory Training

PACES Course and Exam

Contact number: 01872 253553

  • PACES Course
  • PACES Examination– held in October each year. Contact MRCP UK

Primary Care

The Cornwall GP Training Programme attracts doctors who want to combine excellence in their practice with a fantastic lifestyle in one of the best places to live in the UK. Cornwall has a strong tradition of high standards in Primary Care and is a wonderful place to live and to learn.

We aim to provide the best possible training for a career in General Practice. Trainees report high levels of satisfaction with our training scheme and the quality of the educational experience we provide is reflected in the feedback we get, and in our trainees’ exam results.

Key components of our three-year training scheme

  • Eighteen months as a GP registrar in one or more of our excellent training practices. This is divided into a six-month post in either ST1 or ST2 and a full year in ST3.
  • Eighteen months of secondary care posts with a very wide range of hospital specialties represented, and educational supervision provided from primary care.
  • We have one placement that varies from this with 12 months in hospital specialities in ST1 and the whole of ST2 and ST3 in General Practice.
  • Our planned educational programme allows you to meet regularly with your own year group to share and expand your knowledge and skills. Embedded within this are regular small groups for peer support and educational discussion.
  • Support from the Health Education South West with opportunities to meet with trainees from the whole of Devon and Cornwall.
  • The opportunity to apply for a scheme with a Global Health Fellowship year between ST2 and ST3.

As well as excellent education and training in General Practice there is also the opportunity to achieve great work-life balance by living in a beautiful area of the country with bountiful opportunities for leisure pursuits.

For more information on the ‘Cornwall GP Training Programme’ click on the Peninsula Deanery Primary Care link below.

Useful Links

Associate Specialists and Specialty Doctors (SAS Doctors)

We have approximately 80 Staff Grades, Associate Specialists and Specialty Doctors (SAS Doctors) employed by Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) and Community Hospitals throughout Cornwall.

Support & Educational Development for SAS Doctors

Your SAS Tutor, Dr Vanessa Wright, is responsible for ensuring that all SAS doctors have equal access to advice, support and educational development. You are entitled to two yearly interviews with your SAS Tutor and appraisals to review professional profiles, and highlight areas for development. To ensure that you keep your SAS interviews up to date, please contact Sarah Lampshire to arrange appointments.

Specialty Leads

A SAS Specialty Lead has been nominated for each Specialty to facilitate communication between you and your SAS Tutor. They will represent your interests and present any feedback at quarterly educational meetings.

SAS Study Days

Regular educational Study Days are held at the Postgraduate Education Centre Royal Cornwall Hospital.

How to book

To book a place on a Study Day at the Postgraduate Centre, please complete an SAS & Trust Grade Study Day Form and return it to sarah.lampshire@nhs.net

For further information contact Sarah Lampshire or call 01872 252605.

Courses & Events at Health Education South West

For other regional SAS study days, educational meetings and events in the South West, visit the SAS Doctors page on the Peninsula Deanery website.

Professional Generic Skills Programme

Limited places are also available to SAS Doctors on the Professional Generic Skills Programme for Doctors in Training. This is a joint venture by the Health Education South West and the Peninsula Medical School comprising 6 training days over 12 months.

SAS Contacts

SAS Tutor

Dr Vanessa Wright, Consultant, Women’s Health

SAS Administrator – Postgraduate Medical Education

Sarah Lampshire

Simulation training

The Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust Medical Simulation training program has been running across different clinical specialities for many years.

Our simulation training allows people to practise real life scenarios within the safety of a simulated environment, with a strong emphasis on multi-professional, multi-disciplinary training and self-evaluation.

We deliver approximately 1,500 hours of training to healthcare professionals from a variety of departments. Feedback is strong with an overwhelming proportion wanting more!

Simulation helps to not only improve clinical knowledge but to also develop non-technical skills and teach the importance of human factors in the healthcare profession. When delivered at the point-of-care it also identifies improvements that can be made in the working environment.

What is Simulation Training?

Simulation as an educational tool for quality and safety improvement has its roots in the aviation industry. It allows people to practise real life scenarios within the safety of a simulated environment.

Staff train and learn alongside others, and by using specific debriefing techniques, they also evaluate and analyse their own practice.

The great thing about simulation is its adaptability to a variety of needs. It can be tailored to a wide variety of clinical situations and varying complexities: from learning how to provide an adequate jaw thrust on a patient, right through to performing a complex fibre optic intubation as part of a multi-disciplinary team managing a trauma patient in the Emergency Department.

What happens during a simulation session?

A typical simulated session will involve an introduction to the simulator, its capabilities, and limitations. Then participants will take part in a specifically written scenario, often based on real cases. As far as possible, simulated sessions are performed in real time, with participants acting as if they were treating or managing a real patient.

Each session is followed by the debrief, conducted by a trained ‘debriefer’. These are non-judgemental and place heavy emphasis on facilitating group discussion and personal reflection.

Who is it aimed at?

Simulation is for both clinical and non-clinical staff of all grades and professions – whether that is large single-profession groups in the simulation suite for training days or the smaller multi-professional training that occurs in the clinical areas.

So far, we have trained nurses, healthcare assistants, midwives, doctors, physiotherapists, occupational health practitioners, researchers, porters, radiologists and students.

The multi-professional, multi-disciplinary nature of our sessions give staff the opportunity to work together towards the common goal of providing high quality, safe care for all patients.

Human Factors

‘Human factors’ refers to environmental, organisational and job factors, and human and individual characteristics which influence behaviour at work in a way which can affect health and safety.’

WHO & Health & Safety Directive

Human factors is an encompassing term that examines the relationship between humans and the systems with which they interact. In healthcare this may be seen as the interaction between healthcare professionals, their environment and the facilities they have to use. A failure to apply human factors principles is often the key aspect in adverse events within healthcare. Human factors that are evident in providing medical care include:

  • Mental workload
  • Distractions
  • The physical environment
  • Physical demands
  • Device/product design
  • Teamwork
  • Process design

Tens of thousands of people are estimated to die each year in the healthcare system from human error, and as medicines and equipment become safer, the proportion of harm caused by human error may increase.

Simulation is fantastic at helping to identify and strengthen the weakness in human factors. By observing sessions run in real time (especially in clinical areas), the facilitator will often see the interactions between professionals and their environments when the participants are completely oblivious to them. The debriefing process allows candidates to appreciate the influence of human factors on the performance and then share solutions with each other.

Contact the Simulation Team using the details in the ‘Simulation Team and Contacts’ section at the bottom of the page to find out more.

Our Facilities and Equipment

Based in the Postgraduate Centre, our dedicated Simulation suite is equipped as a clinical learning area. It is well stocked with a variety of clinical aids to enhance the realism during scenarios.

We use high fidelity Laerdal simulators that simulate real life physiological actions. The interactive simulators have central and peripheral pulses, variable respiratory rates and volumes, reactive pupils, heart sounds and abdominal signs. The manikin also has a real time monitor that can display up-to-date cardiac traces, pulses, saturations, blood pressure, arterial wave forms and capnography.

Clinical skills and procedures, such as bag-mask ventilation, intubation, defibrillation, chest tube placement and cricothyrotomy, can be performed on the simulators.

In addition to the clinical equipment, we have the facility to remotely watch sessions via mobile cameras that stream events elsewhere in the hospital. Sessions may be recorded and played back if there is felt to be a learning need.

Our Simulators

SimMan 3G

SimMan is a completely wireless Laerdal simulator. It allows easy transport around the hospital to deliver training in a variety of areas. Similarly, its portability makes it excellent for the training required in transferring patients from one clinical area to another.

SimMom

SimMom is a simulator that allows obstetric scenarios to run close to real life. She is a child bearing simulator with the ability to simulate delivery, haemorrhage and uterine atony. She also has breath sounds, hearts sounds, pulses, CTG graphs and an interactive airway that can be intubated. She provides a superb platform for multidisciplinary obstetric training.

Sim Junior

Sim Junior is a 6-year-old simulator with breath sounds, heart sounds, pulses and physiology that can be changed in real time. He allows a broad range of skills and drills to be facilitated during paediatric simulations.

Sim Baby

Sim Baby is an advanced 6-month old simulator that can facilitate either individual or team training surrounding infant care. With interactive, changeable, physiological signs and a realistic cry.

Baby Hal

The newest and smallest of our family, Hal is a 40-week wireless newborn with breathing, pulses, color and vital signs that are responsive to hypoxic events and interventions. It also includes trending, crying, convulsions, oral and nasal intubation, airway sounds and an extra tablet PC for control, great for neonatal transfers.

Simulation Courses

We offer the following Point of Care and centre-based simulation training:

Point of Care Simulation

Simulation at the Postgraduate Centre

The following courses are supported by Simulation training

We can also help in the design of training programmes and scenarios, and would be pleased to discuss how we can meet the training needs of your specialty or department.

Find out more

If you would like to discuss training for your specialty or department please contact the Simulation Team on the details in the toggle below.

Simulation Team and Contacts

Simulation is delivered by our specialist simulation trainers in Postgraduate Education and supported by Consultants, and Specialty Registrars from departments within the Trust. If you’d like to find out more about point-of-care or centre-based simulation please contact the team:

For courses and general enquiries:

Simulation Administrator

Sarah Lampshire: Sarah.lampshire@nhs.net

Phone

01872 252605

For new and existing training programmes:

Simulation Specialist

Steve Harris: Steve.harris9@nhs.net

Simulation Clinical Fellow

Dr Ben Parish: b.parish@nhs.net

Clinical Fellows
Clinical Human Factors Lead

Dr Roger Langford: rogerlangford@nhs.net

Simulation Practitioner

Kieran Huddy: Kieran.huddy@nhs.net

Simulation Consultant Leads
Resuscitation Officer

Ella Leuzzi: Ella.leuzzi@nhs.net

All clinical areas throughout the Trust are welcome to approach us for training. We can assist in the design of scenarios to meet the specific training needs of your specialty. Please get in touch if you think your clinical area would benefit from this training or you would like to discuss a training programme.

How to get involved in training

If you have an interest in Simulation we would be pleased to hear from you. If you would relish the opportunity to be involved in delivering simulation training we would welcome your input.

Page last reviewed: 31 March 2023

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