Park Leys Medical Practice

TRAINING EXPERIENCES AT PARK LEYS MEDICAL PRACTICE by Dr Laura Bennett, February 2010


What makes training at Park Leys Medical Practice unique is the way that appointments are allocated. Due to the triage system where one of the partners rotate on a daily basis to be ‘duty doctor’ and triage all calls. Queries about medications, results, advice about common illnesses, sick notes etc are some of the problems that can be dealt with over the phone. People who want an appointment are offered one. This means that as a trainee you are exposed to many more acute conditions than you might be otherwise, which is a great way to work on diagnostic skills. You are very well supported because of this system as there is a second partner acting as ‘duty doctor 2’ during the morning, who you can approach with any queries about patients. You are never alone in the surgery - there are always other doctors including partners present whilst you are doing a clinic.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with other clinics that take place in the practice, such as minor operations, family planning sessions, baby clinics and diabetic clinics. These clinics also provide the opportunity to be assessed for DOPS.

Teaching sessions are protected and participation by trainees is encouraged through bringing cases to discuss or preparing a presentation on an agreed topic. The main teaching session takes place on a Tuesday between 8.30am and 10.30am. Trainees are encouraged to attend post-graduate and PLT sessions on wednesday afternoon. All trainees also have two protected afternoons, one for self-directed learning, and another for speciality teaching.