There has been a single handed medical practice in Fovant for over 150 years. This practice has a tradition of offering the close familiar contact that only a small practice can, together with providing as modern and integrated a service as can be found in any large city group practice.
We have a small but thoroughly professional staff who have been with us for ten years. They are extremely well trained and the practice is very efficiently run. The nurse manages the routine care of the diabetics, asthmatics and many of our "chronic" patients. We have a business manager who administers all the practice finances. We dispense to all our patients and the practice has a fully integrated computer system which has been used for full note keeping for 10 years. We have pocket ECG machines, cellular telephones and all the other trappings of a modern efficient practice, but we also have no appointment system and all our staff know all our patients on first name terms. Any patient can be seen any day they wish, and a recent survey revealed remarkably high levels of patient satisfaction.
Our registrar has his/her own room, with computer terminal, examination area, all necessary equipment, as well as closed-circuit television (at your control) which makes the video part of summative assessment particularly easy. You also get your own cell phone which has a one button connection to Dr Morse's phone whenever and wherever needed.
What sets us apart from other training practices is the time that we have for our registrar. This is not a busy practice; despite having a high elderly population we have very few "social problems", the population is a healthy one, and our consultation rate is low. This gives us plenty of time to spend on our registrars: every patients is discussed after surgery is over as I find talking about real cases has more educational value than abstract tutorials; nonetheless, protected time is set aside each week for tutorials, the agenda of which is set by the registrar and myself together. The number of consultations can be adjusted from a few to a lot depending on the development of the registrar's confidence and competence, and we can do this because we are small and flexible.
But it is important that you realise that this is a practice that will not bully you: we expect our registrars to be self motivating, and to make the most of the opportunity that they have. It would for instance, be possible to pass the year with very little work and experience, but it is also possible to take on so much that you could effectively be running the entire practice on your own by the end of the year, an experience I believe that you could not get working anywhere else. It all depends on how much you want to get out of your year.
There is a very modest on-call commitment, and the day release course is undertaken on Wednesdays, at Winchester and Andover. There are many other registrars in the vicinity. Salisbury is our local district general hospital, and it offers a good and fairly comprehensive service. I take a very personal interest in helping my registrars through summative assessment, and finding a job that they are happy with at the end of their training.
This is an unusual training opportunity. This really is one of the nicest general practices in England and sadly this sort of practice is slowly becoming extinct: you are unlikely to ever get a practice like this as a career, but nonetheless it offers a near-unique opportunity to get exactly the training that you want. It does involve a lot of personal attention, you will not be able to "blend into the woodwork" - after all, in such a small business as ours the registrar is a very prominent and important member, but that is also what makes it so special as a training practice.
If you would like, past registrars would be glad to give references.
I was born in 1953 and have been a trainer for over 10 years. I am not an "academic" but I am a great enthusiast for general practice, and I hope that I can transmit this enthusiasm to my registrars. I also teach final year medical students, lecture in minor surgery, and am the Medical Director of Clouds House, one of the UK's longest established and most respected residential centres for treating chemical addiction. Some of this work is available to my registrar if he or she is interested.
I am divorced, I like to ski, sail, fish, shoot, and also enjoy motorcycling. I can be loud and overbearing.
We are currently without a registrar, a situation which I do not mind as I would prefer to wait for the right person for this rather idiosyncratic vacancy, rather than take someone who was not right. If you would like to know more, or to apply, please e-mail (gmorse@salisbury.gptrainers.co.uk), or write to me at the practice. I want to know who you are and why you want this practice to train you: in other words I would like to hear about your interests, the sort of person you are, and why you feel this practice is right for you. All enquiries are replied to promptly.
To contact the Practice by letter or telephone, please use the
following:
Becher's Brook Surgery,
Fovant,
Salisbury,
Wiltshire,
SP3 5JL
Phone: 01722 714789
FAX: 01722 714702
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