Training Doctors at The Valleys Medical Partnership

We are an approved training practice for qualified doctors who want experience in general practice and we are assessed regularly by the Regional Committee for General Practitioners and have doctors at various stages of their careers working within the practice, as well as medical students. All the partners in The Valleys Medical Partnership are fully qualified and experienced GP trainers and help to train and supervise the various types of learners.

Foundation Doctors:

These are fully qualified doctors who come to work in the practice for 4 months at a time. 

Foundation 1 (F1) doctors are in their first year of working as a doctor and Foundation 2 (F2) doctors are in their 2nd year after qualification. 

For these 2 years newly qualified doctors work in a variety of different specialities and medical settings before they decide what branch of medicine they would like to specialise in. The time they spend with us  is our opportunity to give them an understanding of the work that a GP does. Whether the doctors decide to specialise as GPs or not, it provides excellent experience which will help them be more effective doctors in the future.

GP Registrars:

These doctors have chosen to become GP’s and will have already completed their two foundation years; they then train for a further 3 years to become GPs. Although they are still in training, they have a wealth of experience from previous health care settings, often stimulating us with up to date and new ideas from hospital specialists. As part of their GP training they are attached to GP Trainers. This means that each registrar, whilst working autonomously, will be supervised and monitored by the partners here. It could mean some consultations may need to be videoed, this will only happen with your permission. The videos are used for educational purposes helping doctors reflect on their communication skills and also as an assessment tool to monitor their progress.

Medical Students:

Students mostly sit in with doctors to learn about consulting and communication skills. However, they may also start a consultation to help them learn about gathering information about symptoms before a GP steps in to help give a diagnosis and decide what treatment might be needed. Your permission will always be obtained before a student takes part in any consultation.

We really enjoy training the doctors of the future and hope that you will be happy to be part a of this. If you would like to more involved than this then please read the Patient Participation leaflet below, by clicking on the link. If you have any concerns or questions, we will do our best to fully address them.

General Practice and the Foundation Programme

Patient Participation Leaflet