Background Information - How to Apply

Advertisements for the next VTS vacancies appear in the BMJ approximately 5 months prior to the start of that particular jobs. You are recommended to contact
Ros Birkenshaw, Recruitment officer at the Regional Office (see “Deanery Support” section on this web site for her details)

Doctors who wish to consider the North Staff’s scheme need to apply through the National and Regional selection process. This starts with an application to Birmingham regional office for an appropriate form. Please refer to the GP recruitment web site for details and how to obtain an application pack.

After the short listing of candidates, interviews are conducted at Stafford and Birmingham. The dates for application, shortlisting and interviews are displayed on the National GP Recruitment web site.
http://www.gprecruitment.org.uk/calendar.htm

These dates apply to all Deaneries in England and Wales.
The SHO (now called ST grades) jobs are available on a rolling path. They are not a “mix and match” of any combination. The descriptions of the various job and the rotation details are available in other pages on this site (see “availability” page on the SHO section) as is the description of the academic, educational side of the scheme for SHO’s (see “Academic Programme” section).

For those Registrars applying to come to North Staffordshire for their registrar year alone you should view the appropriate page (GP Registrar Training) for further information.
Dr Alison Foster is the educationalists for registrar training and would be more than happy to discuss the registrar teaching programme with you. Alternately see the “registrar training” section of this web site.
To contact Dr Alison Fosterplease refer to the “educationalists” section.

A few comments about applying!
Prospective applicants frequently telephone to get some advice on applying. To save you this job there are some tips below!

When applying and attending the interviews you should bear in mind that GP’s see people AND illnesses. These exist in a world of changing political and social restriction and freedoms, rules, beliefs, rights and responsibilities. The pure medicine is only part of how to deal with any particular patient and disease.
We don’t train doctors just for ward rounds! We train doctors to deal with people so guide your answers accordingly.

We are more than happy to explain our course in more detail but I would ask you to read the information here on the North Staffs VTS web site first.

Alwyn Ralphs, Programme Director for SHO training
e-mail: alwyn.ralphs@btinternet.com

tel: 01782 627488

Dr Alison Foster, Programme Director for Registrar education
e-mail: alison.foster@northstaffs.nhs.uk