Description of placement

This is a busy, sectorised, general psychiatry post, with an emphasis mainly on patients with severe and enduring mental illness, in both in-patient and community settings. We work closely with a generic CMHT and an AOT. The clinical work includes team clinical meetings, out-patient clinics and joint community visits, ward rounds, sectorised day time emergency work, and participation in the out of hours on call rota. The psychiatry department at Tameside is lively with several SpR’s / ST 4-6 trainees here at any one time, and juniors and consultants generally participate in weekly meetings and training sessions

Over all, this post is best suited to the senior trainee who is coming towards the end of their training, who wants to practise taking on some of the many roles of a consultant with as much supervision as they feel they need. The DGH setting enables the trainee to gain an all round experience of the range of general psychiatry, and the high commitment of the teams enable robust risk management and a good experience of multi-disciplinary working

ROLE OF THE TRAINEE:

1. Outpatient work and supervision of in-patients: The trainee is expected to take on a high level of clinical responsibility, under supervision, and develop the leadership skills of a senior doctor. This will be within the ward setting to an extent, but primarily in the community; he / she is expected to work closely with the teams, and develop working relationships during the year. Specific tasks would include (for example): running their own out-patient clinics and caseload; managing the ward round; responding to urgent requests by the team members; managing high risk situations as they arise; mental health act assessments; mental health act tribunals; managing the longer terms needs of stable patients in the community. In addition, the trainee is expected to supervise the more junior trainee and students working with our team, and when on call out of hours.

2. Management Training: Each trainee would be expected to attend the consultants’ weekly management meetings (wed pm) and to take on an area of service-related management to work on in more depth, with the respective medical or non-medical manager, in the course of their year in Tameside. Trainees are also expected to participate actively in organising their on-call and other duties.

3. On-call commitment: 1:8,

4. Research: Trainees would be encouraged to continue with existing research work, and be expected to undertake audit within this department; presentation at regular audit meetings; assistance readily provided by local audit department

5. Teaching: Clinical supervision of ST1-3 trainee; clinical supervision of other junior doctors when on call; teaching of junior doctors on induction program and weekly in-house teaching program including video interview skills and journal club; formal and informal teaching of medical students; exam preparation; formal teaching