Training

Wokingham Medical Centre is a training practice accredited by the Oxford Deanery to train doctors intending to become general practitioners.

At Wokingham Medical Centre we are committed to the education and training of doctors wanting to become GPs. General Practice is the bedrock of the NHS, conducting 90% of NHS patient contacts. Since 2001 hospital consultant numbers have increased by 71% whilst GP numbers by only 21%. In 2016 two GP surgeries closed on average per week (NHS England figures) and there were 100 fewer GPs in March 2017 to the preceding year. 1 in 5 GP surgeries have been unable to fill GP vacancies. The GP recruitment crisis that you may have read about is very real. Training practices are more likely to be able to recruit new GPs and we hope that by being involved in training we will help to protect the future of General Practice.

As part of our commitment to training, you may see a doctor in training when visiting the medical centre. Our trainees have received excellent feedback from patients and are valuable members of our team.

GP Registrars and Trainees

Doctors training to be GPs are known as GP Registrars. We also train other doctors wishing to gain experience in general practice. Both GP Registrars and Trainees are fully qualified doctors. They will run their own surgeries under supervision. You might also see them when they are sitting in with, or being observed by, one of our regular doctors or nurses in a ‘joint surgery’.

Medical Students

We have a number of medical students attached to us each year. These are students usually from Oxford, London or Southampton Universities who are currently studying to be doctors. They are usually in their final year of training. Medical Students will always be supervised when seeing patients and never run clinics on their own.

Clinical Supervision

Although the GP trainees run their own clinics please be reassured that they are supervised at all times by the other GPs in the practice. The practice has two accredited GP Trainers: Dr Hafizji and Dr Rutherford.

Videos

Our GP Trainees and our GP Trainers will sometimes make a video recording of their patient consultations. This is a particularly valuable teaching tool and helps improve a doctor’s consultation skills. You may be asked for your permission to video your consultation with one of the doctors. Your permission will always be requested beforehand and you have the absolute right to decline the request. There is no obligation for you to agree to such a recording and there will be no implications whatsoever should you choose not to participate. If you are agreeable to participating in this valuable teaching aid you will be given written information explaining the process and you will be asked to sign a consent form. If, after the consultation, you change your mind you may withdraw your consent.

Maintaining Accreditation

To remain a training practice, the practice is regularly inspected to ensure that we reach all the required standards for this level of teaching. The inspection involves an audit of data entry into the medical records. Only approved doctors from the Oxford Deanery’s School of General Practice will conduct these assessments. All information contained in medical records remains confidential. The inspection is only to look at the accuracy and consistency of our data entry processes.

If you require any further information about either the practice as a training practice, the video recording or ongoing practice accreditation, please speak to a member of staff.