CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK

General Guidance

• No applicant will be unfairly discriminated against. We are particularly alert to eliminating discrimination on account of age, cultural/religious/political belief, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, relationship status, sexual orientation, and/or Trade Union membership or stewardship.

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Personal Details section

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Qualifications section

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Statement in Support of Application

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• There is a 4000 character limit (including spaces) for this question. If you would like to paste your response from an external document please use a keyboard shortcut: CTRL+V for Windows users, Apple+V for Mac users

CONDITIONSWhere did you see OF the SERVICE advert section

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References

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• Please note that we may contact you for further referee information if required.

Disability Arrangements

• The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as ‘a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.’

• NHS Scotland is “Positive About Disabled People”, therefore no applicant will be discriminated against on the grounds of disability. If you are invited to interview, you will have the opportunity at that point to discuss any particular requirements that you would have when attending for interview e.g. Induction Loop, Wheelchair access, Signer etc...

• In addition, NHS Scotland operates a Job Interview Guarantee (JIG) scheme, which means that if you have a disability, and meet the minimum criteria outlined within the Person Specification, you will be guaranteed an interview.

• However, some disabled people prefer not to take this option, so please tick your preference if you are a disabled candidate.

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Declarations

• NHS Scotland is exempt from the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exclusions & Exceptions) CONDITIONS(Scotland) Order OF 2003. SERVICE This means that unless stated in the job description, person specification or application pack, you must tell us about any previous convictions either classed as ‘spent’ or ‘unspent’ • If you are offered employment, any failure to disclose such convictions could result in dismissal or disciplinary action.

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• Read, consider and tick the declaration at the bottom of the page

Equal Opportunities Monitoring

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• The information you provide in this part of the form (Section 8) is confidential and is NOT used in the selection process.

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NHS Education for Scotland GP Fellowship Posts 2015 Rural Fellowships in General Practice – Job Information Job Reference 1860BR

Background Rural Fellowships in General Practice were established by SCPMDE/NES in 2002. A maximum of 12 Rural Fellowships will be available for the year commencing August 2015, organised in partnership with local NHS organisations. Each Fellowship will last one year and Fellows will be allocated base practices. Eight ‘standard’ and four ‘acute care’ rural GP fellowships are available from August 2015 in a variety of rural locations across Scotland (details of locations and post descriptors at http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and- training/by-discipline/medicine/general-practice/gp-fellowships.aspx. Local post descriptions vary between the different geographical locations. The detailed guidelines for the Rural Fellowship are appended.

Purpose & Structure of Fellowships See attached Guidelines

Terms and Conditions

Salary Salary will be £52,652pa. This figure is based on the trainee base salary point 03 on the salary scale £36,312 plus 45%. This arrangement reflects the unique educational nature of the post. Superannuation is payable on the base part of the salary only. Any 2015/16 salary uplift will be applied.

If the post holder does not hold a valid UK driving licence, the ability to travel and organise suitable alternative transport will be necessary. Travel expenses incurred as a result of the need to travel will be reimbursed.

Subsistence and Removal Expenses It is anticipated that each Fellow will declare a home base at the beginning of the Fellowship. Relocation expenses from previous locus to base will be paid in accordance with employing Health Board relocation policy

Study Leave See attached Guidelines

Disclosure Pre-employment checks may be undertaken and all appointments will be subject to satisfactory clearance according to the employing Health Board Arrangements.

Health Screening All appointments will be subject to satisfactory health clearance and pre employment health checks may be required according to the employing Health Board Arrangements.

Maternity Leave and Pay Any maternity pay that may become applicable will be paid according to the employing Health Board Maternity Arrangements.

Medical Defence The fellow will be responsible for notifying their Medical Defence Organisation (MDO) of the expected programme to ensure that there is a good understanding of the programme on which to base membership fees. Most MDOs have dealt with Rural Fellows’ subscription needs in the past. Advice can be sought from Dr Gill Clarke, Rural Fellowship Coordinator and subscription fees will be re-imbursed by NES.

Holidays

Annual leave and public/local holidays will be in line with the employer’s contractual terms and conditions.

Sick Pay

The contractual employer’s policies and procedures will apply.

Discipline, Grievance and Complaints Procedures The contractual employer’s policies and procedures will apply.

Supervision Fellows will be accountable to the Fellowship Co-ordinator.

Fellows’ Personal Development Plans for the fellowship year will be determined in negotiation with the Fellowship Coordinator. The Fellows will be required to attend the Fellows’ meetings held during the year that will be organised by the co-ordinator and will undergo an appraisal according to the Scottish GP Appraisal system performed by the Fellowship Co-ordinator.

The Terms and Conditions above are for information purposes only and may be subject to variation. They do not form the basis of a legal contract.

Support and Accountability of Fellowship See attached Guidelines

Further Information For further information please contact the following: Rural Fellowship Co-ordinator Dr Gill Clarke [email protected] and/ or discussion with current post-holder(s) could be arranged if desired

NHS Education for Scotland

Rural Fellowships in General Practice – Person Specification

Ref. 1860BR

FACTORS CRITERIA MEANS OF ASSESSMENT

Application Interview Other e.g. presentation Education and Essential • An appropriate range of √ Professional previous experience in Qualifications hospital posts; • Anticipated completion √ of General Practice Specialty Training by August 2015 Desirable • Previous experience of √ √ rural/remote practice Experience/Training Essential • Certificate of √ (including research Completion of training if appropriate) (CCT or CEGPR) prior to commencing Fellowship • Experience of working in UK NHS Specific aptitude Essential • Evidence / √ √ and abilities demonstration of self directed learning • Good communication √ √ √ skills • Is able to articulate the √ core values of general practice • Evidence of personal √ initiative in achieving educational objectives Desirable • Insight into areas √ requiring further training • Evidence of exceptional √ achievement personal/professional Interpersonal skills Essential • Flexible approach to √ √ working arrangements • Willing to travel to √ √ various locations • Some understanding of √ √ √ the range of problems facing a remote and rural CHP or general practice • Commitment to √ collaborative and partnership working • Commitment to working √ in rural/remote practice Desirable • Adaptable to working in √ a variety of workplaces over the fellowship period • Affinity for “rural or √ remote way of life” • Evidence of delivery of √ core values in general practice • Evidence of awareness √ of own development needs Other factors This post involves travel to areas which may not be served by public transport. If the post holder does not hold a valid UK driving licence, it will be necessary to organise travel arrangements and suitable alternative transport. Reimbursement will be available for necessary travel as per employer guidelines.

Doctors from overseas wishing to be considered for these fellowships will need to achieve an overall score of 7.5 out of 9 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test. GUIDELINES FOR THE OPERATION OF THE GP REMOTE AND RURAL FELLOWSHIP (March 2015)

AIMS

1. To promote rural general practice as a distinct career choice. 2. To help GPs to acquire the knowledge and skills required for rural general practice 3. To help those GPs who wish to develop skills to provide acute care in remote hospitals develop these competencies 4. To provide the opportunity for GPs to experience rural community living.

The fellowship is aimed at newly qualified GPs who are offered a further year of training in, and exposure to rural medicine. Two distinct fellowship options will be included in August 2015:

• The ‘standard’ GP Rural Fellowship option based on the curriculum for rural practice developed by the Remote and Rural Training Pathways Group (GP sub-group Final Report Sept 2007). • The GP Acute Care Rural Fellowship option based on the GP Acute Care Competencies work following from the agreement of the Framework for the Sustainability of Services and the Medical Workforce in Remote Acute Care Community Hospitals

More information relating to both these options can be obtained by e-mailing [email protected] or [email protected].

As fully qualified GPs the fellows are expected to organise their own professional development (attend courses, arrange clinical attachments etc) based on a PDP derived from needs assessment mapped to the relevant curriculum and agreed with the fellowship coordinator. Individual PDPs are supported by three meetings that are organised by the coordinator during the course of the year to help fellows meet learning needs that cannot be easily met by personal study.

STRUCTURE

The fellowship is currently run as a cooperative venture between the rural Health Boards in Scotland and NES with the funding being provided on an approximately 50:50 basis (local variations to this do occur but are subject to prior negotiation and agreement). This joint funding arrangement is organised as follows: -

1. Health Boards provide their funding share from Board Administered Funds or other funds. Boards’ investment in the fellowship is returned through the service commitment that the fellows provide. It is a condition of the fellowship that such service commitment should be in rural environments; rural practices (for instance providing locum cover to remote practices) or rural out of hours services for the ‘standard’ Rural Fellowships, or in Rural Hospitals for the Acute Care Rural Fellowships. The ojective is that the service commitment contributes to the training aspects of the fellowship and provides experience of rural practice. Fellows are expected to spend approximately a half of their time working in these environments.

2. The funding share from NES allows fellows to have protected educational time to meet their educational needs in relation to rural medicine. They are allocated a base practice in the area in which they will be working and are expected to spend approximately a quarter of their year working in this practice. This relates both to ‘standard’ Rural Fellowships and also to Acute Care Rural Fellowships; it is crucial that the latter group maintain their general practice competencies and experience through the year despite a focus on gaining acute care competencies. Base practices should be chosen for their proven record of good organisation, of teamwork and of supporting educational initiatives (see appendix 4). They do not have to be training practices. They should be sited in or within reasonable travelling distance of the area in which the fellows are expected to fulfil their service commitments. The remaining educational time is spent attending courses, clinical attachments (both in hospital and in primary care) and study, depending on the needs of the individual (see appendix 1). All fellows are expected to undertake a project during their fellowship year on a relevant topic of their choice.

3. Each fellow is allocated a contact/mentor in their area of work to help with any local difficulties that may arise (problems with local duty rosters, timetable clashes etc). This contact person should normally be a GP in their base practice for the Standard Fellowship option or a GP or Consultant in the acute care service for the Acute Care option, but if this is not possible this function would normally default to the Rural fellowship Coordinator. Base practices and mentors should be determined and arranged before the recruitment cycle begins so that job descriptions are clear and specific.

4. Apart from overseeing the general administration of the fellowship the role of the Fellowship Coordinator is to ensure that all fellows have a relevant and achievable PDP for the year, to make the arrangements for and conduct the annual appraisal of the fellows, to liaise with fellows during the year to monitor progress and to organise the three fellows’ meetings during the year. The meetings provide an opportunity for the fellows to discuss and share experiences, to fulfil those learning needs that are best met by group study and to meet rural medical specialists and other who have a special interest in remote and rural medicine.

ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT.

1. Recruitment is organised by NES with representatives from the participating Health Boards included in the interview panel. The cost of the recruitment process is met by NES.

2. Contracts will be issued by the Health Board in the area the fellows are working. There will be a nominated administration officer in each employing board whose task it is to make sure that contracts are issued and signed timeously. Contractual and administrative arrangements, including the nomination of responsible administrators, should be determined in advance of the recruitment process so that once appointed the fellows will know who to contact should difficulties arise.

3. Contracts should be standardised according to the NHS Highland model contract with Health Board specific job descriptions. Job descriptions (see appendix 2 for example) will vary depending on current circumstances in a given Health Board area but contracts should not vary between Boards.

4. Employment issues such as sick leave, poor attendance and unauthorised absence. The resolution of contractual issues such as these should be lead by the NHS Board officer responsible for the employment of the rural fellow concerned. It would be expected that the board officer would discuss such issues with the local mentor, the Fellowship Coordinator or Dr Ronald MacVicar as appropriate and that decisions should, if at all possible, be agreed by all concerned.

5. Clinical performance issues should be reported to the Fellowship Coordinator who would be expected to discuss any possible action with the local mentor and Dr Ronald MacVicar in collaboration with the employing Health Board.

6. Travel and subsistence expenses incurred during periods of service commitment should be met by the employing Health Board but educational expenses (T&S and course fees) will be met by NES subject to an agreed budget maximum (currently £2500 per fellow).

7. Removal expenses are met by the employing Health Board subject to the NHS terms and conditions of employment.

8. Medical defence fees are met by NES.

9. The cost of the three annual meetings is met by NES. These costs include fellows’ subsistence costs, speakers’ fees and speakers’ travelling expenses. Travelling expenses incurred by the fellows in travelling to and from the meetings are reimbursed from their individual educational budget.

TIMETABLE

A typical year is as follows:

1. The recruitment process: – a) Discussion re budgets for the coming year and invitations to NHS Boards to participate in the coming recruitment round –January/ February. b) Job descriptions and working arrangements (base practices, mentors, contracts etc) agreed –February/ March. c) Advertisement –April. d) Interviews – May. e) Appointments agreed, contracts issued, needs assessment interviews arranged – June/July.

2. The fellowship year: - a) PDPs agreed prior to starting the fellowship in July b) Start work at the base practice in August. c) Attend the first fellows’ meeting of the year in mid-August. d) BASICS PHEC (pre-hospital emergency care) course in September/October. e) Second meeting of the year in January. f) Third meeting of the year in May . f) Fellows’ annual appraisal in May, June or early July. g) Assessment of project work and portfolio of evidence and issuing of certificates in July. h) Feedback by questionnaire

APPENDIX 1 – THE STRUCTURE OF A FELLOWSHIP YEAR.

1. Leave and public holiday commitment – 6 weeks plus 10 statuary holidays – leaves 44 weeks out of the year.

2. Service commitment – 50% = 22 weeks +/- 2 weeks to allow Health Boards to recoup their costs.

3. Educational component – 50% = 22 weeks divided into:- a) 13 weeks minimum working in the base practice – leaves 9 weeks b) Up to 4 weeks spent experiencing remote practice(s) preferably in areas other than that of the host Health Board. c) 5 weeks to attend courses, arrange clinical attachments (hospital or primary care) or undertake study as agreed with the coordinator.

Notes: – 1. There has to be flexibility in these arrangements to allow for the circumstances of individual fellows and the needs of Health Boards. For instance, service commitment could continue beyond 22 weeks if the fellow was working in remote practices that satisfied the educational needs of the scheme and if such an extension was compatible with the individual fellow’s PDP for the year.

2. Potential conflicts between service commitment and educational need should be discussed between the coordinator of the scheme and the nominated officer of the Health Board. Past experience has shown that such conflicts can be avoided by careful planning and negotiation at the start of the year.

3. Fellows are salaried employees and their contracts are subject to the provisions of the European Working Time Directive. In the past there has been considerable variation in the out of hour’s work that fellows have been asked to perform and the question of what is reasonable has been raised on several occasions. The following are suggestions to guide local discussion: - a) If a fellowship involves regular out of hours work provision should be made for sufficient time off in lieu so that the EWTD is not breached. b) If a fellowship does not involve any out of hours work then a fellow can be asked to undertake a minimum of 2 out of hour’s shifts per month at a PCEC in the area to help them maintain their emergency treatment skills. The cost of these shifts can be included in the service commitment part of the fellowship. c) When on attachment to very remote practices that are still obliged to do their own out of hour’s care fellows should take part in the on call rota so that they experience the peculiar stresses and strains of working alone in remote areas. They should not be asked to take part in an on call rota that is more onerous than that worked by the resident general practitioners. In single handed practices where the fellow will be required to work on a 24/7 basis provision will be made for the fellow to have “compensation” in the form of 2 days recovery time for every 7 days of 24/7 cover provided. No additional payments will be made to fellows for providing 24/7 cover under these arrangements.

APPENDIX 2 – SAMPLE JOB DESCRIPTION (from NHS Highland)

Rural Fellowships in General Practice – Local Job Information

Information for NHS Highland, North: Caithness, East Sutherland and North West Sutherland Rural Fellowships (2 posts available)

Background The North area is part of the North & West Operational Unit within NHS Highland. The North area manages community health and social care services in Caithness and Sutherland for around 38,137 people across 7,882 square km.

We also provide some acute services, including a wide range of out-patient and in-patient services at our local hospitals. Caithness General Hospital in Wick is designated as a Rural General Hospital and has consultant-led surgical, medical and obstetric and gynaecology teams. Services available include A&E, Assessment & Rehabilitation, General Surgery, General Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Palliative Care, Renal Unit, CT Scanner and Theatre. A wide range of associated services are available including Day Surgery, Dietetics, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Radiography etc. There are also a wide range of visiting services from Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.

In addition there are four GP led Community Hospitals: Wick Town & County, Dunbar Hospital, Thurso, Lawson Hospital, Golspie (including the Cambusavie Unit) and Migdale Hospital, Bonar Bridge. As well as 17 GP practices, there is a wide range of community services including community nursing, mental health services, allied health professionals, community dental and community pharmacy.

The area has a very varied landscape from mountain to the lonely flow country and some spectacular coastal scenery, which will appeal to someone who loves the outdoor’s. This post offers the opportunity to live and work in some of the UK’s most beautiful and unspoilt countryside.

Location The rural fellow will spend at least 22 weeks of the year working in a variety of Remote and Rural Practices across the North covering the annual leave and study leave requirements of the principals in the practices. Service commitment i.e. annual leave and study leave cover is required in the following areas:

East Sutherland

East Sutherland divides into two different kinds of landscape, coast and glen and is defined to the south by the long bite of the Dornoch Firth and the Kyle of Sutherland and to the north on the A9 at the Berriedale Braes. Along the A9 are the coastal communities of Golspie, with Dunrobin Castle nearby, Brora with its Heritage Centre and distillery and Helmsdale with its Timespan Heritage Centre. There are also many archaeological sites in the area. The area is especially good for anglers, with excellent golf facilities in Dornoch, Brora, Golspie and Helmsdale. There is also plenty of choice for walkers, mountain bikers and wildlife watchers.

Golspie Medical Practice – a two GP Practice with 2,036 patients. The practice has opted out of OOH’s and provides cover to Lawson Community Hospital for inpatients and the minor injuries unit. Golspie is approx 52 miles from Inverness to the south and 51 miles from Wick to the north.

Brora/ Helmsdale Medical Practice – a four GP practice, with 2,521 patients. Based in two health centres in Brora and Helmsdale. They also provides cover to Lawson Community Hospital for inpatients and the minor injuries unit. Brora is 6 miles from Golspie, and 10 miles from Helmsdale.

Lawson Memorial Hospital, Golspie

Practices in East Sutherland refer patients to both Raigmore Hospital and Caithness General Hospital. Visiting consultants from both Wick and Inverness visit the Lawson.

North West Sutherland

This area probably has the most distinctive landscape of any part of mainland Scotland, with its bare and rugged appearance, from its beautiful mountain landscape, natural features such as Inverkirkaig Fall’s and the Inchnadamph Caves, to beautiful beaches at Oldshoremore, and Sandwood Bay and finally the most north-westerly point at Cape Wrath. Communities are generally small with Lochinver, Scourie, Kinlochbervie and Durness being the main villages. This is excellent country for walkers – including Scotland’s most northerly Munro, Ben Hope. The wild places are very rewarding for bird watchers, while anglers have a huge choice of hill lochs, some seldom visited.

Lochinver Medical Practice – a two GP, dispensing practice with 983 patients. The practice provides there own OOH’s cover including weekends. Lochinver is 93 miles from Inverness.

Scourie & Kinlochbervie – a single handed salaried GP practice, based in two health centres in Scourie & Kinlochbervie. The practice is Dispensing and has 659 patients. The GP provides OOH’s cover Monday – Thursday but has opted out at weekends when it is provided by locums. Scourie is 99 miles from Inverness and 15 miles from Kinlochbervie.

Durness (closest village to Cape Wrath) – a single handed dispensing practice with 318 patients. The GP provides OOH’s cover Monday – Thursday but again has opted out at weekends. The OOH’s locum at the weekend covers Scourie/ Kinlochbervie and Durness. Durness is 118 miles from Inverness and 19 miles from Kinlochbervie.

The nearest community hospital for these practices is the Lawson in Golspie. Patients are generally referred to Raigmore, Inverness.

Caithness

Wick Harbour

This is big country, with wide skies and dramatic seascapes, and rolling moors merging westwards into rugged peaks in North Sutherland. Wick and Thurso are the two main centres, both with a good selection of shops (including Tesco’s) and other amenities. The coast between Wick and Thurso is spectacular and includes, near John O’Groats, the Duncansby Stacks, as well as Dunnet Heath (with amazing views of Orkney). Castle of Mey, the home of the late Queen Mother is also near by. Inland the dominating feature is the Flow Country, with miles of interlaced pools and lochs. There is also a wide range of attractions with heritage and archaeological interest. You can golf on Britains most northerly mainland course, while angling, wildlife cruises and other wildlife activities are on offer.

The Flow Country

Dunbeath Medical Practice – a singled handed dispensing practice with 517 patients. The GP has opted out of OOH’s which is provided from Wick. Dunbeath is 82 miles from Inverness and 20 miles from Wick. (See testimonial for Dunbeath GP Appendix II)

Castletown/ Canisbay – a three GP practice, based in two health centres in Castletown and Canisbay (closest village to John O’Groats). The practice is dispensing at both sites with 2,931 patients. The practice has opted out of OOH’s which is provided in Wick and Thurso. Canisbay is 19 miles from Wick, and 13 miles from Castletown.

Service Commitment

Rural Fellows are usually allocated to two or three practices, where they will provide the majority of their service commitment. These practices will be agreed as the beginning of the rural fellow year. One practice will usually be a single-handed dispensing practice to give the rural fellow the opportunity to experience all aspects of rural General Practice.

The service commitment practices can be in more than one area and possible combinations are: Brora/ Helmsdale and Dunbeath or Castletown/ Canisbay and Durness or Lochinver and Scourie/ Kinlochbervie or any other combination as agreed with the Norths Primary Care Manager. If required to travel to an area away from their normal base practice, accommodation will be arranged.

13 weeks would be available for the Educational component working in a practice within the North (possibly one of the above) or in one of the larger training practices in Dornoch, Wick and Thurso, and would be arranged in agreement between the North , and NHS Education for Scotland. Alternatively the educational component could be in another part of Highland, and this would again be agreed by the North and NES.

Duties

Duties will include the full range of general practice duties during the Rural Fellows time in any General Practice, including working in the local Community Hospital if appropriate. They will be expected to play a full part in all aspects of the practice and work alongside the members of the extended primary care team.

OOHs Element

While based in practices that have opted-out of OOHs there will be no requirement to do any OOHs sessions, however the rural fellows may wish to work in the local OOHs scheme in addition to there rural fellow role. However some work experience will be required in remote practices in North West Sutherland, when the Fellow will have to provide OOHs cover overnight and occasionally at weekends. Fellows are expected as part of their educational programme to gain experience in Out of Hours and Emergency Care.

Supervision in Practice

A principle in one of the above practices will be identified as a mentor/supervisor and will be available to the Fellow when working in other rural practices.

Education in Practice

Fellows will be expected to join in with the educational activities available within the practices that they are working.

Local Educational Opportunities

A variety of regional educational activities are available including courses such as Advanced Life Support and attachment potential in various part of Highland i.e. Raigmore Hospital and Caithness General etc. The Rural Fellow will also be able to attend local PLT events, along with various local meeting meetings.

13 Weeks Protected Educational Time

This will be organised in conjunction with the service elements of the posts and with the Rural Fellowship Co-ordinator. Fellows will have the opportunity to negotiate additional experience in secondary care, remote practices and to undertake specific course activity as available. Fellows will also be expected to attend the regular meetings of the Scottish Rural Fellows. This Job Description is not definitive and may be subject to change in discussion with the Fellow, North Primary Care manager and NES.

Further information on the North and NHS Highland is available at: http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk For more information on Caithness: http://www.caithness.org/ and for Caithness and Sutherland : http://www.visithighlands.com/northern-scottish-highlands/

For an informal discussion feel free to telephone: Fiona Duff (Primary Care Manager, North CHP) 01349 869200 ext 3302 or email [email protected]

BASICs GP

Testimonial from ex Rural Fellow in North West Sutherland Dr Katie Hawkins:

My base practice is Brora and Helmsdale. They are a really friendly and helpful practice. Two of the GPs have done the fellowship in the past so they are also able to share their wisdom regarding their past experiences.

They are also enthusiastic about sharing their skills in coil training, minor surgery, joint injections and dermatology and are helping to teach me about some of the more administrative/management challenges that I was not exposed to as much in my registrar year. There is also lots of opportunity to take part in the out of hours/A and E service locally and improve emergency skills.

In addition they are also keen on socializing outside the practice hours which makes it much easier to settle into the area.

I covered Durness and Kinlochbervie as my more remote attachments. Here, you need to organize helicopters more frequently when there’s an emergency as well as in the snow! The practices are dispensing and I felt very supported in learning how to run this. I also had more time whilst I was there to study for my various courses as well as do my Fellowship project.

I am using my study leave (so far) for 1 week being placed in the Borders General learning how to deliver babies, doing some of the Diploma in Mountain Medicine, ENT study day, coil training, Minor surgery course and BASICS Adult and Paediatrics. The year is an amazing opportunity to build on your skills and develop interests.

Sutherland is a very welcoming and friendly place to do the fellowship. It is a fantastic location for access to Scotland's most northerly and also most remote mountains. It's also great to to be just next to the sea. Otters frequently swim in the river by my house and there are often up to 30 seals lazing on the nearby beach. One of the greatest advantages to East Sutherland is that it is much less midgy than the rest of Scotland and also has statistically much more sunshine than the west coast. This means that you can pop over to do adventurous activities on the west when the weather is good and enjoy the relatively larger amount of sunshine for coastal walks, brilliant road biking, wildlife spotting and some of Scotland's finest (and mostly undiscovered) sea cliff climbing on the east coast. Even the winter is fantastic. I also saw the northern lights from just outside my house 2 weeks ago and have been able to go on day trips ski touring and climbing most weekends. I've joined the 'East Sutherland Wheelers' for my time up there. They are an up and coming cycle group with heaps of enthusiasm and a great way to meet people. Alternatively Brora also has it's own distillary and also a fantastic golf course if that's your cup of tea. Brora is also only one hour from Inverness, which has flight connnections all over the UK. It also has it's own train station. It's therefore possible to work a long distance relationship from here.

I'd highly recommend this fellowship program to anyone considering this.

APPENDIX 3 – THE ATTRIBUTES OF A BASE PRACTICE.

We would expect that all the base practices used to host GP Rural Fellows will be rural but not necessarily remote practices who have the following attributes:

1. Knowledge of, support for and a willingness to actively participate in the GP Rural Fellowship

2. A supportive environment with a strong educational ethos as exemplified by training practice status, active interest in service development or research work or proven track record of good quality education of previous rural fellows. Host practices do not necessarily have to be training practices.

3. Ability to nominate a GP in the practice who is willing and able to act as a mentor for a rural fellow.

4. Willing to facilitate and encourage rural fellows to participate in all areas of practice activity including partnership meetings, management, administrative and educational activities. Host practices must enable rural fellows to access the resources that they require for assessment purposes (for example administrative support for audit).

5. Willing to facilitate educational activities in the practice such as time spent with the practice manager learning about practice management issues. Host practices are not expected to provide regular tutorials in the manner that is required for trainees but are asked to make sure that rural fellows have access to all areas of practice activity for educational purposes.

6. Willing to provide support for the project that must be completed during the fellowship year.

7. Willing to provide a structured reference at the end of the year as part of the assessment process.

In return for this commitment base practices will have the services of a rural fellow provided free of charge in the practice for at least 13 weeks in the fellowship year. Rural fellows should be included in the practice rota with a workload equivalent to but no greater than that of a partner in the practice. They can be used to provide cover for holidays and study leave. Details of working arrangements should be discussed on an individual basis between the practice and the rural fellow bearing in mind that the demands of service provision and of education take precedence.