TPD
Dr Ahgi Srikanthan and Dr Laura Ward
Subspecialties offered
We offer the whole range of specialty training including Breast (symptomatic and screening), Gynaecology, Chest, Cardiac, Emergency Radiology, Gastrointestinal, Genitourinary, Head and Neck, Interventional Radiology (vascular and non vascular), Musculoskeletal, Nuclear medicine, Oncology and Paediatrics.
Hospitals rotated through
St George’s Hospital (main site, including Atkinson Morley Wing, neuroradiology), Kingston Hospital (DGH), Epsom and St Helier Hospital (DGH), The Royal Marsden Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Royal Brompton Hospital.
Overview of Core Training (ST1-3)
From 2022, registrars will start in August, and rotate through a series of nine four- monthly core specialty blocks which follow a modular curriculum, as outlined by the Royal College of Radiologists. Generally, at least the first 4 months are based at St George’s Hospital. Training in all core aspects of radiology and structured tutorials are provided and all of core training is covered in Years 1-3. Modality specialties are:
- Breast and Gynae
- Chest/cardiac and vascular Interventional Radiology (IR)
- Gastrointestinal/ Genitourinary and non vascular Interventional Radiology (IR)
- Head/Neck and Neurology (at Atkinson Morley wing of St Georges)
- Musculoskeletal and Nuclear Medicine
- Paediatrics (split St Georges and Greast Ormond Street)
External blocks at Kingston Hospital, Epsom and St Helier Hospital and the Royal Marsden Hospital.
Overview of Specialty Training (ST4-5)
ST4 & 5 is largely based at St George’s Hospital for special interest training, and individuals are encouraged to devise personal timetables in conjunction with trainers to make maximum use of the strengths of the rotation (attachments outside the rotation hospitals are also possible) in their chosen special interest field. St George’s can accommodate all specialty interests (see ‘subspecialties offered’ above) and trainees are able to either complete St4 and 5 in two separate specialty areas for a year each or dedicate the whole two-year period to one specialty. Trainees can also undertake dedicated IR training in ST 4 to 6 at St George’s.
On Call Commitments
There is a two tier rota system, so there is always a Junior and a Senior on call. The junior on call is a partial shift system and the senior on call is a non resident on call system. Both are fully compliant with the Junior Doctors contract. Frequency is generally between 1 in 10 to 1 in 11 although this can vary.
There are also on-call consultants at all times for diagnostic radiology and IR.
There is additional consultant presence in the evenings and also in the daytime at weekends to support out of hours working. Senior IR specialty trainees st5 and beyond have a separate IR Fellow on call rota.
Local Teaching
Daily 8am tutorials are held for all pre FRCR trainees, in preparation for the viva examination of the FRCR 2B examination. In the period leading up to the FRCR 2B there is an extensive tutorial programme for oral exam practice and rapid cases. There are also additional teaching sessions organised in- house for preparation for the FRCR part 1 exam. Teaching in the form of a dedicated in-house course, is offered prior to commencing out of hours duties.
A Protocols and Procedures Day is held annually after the new intake to familiarise all SpRs with current and new practices. There are regular informal interesting cases meetings which all trainees contribute to. In addition to specialty MDT meetings, there are multiple specialty based clinico-radiological meetings per week in the department, and numerous daily meetings and conferences in a wide range of fields in the hospital and medical school, which trainees are encouraged both to attend and to take under supervision. There is a 2 monthly Clinical governance meeting which is divided into lectures from invited speakers, audit presentations and a review of reporting discrepancies. Regional teaching occurs every 6-8 weeks, in conjunction with other London training schemes and is divided into pre and post FRCR lectures. In addition the London course for FRCR part 1 is accessed by all trainees, and in subsequent training years, London trainees have access to other training opportunities including training sessions in audit/ QA and difficult communications.
Other information
SUMMARY – There are over 40 trainees over the 5 training years at St Georges. The department and the training scheme are friendly, cohesive and supportive. The training scheme is popular with registrars. The range of training options is extensive and registrars complete their core training successfully and find a specialty interest that suits their strengths and interests. Traditionally overall first time FRCR exam pass rates are high. At completion of training, there is an excellent success rate for obtaining consultant jobs of choice.
INFORMATION ABOUT ST GEORGE’S TRUST – St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is one of the largest healthcare units in the United Kingdom. The main site is based at St George’s in Tooting and there is a diagnostic hospital unit (with radiology) at Queen Mary’s Roehampton. St George’s serves a catchment population of 1.3 million across Southwest London and some tertiary services also cover populations from Surrey and Sussex, totalling 3.5 million people. The Trust has approximately 1300 beds. The Trust employs over 9000 staff. It provides general acute services together with specialty services, including neurosciences, cardiothoracic, and specialist children’s services. It is the only teaching hospital in South West Thames, with strong links to surrounding hospitals and is a major tertiary referral centre. Since April 2010, St George’s has also become a major trauma centre admitting patients from across the South West Thames region.
ST GEORGE’S RADIOLOGY STAFFING – There are 40 consultants in the main department at St George’s Hospital each with subspecialty interest, and 11 consultant neuroradiologists. There are approximately 41 ST1-5 trainees on the St George’s Radiology training scheme. There are 5 subspecialty ST4-6 SpRs in interventional radiology and numerous opportunities for Year 4-5 special interest training in all areas.
EXAMINATIONS – Year 1 trainees will complete the RCR Part 1 FRCR, a physics/ionising radiation-based and anatomy examination, in March of their first year. In addition, ST1 trainees will be expected to take local examinations in A&E plain radiograph reporting. FRCR Part 2A is a single examination, usually undertaken in the early part of the third year of training. FRCR Part 2B can first be taken after completion of 3 years of training, so early in the ST4 year. There are also further local examinations in on call and outpatient film reporting at the end of ST1 and start of ST2. ASSESSMENT and APPRAISAL: In accordance with the GMC and the RCR, all SpRs will undergo a yearly ARCP process and participate in regular appraisal and assessment for each module in the rotation.