The Surrey and Borders' Medical Education Psychiatry Training Programme boasts a team of enthusiastic trainers; each trainee will receive one hour of protected supervision with their nominated Educational/Clinical Supervisor each week. There is also an active regional postgraduate teaching programme at which attendance is mandatory.

Educational Supervision

All junior doctors will have an educational supervisor whose role is to ensure the overall progress of the trainee through training across a number of placements.

The educational supervisor should:

• Ensure that the programme is appropriate to the doctor’s needs
• Support doctors by reviewing their learning needs in the light of achieved goals
• Carry out and/or collate assessments from clinical supervisors, trainers and other assessors
• Review the doctor’s learning portfolio
• Support the doctor through any difficulty
• Show principled professional practice
• Give career advice and support as required

Clinical Supervision

The aim of clinical supervision is to ensure that the trainee is safe to carry out the clinical work expected of them within the department. A clinical supervisor will usually be the consultant that a doctor is directly responsible to for their clinical work, and there will be frequent contact with them. For some rotations, the clinical supervisor and the educational supervisor will be the same person and it is important that he/she understands the different roles. The clinical supervisor:

• Is responsible for monitoring, supporting and assessing the trainee’s day to day clinical and professional work
• Must offer a level of supervision of clinical activity appropriate to the competence and experience of the individual trainee
• May delegate aspects of supervision to colleagues with appropriate training and experience
• Remains responsible and accountable for the care of the patient and the actions of the doctor in training.

Trainee posts are available in a variety of specialties, including Working Age Adult Mental Health, Older Age Adult Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Learning Disability, Drug and Alcohol, Rehabilitation, Assertive Outreach, Home Treatment, Eating Disorders, Psychiatric Intensive Care, Liaison Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.

Consultants, trainees and other grades are all active participants in our training programmes. 

The teaching sessions comprise of: 

• Academic seminars e.g. external speakers and case presentations covering a variety of topics
• Specialist teaching sessions (Journal Club) run by higher trainees or core trainees 
• Balint group  

All Trainees should present at the academic seminar during their placement and a timetable for this will be given to you at your local Inductions. This is a valuable educational resource.

Teaching programmes are held every Friday at the following sites:

South West Surrey (Farnham Road Hospital, Farnham Road, Guildford)

  
North West Surrey (Abraham Cowley Unit, St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey)

East & Mid Surrey (Learning & Development Suite, West Park, Epsom)

Located just 16 miles from London, the county of Surrey is an inspiring green and relaxing escape destination steeped in history, with market towns and an excellent range of attractions.

For days out in Surrey, the diversity of options is mesmerizing – from the heathland and valley woodlands to the high empty commons that rise to the distant West Sussex Downs. Historic villages nestle peacefully in the stunning landscape alongside vibrant market towns, complemented at every turn by many of the South East’s best country pubs.

Things to do in Surrey

Painshill Park, Denbies Wine Estate and numerous National Trust properties provide a natural and calming environment to escape to and appreciate the beautiful sites of Surrey. One particular place providing a tranquil environment is The Sanctuary which offers a quiet place to sit and meditate to get away from day to day pressures.

Places to go in Surrey are not all about tranquillity though: get active at Mercedes-Benz World with the chance to speed around handling circuits or go on an off-road terrain course – fun for the whole family. As well as countless free museums and outdoor pursuits, Surrey boasts one of the country’s biggest theme parks in Thorpe Park.

If you're looking to be actively entertained or coming to soak up the breathtaking sights, Surrey provides the perfect place for all this and more. Please visit this website for information.

www.visitsoutheastengland.com/places-to-visit/surrey

For a bustling nightlife after a hard days shift there are many places in Surrey to fuel your appetite and to dance the night away.  Visit here for more information:

www.surreylife.co.uk/food-drink/restaurants

Shopping

From designer brands and luxury retailers to unique independent outlets, there’s something for every group, style and budget. From beautiful boutiques and bustling Farmers’ markets in cobbled streets to state of the art ‘covered’ shopping centres and quirky independent shops.

www.visitsurrey.com/discover

“I’ve really enjoyed my time in psychiatry; I’ve worked on the wards and have had my own clinics, both of which have been great learning experiences.

"I’ve felt well-supported by my supervising consultants, and by the on-call team. This has been further improved by the best academic teaching programme I’ve entered during my time as a doctor.

"The weekly protected teaching is a great opportunity to learn from peers and senior colleagues and to gain valuable experience in delivering presentations to a range of clinical staff, right through from FY1s to consultants”

Quote from a GPST2 Trainee

In line with Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex and Trust strategy, the importance of research skills are emphasised to all medical trainees. Each year apart from sessions during the academic programme, we hold an annual Trust-wide Research Day, aimed at medical trainees of all grades.

It is open to all trainees (Foundation, GP, Core and HST) and is comprehensively advertised at the induction and subsequent PGME events to ensure maximum awareness.

The day is split between a plenary session that focuses on the importance of research in medicine, research skills and Trust research direction, which is delivered by consultants and the Trust's Director of Development and Innovation, and a poster presentation and award session. All posters are judged by a panel of consultants for quality of content, relevance and clarity. The top past honours have been awarded to FY, GP and psychiatry posts.

The feedback from the attendees is always very positive, providing a steer for our future research events.

Our library and knowledge services are available to all staff, medical trainees and students; we are experts in finding evidence-based information to help you study and work. You can access services in person or by registering with one of the library services in Surrey.

We provide:

• Literature searches
• Electronic journals
• OpenAthens accounts
• Training
• Evidence updates sent by email
• PsychBOOKS - a collection of mental health e-books

N.B. Other books are available within individual libraries

Use the links below to access your nearest library service. Alternatively, eMail queries to sph.library@asph.nhs.uk.

• Ashford & St Peter's Hospital
• East Surrey Hospital
• Frimley Park Hospital
• Royal Surrey Hospital