Core Resident Doctors in psychiatry
Core residents in psychiatry are supported through a network of colleges, educational and clinical and educational supervisors, local faculty groups and the inspection mechanisms. Our education and training courses cover subjects including study leave and expenses, counselling, appraisal and assessments and professional development.
Local training days
Local teaching takes place on Thursdays. This is a protected time, accommodated by rotas and job descriptions. These sessions are also bleep-free.
Educational events and opportunities
Resident doctors' are encouraged to attend local training days/conferences in relevant domains, from clinical leadership to humanities.
They have access to workshops on communication skills, interview preparation (for ST4 applications) and presentation skills.
Higher specialty residents' (HST) provide great support in presenting alongside core residents at local events.
Research opportunities
There are research opportunities available from the MRCPsych/Masters degree programme. The education department is supportive in establishing links with relevant contacts for residents wanting to be actively involved in research.
Medical Education has established a peer-reviewed online journal in Kent which facilitates the publication of the work the trainees carry out.
Work life balance
Closer to the exams and Annual Review of Competence and Progression (ARCP), the balance may naturally tilt more towards work, but otherwise the workload generally allows for time to be spent riding through the beautiful landscapes of Kent, enjoying an ice-cream by the beach or engaging in the cultural programs of these quintessentially British towns.
Supervision
All resident doctors' are entitled to one hour of weekly supervision with their clinical /educational supervisors. We also run a mentorship programme.
Exam support
The local teaching provided is exam-focussed and relevant to the different papers. Residents' also have regular Clinical Assessment of Skills and Competences (CASC) practice and CASC mock exams, which are excellent preparation tools and all residents are encouraged to attend from the start of core training.
Besides the required rotations for core training, there are opportunities to organise tasters in Mother and Infant Mental Health Service, forensic psychiatry, liaison, rehab, addictions and neurodevelopmental psychiatry.
There are also opportunities to sit in specialist clinics (e.g. neuropsychiatry) or services (personality disorder units) ECT. There is a regular core resident doctors' career day, which promotes the different subspecialties with first-hand experience and also helps in preparing for the transition to higher training.
Resident doctors are required to gain psychotherapy experience under supervision, which allows resident doctors to gain competencies in that subspecialty.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Library Trust provide a dedicated Clinical Librarian service to Kent and Medway Mental Health staff Clinical Librarian Services - Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.
You also have access to libraries in the general hospitals in Kent.
To access library services, you simply need to go along to one of the Kent general hospitals with your name badge and ask to join. It may be near to your work base or near to your home whichever is easiest for you.
We are confident that you will receive a warm friendly welcome, most library staff have first-hand experience of undertaking research so please ask them if you need additional support, they’ll be only to pleased to offer help and advice.
Funded by NHS England, it includes:
- journals, books and databases
- clinical decision support resources including NICE Guidelines and BMJ Best Practice
- policy and management information and research literature
- one-click links to full-text, request a copy or contact an NHS library
The Library Services also offer training. For more information please visit our iLearn library page.
Knowledge and Evidence Specialists: mtw-tr.evidence.specialists@nhs.net
Dr Abubaker Isac-Momoh
Medway and Dartford
a.isaac-momoh@nhs.net
Dr Perumal Saravana Kumar
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells
saravanakumar.perumal@nhs.net
Dr Ivana Pristicova
East Kent
ivana.pristicova@nhs.net
The resident doctors' local teaching programme, besides including the revision sessions targeted to exams, also includes weekly journal clubs at each site where core resident doctors present cases or journals regularly.
There are also weekly Balint Group sessions at each site, which are reflective group discussions, so helpful to resident doctors practice. All core resident doctors will be provided with the opportunity to take part on a ECT rota and will be signed off as competent at the end of the training.
Resident doctors are encouraged to take initiative and to be involved from early on in the improvement of our services. New ideas are welcomed and supported and resident doctors have a chance to pursue their interests (teaching, management, etc). Great importance is given to resident doctors being able to attend their teaching, which is protected, bleep-free time and there are regular revision/practice sessions, particularly for the CASC exam.
The Psychiatry Tuesday Teaching programme is rolled out every 4 month rotation and takes place weekly virtually. The programme links to the foundation and GP trainee Psychiatry curriculum requirements and core resident doctors are invited to attend. The programme content is packed with a variety of interesting and stimulating psychiatry subjects.
Previous resident doctors have commented that no other specialty linked to Kent provides such a robust teaching programme.
The London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex Supported Return to Training (SuppoRTT) programme aims to support all trainees to safely and confidently return to training after a sustained period of absence.
The programme applies to all trainee doctors absent for 3 months or more, regardless of the reason. For more information visit the website
