Training Practice

Training Practice

Under-Graduate Students

We are a training Practice for Year 1 and Year 2 under-graduate medical students studying at the University of East Anglia. Dr Simon Vavasour is the main practice clinical tutor, responsible for a group of approximately ten students who will visit us during university term time. Dr Janet Malcolm, visiting educator and Dr Tom Fry also support our medical trainees.

Registrar Training

We became an accredited training Practice for post-graduate Registrars in 2022 and are now well under way in welcoming Registrars to our Practice and supporting them through their final years of training before they qualify as General Practitioners. Our Educational Supervisors are Dr Maria Chriba, Dr Peter Read and Dr Hilary Byrne.

Why are we at Attleborough Surgeries involved?

We are enthusiastic about the task of teaching the next generation of doctors. We feel that teaching increases standards and produces a higher quality service for everyone.

What will be happening?

The learning experience at the UEA is very different. Students come to practices like ours from the very beginning. Each week the students will be given a series of ‘learning aims’ around one topic. As well as learning about the theory and science at the university they will come to the surgery for one day to learn about the relevance of that topic in the community. During this time it is also intended that they will learn how to speak to patients, how illness affects people and how primary care organises itself to provide the services we need.

Our Registrars have already chosen the specialist area of General Practice to qualify in, and will learn to manage their own clinics and caseload while with us, closely supervised and supported by our Educational Supervisors.

We would like you to be involved

We may ask for your participation in some of the learning activities we organise for our students. This may take several forms. For example:

  • A patient was asked to come to the surgery to discuss with two students the heart attack they had suffered and how this changed their life.
  • A patient was asked if two students could visit them at home to discuss the effect of their 5 year old child’s hearing problem on their schooling and what help they had received from people like the ENT clinic and the health visitor.
  • A young patient had seen the nurse for their tetanus booster. They were asked if they were happy for two students to observe the consultation and how the nurse recorded the procedure on the computer.

ALL involvement with teaching is voluntary. If you are asked to join in but do not wish to take part your decision will be respected and will not affect your care at the surgery in any way.