A bit of Friday fun. What are some IMT trainee personality archetypes and what specialty do they want to do?
I have a few in mind, but intrigued to see what everyone has to say before I drop them?
Hi everyone. I'm currently an FY1 hoping to apply for IMT. I'm currently based in a different deanery, but would like to move closer to family for IMT and want to aim for South Yorkshire, with some rotations in either of the Sheffield hospitals.
Just wanted to ask any current IMT's about the training? What is it like? How easy is it to get all the IMT required sign offs? Is it a supportive deanery? Are they open to LTFT training? What is the study budget like? Any additional benefits for IMT trainees? Any study leave/days? Any particular rotations to avoid? Is the TPD open and supportive of trainees who want to go LTFT?
Appreciate any and all advice; the good and bad.
Thank you.
Hi everyone. I'm an FY1. Apologies for the long post
Throughout medical school, I was an average student. Founded a new society and was on the core committee for a few years, had a couple of other society positions, set up a few outreach days, attended some conferences to explore interests, did some mock osce teaching etc... just the usual. Nothing stellar.
My favourite placement during medical school was GP. I had 2 GP placements during medical school. I enjoyed the bredth and depth of clinical presentations. I liked having my own clinic, assessing patients, forming management plans and presenting them to my GP supervisor. Received really good feedback during both placement, including chocolates from patients on two occasions! I liked the prospect of continuity of care. I liked the option of having a portfolio career as a GP or GPwSI.
However, since working as a doctor, the amount of crap that is offloaded onto primary care is unbelievable. I feel sorry for the GP who has to deal with some of the shit that we send their way. I've raised it multiple times with consultants as to why can't we refer directly to a specialist and the answers I've gotten are either there isn't an established pathway for that, there isn't funding in secondary care for that, or then the GP has to do it so they can follow up the results and outcome.
I've come to realise how different a GP's job is even compared to a few years ago. The shortage of GP jobs. The expansion of non-doctor roles. The rate of burnout amongst GP's. It's one of the hardest jobs out there.
I also have been reflecting and realised that maybe GP isn't what I want to do anymore. Since starting work, I've found to dwell on patients I've found FY1 stressful but at the same time I've realised I love medicine. I love diagnosing and treating. I love learning new things everyday (although at times this has been so overwhelming). I feel like I know so little and there is so much to learn and this terrifies me most of the time but sometimes it excites me.
However, all this time, I'd geared towards GP and haven't got much in the way of portfolio (things I did at medical school account for very little points in terms of an IMT application). I'm now stuck - how do I prepare a competitive IMT portfolio in 4 months.
In terms of a JCF position, I still need to have things on my portfolio and I'd rather go straight into training, so I want to give myself the best chance at securing an interview considering the volatility of the job market.
I need advice and guidance as to what to focus on. I know IMT doesn't need the MSRA but putting all my eggs in one basket also scares me. I have GP as my last FY2 rotation but appreciate that applications are in a few months. What if I enjoy my GP rotation? What if I don't get any NTN how do I go about applying for a JCF? Most people I know who are JCFs got the positions through connections, and I don't have those connections at the moment. How do you make connections as such?
I may be catastrophising but I'm worried about being unemployed (as are many) and adding imposter syndrome to the mix doesn't help. I've looked at the JRCPTB requirements for IMT. I've looked at the MRCP exam and the curriculum for part 1 terrifies me (does everyone really know everything on there?!).
Essentially, looking for any advice from someone who may have been in a similar position.
Also, I'm looking to connect with anyone who is happy to mentor me, please comment.