Education & Training

Welsh Rural Postgraduate Unit

The Welsh Rural Postgraduate Unit (WRPU) was set up in October 2000 and is a formal affiliation between the then School of Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education, University of Wales (Cardiff University) and the Institute of Rural Health.

The principal objectives are:

• The continued provision of high quality postgraduate medical and dental education
• The provision of an environment and culture which supports and stimulates postgraduate medical and dental education
• The provision and maintenance of appropriate facilities for postgraduate medical and dental education
• The maintenance of a staffing infrastructure which supports postgraduate medical and dental education

Dr John Wynn Jones is the Postgraduate Organiser of the WRPU and Dr Charlie Vaughan-Jones the Dental CPD Tutor. Formal links with Powys Postgraduate Unit are maintained through regular committee meetings and with the College of Medicine through the yearly annual commissioning visit to Powys.

The WRPU has an advisory group which meets quarterly. This group has responsibility for the development and monitoring of protected learning time in Powys for health care professionals working in primary care as well as providing a varied programme of training and education for health care professionals working in primary and dental care in the rural areas of Wales.

One of the key objectives of the IRH, through the WRPU, is the provision of education and training for rural health professionals. Learning is a life long activity, which starts in school and continues to retirement. The Institute has taken an integrated approach to the education and training of rural health professionals:

• Vertical integration co-ordinates training and professional development from the start of careers through to continuing professional development. Many more students and trainees spend practical time in primary care and exposure to rural practice at an early stage in their careers has been shown to boost retention and recruitment in the future.
• Horizontal integration ensures that the needs of all the professional groups are met and that a substantial proportion of educational activities are multi disciplinary; learning together is important for professionals who are increasingly working closely in Primary Care teams.

As there are a limited number of rural health professionals and access to centres for the provision of education is often difficult the Institute is also looking at innovative methods for delivering education.

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