Educational Initiatives

Clinical Skills

Competence in a wide range of clinical skills remains one of the cornerstones of good general practice. Certain clinicians, such as those working in isolated situations, need to develop a greater range of skills than those in closer contact with secondary care. This is coupled with a shift of services from secondary into primary care and the future success of this move will depend on the acquisition of new skills and the updating of old ones.

The Institute runs a number of clinical skills sessions covering: Minor Surgery; Managing Minor Injuries, Medical Emergencies, and Joint Injections. The Institute is committed to the concept of multidisciplinary and multiagency training, working on the basis that learning together improves the way that people work together.

Access the current education and training programme »

The Rural Campus

The Rural Campus provides an innovative flexible learning experience for students and health care professionals using effective and relevant approaches for lifelong learning which aims to:

• develop an environment for learning
• nurture and inspire tomorrows workforce
• develop a workforce fit for purpose
• introduce and sustain traditional values of medicine, health and community within curricula
• reinvigorate rural health professionals and health communities through research and learning.

The Rural Campus is currently providing learning experiences from the 6th form through to Year 5 of the undergraduate medical curriculum.

Work experience for sixth formers in Rural Practice

The Institute has an integrated multi disciplinary approach to education and training. A work experience scheme in rural practice for sixth formers has been developed. The scheme has been set up to act as a third party between students and the Primary Care sector in order to provide students with the best possible work experience

"In rural areas health care is an exciting and rewarding career"

What is rural practice?

In rural areas health care is provided by teams of professionals based in surgeries and, in some areas, in community hospitals. The specialist services and, often, emergency services are based a great distance away in District General Hospitals. Evidence suggests that rural students have difficulty gaining suitable work experience and are disadvantaged as a result when they apply to Universities in comparison with their urban counterparts. To try and address this problem we offer:

Year 12 students

On the 25 th October 2006 during half term week a sixth formers day will be held at Montgomery Youth Centre. The aims of the day are to explore the different roles within the management of a patient and to highlight what is needed to get into medical school.

Year 12/13 students - Work Experience Scheme

The work experience in rural practice scheme is designed primarily to give local sixth form students the opportunity to experience rural practice.

Students must be 17 and be aware that they will not be placed with the practice that they are registered with.

Placements are normally for 2 – 3 days and take approximately six weeks to organi se.

Although most placements are for prospective medical or nursing students, we are hoping to expand the scheme and look at offering work experience for other health care professionals, such as:

• Dieticians
• Dentists
• Pharmacists
• Physiotherapy
• Receptionists
• Practice Managers
• Occupational Therapist
• Speech Therapists.

So if you have a serious intention of entering one of the above professions and would like to attend the sixth form day in October or/and take part in the work experience scheme, please contact us on the number below.

Undergraduate

Year One Students

• Rural Lecture
  Dr John Wynn Jones, Honorary Senior Lecturer and Dr Martin Green, Honorary Lecturer at the Rural Health Campus provide a study afternoon/lecture to Cardiff University students which identifies the challenges of rural practice, and issues such as deprivation/health linkage, urban and rural perspectives, sample surgeries, international perspective etc.
• Student First year Student Selected Component (SSC)
  A practical weekend for Year One Students from Cardiff University at Gregynog Hall (IRH base) where a group of students are invited to spend a weekend with local GPs who give up their time for free. The weekend includes: emergency medicine, ethics, zoonoses, visit to a community hospital, outdoor pursuits and discussions with local GPs.

Year Three Students

• Students are given the opportunity to pursue rural research modules covering a range of health related disciplines (4½ - 9 weeks duration). Students have access to all the research facilities and skills within the Institute of Rural Health.

Year Five Students

• Multi-disciplinary "medicine in the community experience"
  The Rural Campus supports rural practices while they host the 8 week final year general practice module. It organises secondary placements and tutorials with local consultants in care of the elderly, palliative care paediatrics and mental health. Students are encouraged to meet together and local GP tutors provide additional tutorials. Dr Martin Green, Honorary Lecturer at IRH also gives a lecture on rural health to the students.
• Student Electives
  The IRH is well placed to support students wishing to undertake an elective in rural practice (in Wales or other parts of the World). It provides practical research support together with clinical mentoring. To date students have undertaken electives in Wales at the IRH, and overseas in North America & Ireland.

Vision for the future development of the Rural Campus

The IRH believes that there is capacity to give many more students rural experiences. This will require some infrastructure expansion. Evidence from Australia indicates that students who spend up to 12 months in rural placements enjoy the experience and perform above average in their final examinations. It may be possible to provide a small number of students with extended rural placements in rural practice (including community and small hospital experience, if this can be built into the curriculum).

Other proposed activities include:

• Rural Vocational Training Programme
  Again no dedicated rural GP training programmes exist in the UK . This is disturbing, as research shows that rural doctors provide a wider range of services and have to develop a greater range of skills.
• Diploma/Masters in Rural Practice
  The IRH has already undertaken the preliminary academic work, literature review and needs assessment and is actively seeking funding to take this forward.

home | about | contact | research & projects | education & training | policy | news | membership | publications | library | e-health | rural health links