applying to Birmingham deanery from out of area

[heyloin]

i'm a 5th year at university of liverpool who will be applying for foundation programme with Birmingham deanery as my first choice. I was wondering if any one knows anything about which hospitals are inporters or exporters so i can apply somewhere that isnt too popular. Also just an idea of what the hospitals are really like....
Does anyone know about a Birmingham medical school careers advisor and how I could contact them?

[Captain_Carrot]

Hey.

Not aware of any hospitals which are importers or exporters. I would suggest just going to the ones you like the sound of. If you find out which hospitals come under which foundation schools we might be able to tell you more about our experiences there.

As for the careers advisor...we don't even know who that is. Sorry.

[dsn]

Careers advisor? What ever next? A school office? They sent us an email today telling us to sign the code of conduct online on the School Office website... a few hours later an email came saying the website was in fact not working.

Another example of idiocy at UBMS. We had a computer cluster session timetabled today for 5-6pm (on a Friday!!). All it was was reading things on Web CT and nothing less. The leader (Dr Cooper) allegedly said "don't ask me anything , I'm too tired" and spent the whole time speaking to the Queen of the computer cluster. How pointless... we were tired too and could have done the work at home very easily... And then, about to leave I made the mistake of getting out an apple and starting to eat it (I'd logged off and was standing up). Alas, the Queen saw me and said "would the boy with the apple please leave before I throw him out." Ok, there's a rule that I'd momentarily forgotten, but I wasn't damaging her equipment and was on the way out anyway, so why the anger?

[addy1]

I take it you guys who replied aren't 5th years and so dont' have any access to such info??? Its a bit harsh on the med school, I have had 5 years of them and more than enough hassles, but Kate Thomas is doin an excellent job of sortin out F1 stuff, she is really helpful. And we do have a med school careers advisor, who, funnily enough, you only get to use in final year as you don't need careers advice in other years!
She is called Sharon Winters and is based at the Uni. But Kate Thomas is the most useful person to talk to . Beware this year with applying to Brum that Staffs and Shrops are included too so you could end up in Shrewsbury or Stoke on Trent, and there are actually more posts up there than in Brum.
Hopefully some Keele graduates will take those posts but who knows? Just got to risk it I suppose!

[sxc381]

Do you mean Birmingham FS that you are going to apply for? or West Midlands deanery? Cuz if you're going to apply to Birmingham FS I think there are only Birmingham North and South. If I guess them right, Birmingham North is like City and Sandwell hospitals, Good Hope hospital and Heartlands (+ Solihull) hospitals, whereas Birmingham South is like Selly Oak and QE hospital and Woman's hospital. Not sure about Children's hospital lol They were oversubscribed from the statistics which I looked months back (might have been of last year or year before) but Kate Thomas told us that we should apply wherever we want to go really---- Anyway, some FY1's told us that Sandwell was most popular last year (not confirmed but that's what they said lol).

Anyway if you're talking about West midlands deanery then there are more FS's to it i.e. Black Country, Hereford and Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire and Shorpshire and Staffordshire. Again from the statistics which I looked at, Hereford and Worcestershire and SHropshire and Staffordshire were undersubscribed....I think Black country as well but not too sure on this.

PS. Personally I like City hospital most but it is just because while I had my 5th year surg placement, the consultant in my firm was very very nice and I was made a PART OF A TEAM. A lot of my friends like Black Country hospitals as well esp New Cross and Dudley (I like New Cross too ). I am having placement at Worcester now and again it is quite new and friendly hospital. I heard all are good at teaching FY1 and FY2. (In fact, the only hospital which I do not quite like as much so far is Heartlands, otherwise all other hospitals are nice!!! even Redditch one where there aren't many patients, staff there are still very friendly lol)


Hope I answer your questions more or less (Or not????) lol

[addy1]

Unfortunately, this year this isnt true. Birmingham FS includes North adn South Brum and Shrops and Staffs! Which is a shame, but it is because only 40 people put shrops and staffs FS as their first choice last year!
THe info on the current form on the UKPFO is not up to date (as it clearly states) and when the new info is on, it will include shrops and staffs so you could end up at Stoke on Trent or Shrewsbury.
It does actually say this all in the handbook, and so did the Deanery people when they came to talk to us!

[FionaS]

Talking to the people working in shrops and staffs FS, they all like the area and the jobs they're doing, and get decent training, so it certainly isn't a 2nd choice option by any means. People just don't want to go there as it's perceived as out of the way. I'd be quite happy to go there.

Obviously the schools in the West Midlands Deanery have changed since I went through the system - back in the day (all of 2 years ago!) there were:
- Bham South - UHB (QE and Selly Oak), BCH (no F1 jobs at the Children's, lots of F2), Worcester, Redditch (Alex), Hereford, Russells Hall (Dudley).
- Bham North - City and Sandwell, Heartlands, Solihull, Good Hope. Can't think of any others.
- Cov & Warwick - don't know the hospitals so well, but Coventry, Nuneaton etc.
- Shrops & Staffs - includes Telford, Stoke, Shrewsbury etc.

Redditch has pts! Perhaps you were doing surgery though, I certainly don't admit that many surgical pts.

[addy1]

I am sure Shrops and Staffs are fine, but if you want to be in Birmingham, you want to be in Birmingham not Stoke on Trent!
I have a partner and a house here and I really want to stay a commutable distance from Birmingham. The fact that the Black Country is separate (all commutable) and Brum and Staffs and Shrops (a huge geographical area) all together seems insane.
The person who started the post wanted to move to be close to her boyfriend if I remember rightly so she would want to be in Brum!

[sxc381]

Hehe yea FionaS, I was actually doing A&E at Redditch at the time I was there.

Anyway just on personal note, Thank you very much FionaS for mentioning about Staff training etc, I will have my posts for the next 2 years in Staffordshire so hopefully it will be worthwhile experience. and I am kind of relieved you mentioned that people get decent training and like the area there lol

Hope you all best of luck in the UKFPO application and get wherever and whichever jobs you'd like to have

[pristine]

I have been allocated staffordshire for my foundation year 1.

Anyone know what the foundation training is like, any tips on which hospitals to avoid and which ones are good.