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Become a GP Placement Tutor

Host University of Sunderland medical students in your General Practice. Help to shape the practitioners of the future. Find out how to get involved.

“Students are the future of medicine and the future of our profession.”

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, RCGP Chair (2016 – 19)

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Course structure

For all year groups, we want our students to experience consulting in primary care and to lead consultations rather than just observe (except perhaps as part of a first session), whether that be with a tutor sitting in, or in their own room and then presenting the patient’s history before seeing the patient with the tutor.

Patients do not need to be pre-arranged, as they should be people who want an appointment with the doctor anyway but who are prepared to see a student first.

Year 1

Up to three students will spend six half days in the same practice between the third week of January and the end of March; the timetable is six Tuesday afternoons, but other half days may be possible if that suits the practice better. Students will take turns leading a consultation, followed by observing the tutor completing the consultation. Tutors will give feedback to the student and discuss interesting aspects of the clinical presentation.

By the start of year 1 placements, students will have had nine sessions of training in core communication skills, seven of them involving role play for each student to practice gathering information and developing their consultation skills using fictional scenarios.

GP practices who have capacity and two available tutors can offer to take two groups of up to three students. Remuneration is per student per session.

Year 2

Up to three students will spend four half days a day a week in the same practice, either October to November, or February to March. Practices can offer to host students in both time periods, therefore hosting two separate groups. The timetable slot is a Wednesday morning but Wednesday afternoon is also possible. Students will be attached to one practice, which will be different from the practice they visited in year 1. On campus, they will be learning how to examine each body system, and how to include more questions in the history relating to body systems.

GP practices who have capacity and two available tutors can offer to take two groups of up to three students in the same allocation period. Remuneration is per student per session.

Year 3

(Consolidated Clinical Skills)

The GP placement will be for four weeks in one of three blocks in May, June or July. By this time the students would have had experience in hospitals covering paediatrics, medicine, surgery and mental health. Students will attend in pairs, for seven sessions a week. One of these sessions can be with another member of the primary health care team. They will have a tutorial each week delivered by a member of the University’s clinical teaching team.

Year 4

(Developing Consultation Skills)

The GP placement will take place in four-week blocks throughout the academic year. Students will attend in pairs, for seven sessions a week; one of these sessions can be with another member of the primary health care team. They will have a tutorial each week delivered by a member of the University’s clinical teaching team.

In Year 4, Sunderland students will sit the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), the written component of the GMC’s Medical Licensing Exam (MLA). All UK medical students will need to pass the two components of the MLA to register as a doctor with the GMC.

Year 5

(GP Assistantship)

The GP placement will take place in ten-week blocks throughout the academic year. Students will attend singly for eight sessions a week; the aim is to immerse students in General Practice, to help prepare them for being foundation doctors.

We anticipate that students will be responsible for their patients (under supervision from their GP Tutor) and make a positive contribution to the practice by conducting reliable clinical assessments of patients and taking on work such as arranging referrals, investigations and reviewing results and correspondence. One of the weekly sessions could include working with other members of the primary care team.

At the end of Year 5, Sunderland students will take the second part of the GMC’s MLA, the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA), which is a performance-based assessment of clinical and procedural skills, knowledge and behaviours. The CPSA exam will be organised by the University and does not involve additional work for GP placement tutors.

Overview of GP placement timings

The timings for GP placements by year group are as follows:

For year 1, students will attend between January to March for a duration of six half days
For year 2, students will attend between October to November and then February to March for a duration of four half days
For year 3, students will attend from May to July for a duration of a four-week block and practices may take students for up to three four-week blocks
For year 4, students will attend from late August to April for a duration of a four-week block and practices may take students for up to nine four-week blocks
For year 5, students will attend from late August to April for a duration of a ten-week block, and practices may take students for up to three ten-week blocks

Frequently Asked Questions

I would like to host medical students, however, I don't think I can commit to the number of sessions required, what can I do?

Any availability would be welcomed, as some is better than none! We can offer split placements for students to fill their clinical sessions and this may even given them a broader experience of primary care.

Who else can supervise the students whilst they are on placement?

Like with clinical practice, it is not possible to do everything by yourself. Students can be supervised by any other qualified healthcare professional including: GP Registrars, Foundation Year 2 Doctors and even locum GPs that are interested in teaching. They can spend one session a week with other healthcare professionals such as nurse practitioners, practice nurses, physicians associates etc.

Our practice is quite far away from Sunderland, how will the students get to us?

This should not be a problem for us, our students have a travel budget that they can put towards transport costs and the University can provide funding for overnight accommodation if needed

Some of our doctors work in other community settings like nursing homes and do extended access sessions, can this form one of the student sessions?

Absolutely! Students can spend up to one session a week experiencing primary care given in a non-traditional setting like a nursing home or an urgent care centre, it can be eye-opener for students and can show them the true breadth of primary care.

Benefits

There are many benefits of becoming a GP Placement Tutor, including:

Becoming involved with shaping the future of general practice, as 81% of students reported that GPs on placement had influenced their perceptions of general practice (Destination GP, Royal College of General Practitioners, 2017)
Develop your teaching skills and improve your own knowledge as well as your students
We provide training for all our GP Placement Tutors
Diversify your working week, as getting in involved with teaching offers you something different from your usual clinical work
You will have the opportunity to network with other GPs, such as at other primary and secondary care tutors at our annual training events
The chance to showcase your surgery, as hosting medical students can be an attractive driver for future recruits
Provide better patient experience, as many patients enjoy interacting with medical students and appreciate the extra time they have talking to someone

young doctor working on a laptop wearing a white coat and stethoscope

Remuneration

Remuneration is set by Health Education England and is broadly the same across medical schools. For 2022/23 placements:

Year 1 is based on six sessions of three students, at £107 per student per session, totalling £1,926 per rotation
Year 2 is based on eight sessions of three students, at £107 per student per session, totalling £2,568 per rotation
Year 3 is based on one pair of students, seven sessions a week, at £100 per student per session, for 4 weeks, totalling £5,600 per rotation, up to 3 rotations a year available May to July
Year 3 may also be available as two pairs of students, each pair doing four sessions a week over four weeks, at £100 per student per session, totalling £6,400 per rotation, up to 3 rotations a year available May to July
Year 4 is based on one pair of students, seven sessions a week, at £100 per student per session, for four weeks, totalling £5,600 per rotation, up to 9 rotations a year available September to June
Year 5 is based on one student, eight sessions a week, for ten weeks, at £100 per student per session, totalling £8,000 per rotation, with 3 rotations a year available September to April

A close up of a General Practitioner stamping paperwork and holding a pen

Testimonial

Here is a testimonial from Dr Kathryn Hodges from Sacriston Surgery, on the experience of hosting Year 1 and Year 2 Sunderland students.

What is it like being a GP Tutor hosting Sunderland medical students?

"It was really enjoyable to be a GP tutor, as the Sunderland students are largely very enthusiastic and enjoy the early clinical experience. Their early focus on communication skills means that they are better than expected at speaking to patients and the patients enjoy speaking to them, especially as presenting with problems where they actually need an appointment. This real-world experience gives the students a much better idea of what actually happens in general practice."

What are the benefits to your practice having medical students?

"Having medical students really keeps you up to date and makes you think about things that you haven't considered for years. By seeing patients who are calling in for appointments, the practice gains appointments with the students and the patients appreciate the extra time and explanation."

What do you enjoy most about hosting our students?

"It is nice to slow down and to have the time to really go into depth about why a patient has come as well as explore and expand the students' knowledge."

Do you feel well prepared to host Sunderland medical students?

"Very well supported by the GP team. It may be helpful to give student dates earlier in advance to allow planning, but I appreciate that this is not always possible."

Contact Us

If you are interested in hosting some of our medical students, please fill out the application survey, it will just take a few minutes and a member of the medical placements team will get back in touch with you within 5 working days.

If you have any further questions, please get in touch with medical.placements@sunderland.ac.uk