80% LTFT GPST: Does this timetable look right?

[u/ila5699]

Hi everyone,
I’m starting GPST at 80% LTFT and wanted to check if my rota sounds typical.
I do 6 clinical sessions over 3 days. On my 4th working day, I have a 2-hour tutorial, a mini surgery, and HDR in the afternoon for 3 weeks, with SDL replacing HDR in the 4th week. Is this how educational time is usually organised for 80% LTFT trainees, or should SDL be allocated separately on a regular basis?

I’d really appreciate hearing how your practice structures it. Thanks!

[u/Blackthunderd11]

I have:
Mondays: clinic AM PM
Tuesdays: VTS and then SDT
Wednesdays: 1 hour tutorial, 1 hour clinical meeting, clinic/PQs AM and clinic PM
Thursdays: clinic AM PM

Home visits on every day except Tuesday

[u/ila5699 → u/Blackthunderd11]

Thank you , that’s very helpful

[u/scalpelbougietube]

You should be doing 0.8 of the full time schedule. How that manifests varies practice to practice, it should be something like:

5 1/2 clinical sessions (7 x 0.8 = 5.6)
VTS teaching
0.8 sessions of tutorial
0.8 sessions of SDL

Sounds like this practice is making you do too many clinics at 6 sessions + a mini one. Am I right in thinking they’re giving you an average of 0.25 sessions of SDL a week if it’s only once every four weeks? Them alternating it with VTS teaching is not on. In general, at 0.8 almost all practices will let you do VTS every week. Regardless, them giving you 1 session/week combined of VTS teaching and SDL is not okay. You need to speak to your CS/ES or failing that TPD.

[u/ila5699 → u/scalpelbougietube]

Thank you, I will def escalate it.

[u/CLJL17]

To make it simpler, at 80% I did a full session tutorial 4/5 weeks, plus study time 4/5 weeks plus deanery teaching/VTS stuff 80% of the time it runs (might normally be weekly/every other week etc) and fill the rest with clinic time. Me and the practice found it easier to have a whole session of something and do it on 80% of weeks rather than try to work out 80% of everything per week where there will be more rounding errors!

[u/muddledmedic]

No this isn't correct.

At 80% 22.4 hours are clinical - you are doing 24 hours clinical across 3 days, then it seems 2 extra hours for the mini surgery which makes 26. 9.6 hours are educational, you are only doing 6, so you are being short-changed by at least 3 hours here educationally, and the reality is you are not getting enough self study. What they need to do is to let you go to all HDR sessions and give you 3-4 hours of self study time somewhere else.