1. A world class regional education programme

We run 15 regional training days each year, where every trainee comes together to cover the various subspecialties within the RCOphth curriculum. Five of these days are surgical simulation days, run by local consultants who are closely involved with the RCOphth simulation programmes e.g. Glaucoma, Cornea, Plastics, Strabismus, Cataract. Having experienced these as trainees, we found that the internal courses go above and beyond the college programmes and get you hitting the ground running for starting specialty specific operations e.g. Trabs, LTS / Wedge resections, MIGS, corneal transplants, strabismus, complex cataracts and their complications. As well as the educational component, it also offers a great opportunity to keep in touch with other trainees and socialise.

 

2. Generous Study budget

Wessex offers an extremely generous budget of £750 for domestic UK courses and conferences, and provides further "aspirational" funding for courses or meetings abroad as laid out in the national HEE guidance. We also get a 28 day allowance for study leave. These both facilitate an incredible opportunity for further learning and training at many of the fantastic meetings and courses available nationally. Recent examples include the Birmingham neuro-ophthalmology course, RCOphth trabeculectomy course, RCOphth Ultrasound course, exam preparation courses and various academic meetings throughout the year.

 

3. Education fellowships

For several years we have received funding for an Education / simulation fellowship role for one of our ST trainees. This allows the trainee to work 80% clinical and 20% Academic, for developing an education or simulation programme +/- the opportunity to take a partially funded PG Cert in medical education.

 

4. Annual Audit and gift of Sight awards

At our annual audit meeting there are two awards given for the best audit and research presentations respectively. The Gift of Sight award in particular recognises the best piece of academic work that will contribute to the preservation or restoration of vision and is kindly donated by the GOS charity (a sum of £500 or more). Several other awards are given at regular regional meetings, further providing opportunities for trainees to teach, present and bolster their experience and CVs.

 

5. Rotations

Training rotations around the various locations within the deanery are organised in a way that maximises the educational benefit to each trainee. ST1s are often kept together which helps when you are getting started, and more senior trainees eventually migrate towards the tertiary centre of Southampton. This means that new starters get the benefit of high volume and simpler clinical and surgical foundations at centres like Portsmouth and Bournemouth, with great consultant supervision, while more senior trainees gain specialist exposure once progressing in training and nearing fellowships, from world leaders in their fields. These rotations often have a degree of flexibility depending on trainee requirements which is extremely valuable.

 

6. Subspecialisation (Level 4 SIAs)

As a relatively small deanery with ~30 trainees, virtually every trainee will be successfully supported in taking on their chosen subspecialisation (SIA) of choice in their final year(s) of training, including for the more competitive SIAs (e.g. VR, Cornea and oculoplastics). This contrasts to other larger deaneries where trainees are occasionally forced to compete for their choice of subspecialisation.

 

7. Surgical opportunities

Throughout Wessex there are exponentially increasing opportunities for trainees being provided at independent cataract surgery providers, having been pushed for centrally by the deanery. The vast majority of trainees get very good surgical exposure within the NHS centres and almost all will approach the end of training with well above the recommended surgical numbers for cataract surgery.

 

8. Location

At the risk of sounding like a travel blog, the deanery is set within 2 national parks (The New Forrest and South Downs), and has beautiful areas of countryside and English coastline to explore. Many trainees live in central locations such as Winchester or Southampton allowing you to reside in one place for the entirety of training. These likewise have fast rail links to London.