What inspired me to become an FSRH Faculty Registered Trainer by Dr Kate Armitage

Kate writes about her journey to becoming an FSRH Faculty Registered Trainer.

Having initially decided I was going to pursue a career in Community Gynaecology after a year as a Senior House Officer in hospital O&G during which I had undertaken my DFFP, I was fortunate to get a senior house officer (SHO)post in Genito-Urinary Medicine at the Mortimer Market Centre. I became involved in medical student teaching ‘one to one’ and realised that being able to impart even a small amount of knowledge along with role modelling of skills and attitudes could go a long way in training medical students to develop experience in SRH which I did not get myself as a medical student.

Further posts at the Mortimer Market Centre, working with Dr Helen Mitchell who was a Consultant in Women’s Sexual Health between Mortimer Market and the Margaret Pyke Centre, enabled me to make links with that service and work across both trusts. This was before the integration of services really existed. I was able to share my ‘GUM’ experience in the SRH service and my ‘SRH’ experience in the GUM service. Working with Helen and seeing this exchange of knowledge was what inspired me to take my training role one step further and undertake the Letter of Competence in Medical Education in 2006*, with Helen as my mentor.

My career changed direction and I completed a conversion to becoming a GP in 2008. I moved to a practice with a student population. The practice already provided IUDs and implants for patients but with my arrival, Dr Debbie Smith the SRH lead, saw the opportunity for the Practice to become a training centre due to its size and the dynamic nature of the registered population. We applied to become an FSRH training programme running Diploma, LoC Subdermal Implants and LoC Intrauterine Techniques training with input from a local SRH consultant.

Since 2010, there have been 4 other GPs who became FRTs as part of our programme.

In 2014 I undertook the Postgraduate Award in Medical Education in Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. We currently have 3 FRTs and 3 other experienced clinicians involved in delivering SRH training. We have 6 IUD fitters and 11 trained in SDI insertion and removal. Many of those attending our programme for training are working in primary care. Demonstrating that much SRH can be delivered well in primary care, in a timely manner, is an important element of the training that we offer.

I would like to thank my inspirational colleagues who led by example and facilitated the time to allow training to remain a priority and not be overlooked during delivery of patient care in the ever more pressurised health services. I hope I am doing the same.

I will build on the PGA and will be undertaking remaining credits towards the PGCE in 2019 2020 with a view to becoming a GP trainer.

* Prior to the introduction of the Postgraduate Course in Medical Education for Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare with the University of Keele and then Worcester, the Letter of Competence in Medical Education was the primary route to FSRH Registered Trainer status.

Read more about becoming a Faculty Registered Trainer here.