North Western Deanery

Core Medical Training (CMT) Programme Details

The CMT programme builds on the traditional excellence of SHO training in medicine in the North West region, including the larger training programmes previously centred at Hope Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary, North Manchester General Hospital, Royal Preston Hospital and Wythenshawe Hospital. The training programme is run in three zones (Cumbria & Lancashire Zone; Greater Manchester North & West Zone; Greater Manchester Central, South & East Zone) to afford proximity of placement hospitals for all trainees.

The two-year CMT programme delivers training based upon the JRCPTB General Internal Medicine (Acute) and Generic Curricula, with the majority of posts involving both District General Hospital and Teaching Hospital placements.

There is a wide range of training paths affording experience in the main medical specialties. These training paths also afford the possibility of individual focus with choice suiting differing career specialty plans.

General Description of Rotation

The three Programme Zones, while providing the same high standards, each offer differing flavours of training. There are four trusts with seven sites in Cumbria and Lancashire, four trusts and seven sites in Greater Manchester North & West, and six trusts and sites in Central Manchester South & East. Successful applicants are asked to express a preference between the different training tracks, to suit individual interests and career plans. Allocation to tracks is on the basis of expressed preference and interview score.

Each Zone has 24 training paths, involving six four-month placements. These placements will involve at least one year in the main medical sub-specialties (Care of Elderly, Chest Medicine, Endocrinology/Diabetes, Gastroenterology, and Cardiology). Each path will provide 16-20 months of acute medical experience with at least eight months of unselected acute medical ‘take’. The majority of trainees will be based in one site for each year of the programme.

Each training path will allow a sub-specialist training focus for at least one four-month placement. This will be either Cardiology, Haematology, Intensive Care, Liver Unit, Neurology, Oncology, Renal Medicine, Rheumatology, Specialist Chest Medicine, Infectious Disease, or Palliative Medicine.

Educational Opportunities

Zonal General (Acute) Medicine Curriculum-based protected teaching programmes are in place for CT1 and CT2 trainees, building on the mature individual trust and multi-trust teaching programmes already in place. There is an active and successful NW Regional Royal College of Physicians Programme of Education, including teach-ins and training days; the NW Physicians MRCP Part I Course, now in its seventh year, and also a successful NW PACES Teaching Course.

Research / Audit / Teaching

The Manchester Medical School has recently undergone significant expansion, incorporating the use of problem-based learning. Junior hospital doctors, particularly in Medicine, form an important group of the trainers at undergraduate level. The University runs a regular programme of teaching the teachers, which CMT trainees are encouraged to attend. All trusts have an actively supported programme of audit; CMT trainees are expected to undertake audit and are actively supported to do so.

Research is also supported, with presentation of research at national and international meetings and publications of research achieved regularly by trainees in the trusts in the Regional Programme.

Contact details:

Lead Employer Team
Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Room 024
Trust Headquarters
North Manchester General Hospital
Delaunays Road
Crumpsall
Manchester
M8 5RB

email: helpdesk.recruitment@pat.nhs.uk