Croydon Vocational Training Scheme
About Us
Croydon GP VTS is in the vibrant and rapidly expanding London Borough of Croydon. There is an eclectic demography with a multi-cultural and diverse population. Within Croydon there is a vast choice of GP practices in areas ranging from leafy suburbia to inner city settings. VTS trainees are therefore exposed to patients with a wide variety of backgrounds, diseases and health needs, ensuring a comprehensive preparation for their future careers.
S1/2 posts, apart from Psychiatry (SLAM) and Palliative Care (St Christopher’s) are based in Croydon University Hospital. Most general practice-relevant specialities are offered and there is further choice in our 4 Innovative Training Posts in Rheumatology, Dermatology, and Paediatrics.
Croydon offers many opportunities for cultural, sporting and other leisure pursuits, which promote a healthy life-work balance. Being only 20 minutes train-ride away from Victoria, it has excellent transport links to London and beyond, as well as a Tramlink network.
During your GP training in Croydon you will be in a position to encounter a mixture of full time, secondary care posts and unique GP Plus roles.
What are GP Plus roles?
GP Plus roles are typically taken during a 6 month rotation block in General Practice which is split into half the week spent in primary care and the other half in a speciality which we offer. These posts have been well received by our trainees in particular the ability to gain experience in "deep end" general practice and an opportunity to see how the wider primary care community works. Here in Croydon we are proud to offer such a wide range of GP Plus roles for our trainees and have had excellent feedback for our placements so far.
Currently Croydon GP Training scheme offers the following ITPs
- Dermatology
- Medical Education
- Rapid Response
- Prison Medicine
- GP collaborative
- Perinatal Mental Health
- Complex Care
- Palliative Care
What will a typical GP Plus week look like?
The 40 hour work week will be split with 4 sessions in General Practice (16 hours), 4 sessions in a GP Plus role (16 hours), 1 sessions for half day release for group teaching (4hours) and 1 session for directed self-study (4 hours).
Feedback from trainees
“Croydon is a fantastic place to train and practice. Having the chance to practice in both the rural and urban parts of Croydon has given me exposure to a wide range of demographics in the local population. The teaching sessions were always focused and related to GP life and were run weekly. Overall a great experience with a lot of support from peers and trainers!”.
“I really enjoyed the integrated training posts offered at Croydon. Learning specifically about dermatology over 6 months whilst in a GP post helped me to consolidate secondary care treatment measures in a day to day general practice surgery. This proved invaluable to my confidence in a common topic in GP life and I love the opportunity to attend extra-curricular dermatology conferences outside of working hours”.
"I have really enjoyed moving to Croydon for my training. It was an easy place to train whilst supporting my family. The team have been extremely accommodating and flexible with my less than full time training. I have felt my development as a clinician has been well supported and have found a great balance with my career and family. Really loved my placements and have found them all to be very useful for my day job!"
Being a GP in Croydon
Transport
Easily accessible transport links in and out of Croydon make this borough an easily commutable journey for our trainees if not already living in the area.
East Croydon station is only a 15 to 20 minute train journey away to central London stations such as London Bridge and London Victoria.
There are multiple bus routes and Tram lines that also run through Croydon itself making commuting in Croydon easy and flexible.
If you have any questions about the Croydon GP Collaborative, or you would like to know more about the services we offer, how to make a compliment or complaint, then you can do so via our contact us page.
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