Riverview Practice has a long history of teaching and training. Most of our
work has been in the field of GP registrars and in fact Dr Johnston is an
Associate Adviser for GP education.
More recently we have had the privilege of being assigned Aberdeen Medical
Students on a regular basis. We still occasionally have elective students in the
practice but prefer the more formal arrangement.
The students are generally accommodated in the Town and County Nurses Home in a
quiet part of town. This is within walking distance of the surgery. The key is
collected from Caithness General Hospital.
The Medical Centre was built in 1995 and is well equipped. We have internet
access from every room and a library upstairs for study and a coffee room along
the corridor which has very handy chocolate biscuits.
We try to be organised and arrange timetables in advance to allow maximum use of
time. If you would like specific half days – i.e. Friday afternoon and Monday
mornings occasionally, please let us know in plenty of time.
You will be expected to work hard and complete your patient logbook, project and
case study. There will be study time during the day and special interest visits
can be arranged. The receptionists put a lot of thought into planning your
surgeries so that you can see the requisite number of patients – so please turn up on time!
We find that the practice gains a lot from having students and we really enjoy
having you with us. There are often drug company sponsored evening educational
events, we have lunch together regularly and we try to make you feel as welcome
as possible.
If you have any problems during your attachment we would hope that if you could
not discuss them with your tutor, there would be someone in the practice you
would feel comfortable with. The office staff are very helpful and easy to talk
to.
The designated tutors are Dr Derek Kelly and Dr Neil Wilson.
The practice ethos is one of teaching and so all partners share the supervisory
role.
We are a fairly busy practice, but find time to fulfil our academic needs by a
varietyof hospital and political posts. We are also very busy in our home lives and
find
plenty to interest us outside work. To see the diversity of life in Caithness
please visit
www.caithness.org
General Practice is a fantastic opportunity to both diversify and specialize in
more
remote places. There is a wide range of interesting topics to manage. I feel
very
fortunate to be allowed to retain a general approach to medicine while being
able to
specialise as a GP in aspects of hospital medicine – I also retain a good family
life
and am able to enjoy the stunning countryside. There may not be “bright lights”,
but
you should see the aurora borealis!