We are an accredited training practice with an attached GP Registrar. The registrar is a fully qualified doctor with at least three years experience in various hospital specialities and taking their first full year in general practice.

At times we also have medical students from Glasgow University present for teaching purposes. We hope that you will co-operate with us and help the students to learn about general practice. However, you will be informed of their presence in advance and if you don’t want them to be present at a consultation your wishes will be respected.

This will not affect your treatment in any way.

Information for Trainees

Practice Information 

The Murray Surgery is a young, friendly, progressive, teaching practice caring for almost 11,000 patients. Everyone enjoys being involved in training and education, both post graduate and undergraduate.  We are based in East Kilbride, which is situated close to Glasgow and has excellent road and rail links from Glasgow and other areas within the central belt. Our practice population has a real diversity in social background, age and health. This allows our GP trainees to have clinical input into the care of a wide variety of different patients who live in a suburban environment as well as those of our patients living more rurally. It is this broad experience which ultimately equips our GP Speciality Training Doctors to become confident, independent practitioners. 

Our primary care team consists of 5 GP Partners, two Advanced Nurse Practitioners, a Practice Nurse who is also a Nurse Prescriber, a Health Care Support Worker and an experienced reception team lead by our enthusiastic Business Manager. We undertake the full range of primary health care services. We have recently renovated and modernised our premises to reflect the new challenges in providing holistic patient care for our practice population. 

The GP Educational Supervisors (Dr Susan Milloy, Dr Diana Lyall and Dr Tekla Silva) have a wealth of training experience, including completion of the Experienced Educational Supervisors Conference.  Another partner, Dr Catriona Nisbet, has responsibility for the practice’s undergraduate teaching and is training to become a GP Educational Supervisor. All GP partners and our Advanced Nurse Practitioners provide invaluable input to the GP training process and our ethos is to train as a team, utilising everyone’s different interests and skill sets. These include respiratory medicine, cardiovascular medicine, dermatology, sports medicine, child health, sexual health, family planning and reproductive health, palliative care, care of the elderly and emergency medicine.

To maintain close links with the Public Health Nurses, District Nurses and MacMillan nurses we have regular clinical update meetings for Child Protection and Palliative Care which our trainees find very informative.  There are regular child health surveillance clinics in the practice and an experienced GP runs our diabetic reviews. The practice has clinical responsibility for patients registered in a large Nursing Home and Residential Home. Both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees have reflective positively on these patient services. We have two Clinical Pharmacists working within our Surgery and their expertise and input into patient care supports our Trainees. 

We were re-accredited as a training practice for the maximum 3 year period in 2018 with an excellent feedback from the visiting postgraduate team. There has also been very positive feedback from our previous trainees. Three of the GP Partners have been Registrars with the practice and were very keen to join the Partnership to help us to deliver an ongoing high standard of patient care. We have experience in accommodating and supporting Remedial Trainees in ST3, out-of-step trainees (eg post Maternity Leave or Compassionate Leave) and LTFT (less than full time) trainees and have always had success in supporting these doctors’ specific training needs and helping them complete their training.

Education and Training

We have a structured induction for new trainees over at least the first three weeks and initially, a GPST1 will consult at 30 minute appointments, gradually reducing this depending on an individual’s consultation skills and knowledge.

The GPST1 and GPST3 doctors receive at least one and a half hour sessions of protected learning twice weekly. We also provide regular specific and random case analysis as well as lots of practise for the CSA examination including joint surgeries and role playing, all in addition to the minimum protected learning advised by the Deanery. Our trainees are part of the Lanarkshire Protected Learning Day Release Programme where they meet every month for dedicated GP teaching and exam preparation.

We support the trainees in achieving their Workplace Based Assessments with regular summative assessments. We have facilities in the surgery to record a trainee’s surgery and our trainees have found this to be another excellent means of improving consultation techniques and CSA skills. Dr Nisbet has worked with the West of Scotland Deanery tutoring GPST3’s who have failed this CSA component of the MRCGP. The trainers will regularly review each GPST’s learning needs and tailor their education programme accordingly. In a GPST1’s attachment, they shadow the GP partner on call for emergency house visits and they can then take on responsibility for these emergencies as and when they feel clinically confident to do so. One of the GP trainers or partners is always available and happy to be asked for advice or a second opinion. 

There is a well-stocked library and the GPST3’s usually have an allocated consulting room of their own. All GPST’s, post graduate and undergraduate, have internet access available throughout the day for personal study and they are very welcome (and encouraged) to join us for lunch daily in the common room when the GPs relax and have the opportunity for informal case discussions and information-sharing.  

Nursing home and residential patients are reviewed weekly and the GPST1’s and GPST3’s trainees are able to gain experience dealing with all aspects of health care in this vulnerable patient group and to identify the differences between those requiring simple 24 hour supervision compared to those in need of a high level of nursing care.  

Informative tutorials are available from the practice nurses and Business manager when indicated as part of ongoing professional development.  If a practice learning need is identified or if there is a Significant Event Analysis or Audit to discuss, then an educational meeting is organised during lunchtime meetings. Visiting consultants often come to these meetings to provide updates on clinical practice. 

As a practice, we believe in keeping up to date with our own personal development and to facilitate this, the GP partners meet once every 6 weeks to participate in PBSGL (practice based small group learning). Our GPST’s have also attended the meetings and have been very positive about this learning technique. 

The Murray Surgery doctors and staff really enjoy being a training practice and we thrive on the enthusiasm and breadth of knowledge and experience our GPST’s bring to the surgery. We ensure our GPST’s become part of our Team and that they feel supported and valued during their placements.

If you are considering GP training with our practice and wish to visit The Murray Surgery and meet the team, we would welcome the chance to show you round and answer any questions you have. Please do not hesitate to contact our Business Manager Marjorie Stewart on 01355 225374 to arrange a visit or phone and ask to speak to one of the GP Educational Supervisors for more information. 

Testimonials

“From the beginning of my time at The Murray, I felt welcomed and valued as part of the team. The practice is very friendly and all of the staff were keen to help me settle in. This was reassuring at a time when everything felt very new. 

My clinical training at The Murray has been excellent and I really could not fault it. I have felt challenged but completely supported and have really appreciated that each milestone in training was at my own pace. I was always encouraged to take the next step but only when my trainer and I felt I was ready. Teaching time was always protected even when the practice was busy. I found the regular tutorials such a luxury because they were almost always one to one and specifically tailored to my own learning needs.

Overall training at The Murray is everything I had hoped speciality training would be: challenging, supportive, encouraging, and it has (I hope!) brought out the best in me. I could not recommend it highly enough.”  

Dr Elizabeth Cosgrove, GPST1 2018-2019

“I joined the Murray practice as ST3 rather than as a ST1 due to a maternity break. Initially, I was apprehensive about a change of practice / trainer during the training however it turned out to be a blessing. I was treated as part of the team from day one and the training was excellent. There was lots of support and particular consideration for my situation as a new registrar joining mid-training. I was given room to grow and to find my own style of consultation while at the same time being encouraged to meet GP training standards. The training I received was tailored to my individual requirements and I had the freedom to learn at my own pace with adequate supervision. The practice has a good population mix with respect to age and socioeconomic status, so there was a wide variety of clinical experience. There was lunchtime teaching, District Nurses meetings, Health Visitors meetings regarding children on the child protection register in addition to palliative care meetings with the District Nurses and MacMillan nurse. These meetings were an ideal opportunity to learn about vulnerable, special needs groups and their specific problems. The support of the admin staff was great and their friendly, very helpful approach made me feel right at home. Overall, I had a very enriching experience and learned a lot from everyone at the Murray Surgery.”

Dr Rakhshan Ali, GPST3 2012-2013