Speciality: Urology
The West of Scotland training programme is a decoupled specialty training programme providing training in Urological Surgery from ST3 – ST7. Entry is via UK national selection. There are currently 16 STRs in the programme as of 2020-21. The programme provides broad experience in all aspects of both core and subspecialty urology and an active teaching curriculum.
Placements are for one year with a balance between district general hospitals and Glasgow teaching hospitals with tertiary subspecialty activity. There are seven placement options –
Gartnavel General Hospital
Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Forth Valley Royal Hospital
The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow
Lanarkshire (Monklands, Wishaw and Hairmyres Hospitals)
University Hospital, Ayr
Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley
Some additional activities (outpatients, day lists and emergency receiving) also take place at other sites in Glasgow – Royal Infirmary, Victoria Infirmary and Stobhill Hospital.
In the middle part of training, ST3/4/5, trainees will get exposure to the index procedures and critical conditions, as stipulated in the new Urology Curriculum of 2021. At the end of ST5, the trainee will be expected to sit the Part 1 of the ISB examination. In the final years, ST6/7, the trainee will be expected to select one of the Special Interest Modules, which can be delivered across many sites in the region. The West of Scotland is a popular training region, ranked 3rd in the UK in 2021.
There is an active monthly protected teaching programme. There is a mixture of trainee delivered and consultant delivered sessions. Additional link ups with the East coast rotation occurs for two national teaching days every year. The teaching programme also includes simulation for teaching of practical skills as well as the inclusion of human factors and non-technical skills.
All Trainees are encouraged and indeed expected to perform audit and research leading to publication or presentation on a national basis. There are excellent opportunities to be involved in the urology research programme at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, directed by Professor Hing Leung.
The West of Scotland Urology Training Programme offers an ideal training environment in a particularly beautiful part of the UK. The programme benefits from having access to both city centre teaching hospitals and large peripheral units offering the complete range of urological training. Within the programme there are national referral centres for Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection, Spinal Neuromodulation, Spinal Injuries and Prostatic Cryotherapy. There are tertiary referral centres for Complex Renal Cancer Surgery, Penile Cancer, Urethral Surgery, Lower Urinary Tract Reconstruction, and Andrology. In addition, there are sub-specialty interests in Laparoscopic Surgery, Endo-urology, Pelvic oncology and Female urology. Opportunities for sub-specialty development are therefore excellent.
There is a very active programme of research based at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research and there are currently two academic trainees in the programme who have produced work of international quality. The programme has links to international centres of excellent which provide opportunities for OOP experience.
The teaching programme consistently scores highly in trainee surveys and the programme has had a 100% pass rate in the final FRCS Urol examination for many years. Geographically the area covered by the programme is small and trainees can live in Glasgow and easily commute to all the peripheral sites. The size of the programme is also ideal in that the Training Programme Director can easily be familiar with all the trainees in post and respond quickly and effectively to any problems. The West of Scotland contains stunningly beautiful areas such as Loch Lomond and the Firth of Clyde which are a very short distance from Glasgow and the Forth Valley section of the rotation allows easy access to historic areas such as Stirling and Edinburgh.
University Hospital Ayr, Forth Valley Royal Hospital - FVRH, Gartnavel General, Glasgow, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, University Hospital Hairmyres, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, University Hospital Monklands, Airdrie, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley , The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow , University Hospital Wishaw
Gartnavel General Hospital
Glasgow Royal Infirmary
The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow
Lanarkshire (Monklands, Wishaw and Hairmyres Hospitals)
Forth Valley Royal Hospital
University Hospital Ayr
Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley
| Programme Type | Deanery based or National: Deanery |
| Administration office | West of Scotland |
| Lead Dean / Director | Professor Adam Hill |
| Responsible Associate Postgraduate Dean or Assistant Director (GP) | Mr Bryn Jones |
| Specialty or Sub-specialty | Specialty or Sub-specialty: Specialty |
| Date of GMC recent approval | August 2010 |
| Associated Royal College - Faculty |
Joint Committee on Surgical Training (web site) |
| Curriculum and Associated Assessment System | http://www.gmc-uk.org/education/postgraduate/urology.asp |
| Programme Administrator: |
Named Programme Administrator:
Fiona Fourie
Address: NHS Education for Scotland, 102 West Port, Edinburgh, EH3 9DN Tel: 0131 656 3470 Email: Fiona.Fourie@nhs.scot |
| Programme Director |
Programme Director Name: Holly Bekarma Address: Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Stirling Road, Larbert FK5 4WR Tel: Email: holly.bekarma@aapct.scot.nhs.uk |
| Quality of Training | Quality Management |