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Home › Specialty Schools › Psychiatry › Core Psychiatry Training

Core Psychiatry Training

Details are correct at the time of advertising and are subject to change due to educational reasons and service reconfiguration.

Psychiatry is a vital, competitive and constantly evolving specialty.  Approximately 16% of the UK population lives in London and by joining the HEE London School of Psychiatry, you will be affiliated with the largest cohort of mental health trainees in Europe and working with a diverse healthcare population across London.

Our vision for the London School of Psychiatry is:

  • Equality, diversity and inclusion in education
  • Excellence of postgraduate training opportunity
  • Producing clinical leaders of tomorrow

The first years of training in psychiatry are spent in a wide variety of posts to ensure a robust and strong foundation from which to build your chosen specialist skills. Each post during core training lasts between four to six months. Trainees are expected to gain at least 12 months of experience in general psychiatry in addition to 6 months of older adults psychiatry and a placement in either learning disability or child and adolescent mental health .You can also undertake posts in any of the other specialties in psychiatry of your choice.

During core training, you will have the opportunity of developing necessary skills for assessing psychiatric conditions, mental state examinations , basic psychotherapy skills with supervised therapy cases, management of various clinical situations and much more. Progress in all aspects is monitored via workplace based assessments (WBPA) on an online e-portfolio.

You will be allocated to a supervisor in each post, responsible for supervising your clinical activity and providing an hour of weekly one-to-one clinical /psychiatric supervision.  You will also have an educational supervisor providing longer term guidance throughout your core training programme.

Assuming satisfactory progress through formal exams and workplace-based assessments, this period of training lasts for three years.  Once you have passed the two written exams (Paper A and B) and one clinical exam (CASC) which make up the Membership exams of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, you become a full Member of the Royal College of Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and will be eligible to apply for higher training programme in one of the six specialties: General Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Psychotherapy, Learning Disability, Old Age Psychiatry or Forensic Psychiatry or dual training.

Rotation

Core training in Psychiatry is a three-year programme where trainees rotate around a number of placements. This enables trainees to gain vast experience in various aspects  in psychiatry. Specialty training is a three- to five-year programme where trainees specialise in a specific area/specialty in Psychiatry

In a standard Core Psychiatry programme, candidates will rotate every 6 months (the 1st Wednesday of February and August of every year).

Anticipated Duration

  • 3 years subject to satisfactory progression

Anticipated Outcome

  • Completion of Core Psychiatry training

Training Programme.

North Central London 

  • Barnet, Enfield and Haringey NHS Foundation Trust
  • Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust
  • Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
  • Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
  • Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
  • Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
  • The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust
  • University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • North West London
    • Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
    • West London Foundation Trust
  • North East London
    • East London NHS Foundation Trust
    • North East London NHS Foundation Trust
  • South East London
    • Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 
    • South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
  • South West London
    • South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

Core Psychiatry Training Programme Directors:

  • North Central London
    • Dr Bhaskar Punukollu
    • Dr Julian Summerfield
  • North East London
    • Dr Laura Checkley
    • Dr Gemma Hopkins
  • North West London
    • Dr Katherine Worlley 
    • Dr David Barbenel
    • Dr Sukhdip Bahia
  • South East London
    • Dr Richard Haslam
  • South West London
    • Dr Paul Brain 

National Terms & Conditions - Click here for NHS Employer's website

Travel and Relocation expenses policy - Please click here for further information

Other Policies and Guidance - Please see Deanery website