Specialty Training Year 3 (ST3) in Emergency Medicine is a busy and exciting transitional time. During ST3 Junior Doctors will become Registrars, ready to start Higher Specialty Training (HST) in Specialty Training 4 (ST4).
The ST3 year comprises musculoskeletal/trauma, Paediatric Emergency medicine and leadership/non-technical skills. Dedicated Personal Development (Non-rostered study) days are granted in both sites along Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) guidelines in addition to study leave. Trainees must complete one Audit and one Management project in this Year. They will need to have all three major life support courses in date and have completed Intermediate Fellowship of Royal College of Emergency Medicine (FRCEM) before transitioning to ST4. Personal organisation is key to success and we are here to support all trainees.
ST3 in Wessex is delivered across two sites: Queen Alexandra Hospital (QAH) in Portsmouth and University Hospital Southampton (UHS – Southampton General Hospital Campus). Both sites have a dedicated Children’s Emergency Department with ring-fenced shifts with specialty consultants and registrars providing supervision. Children account for around 25% of total attendances at both sites.
UHS is a Major Trauma Centre for both adults and children, though both sites are busy with high volumes of patients daily, and see significant trauma cases. QAH is a renal centre and UHS has a multitude of other tertiary specialties; very useful for personal study days!
The ST3 RCEM curriculum guides trainees through the required competencies, and a dedicated ST3 Regional Training Day programme provides some of the harder-to-gain competencies and other essential skills.