The Ophthalmology Training programme currently rotates around the following hospitals:
The Ophthalmology programme is a 7 stage programme (ST1 to ST7), with each stage expected to last one year if you are in full-time training. The first 2 stages will be spent rotating through placements in the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), Sunderland Eye Infirmary (SEI), Darlington Memorial Hospital and the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle. Each placement will be for 6 months, and the aim of the ST1 and ST2 placements is to get a good grounding in general ophthalmology. It is a requirement of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists that the FRCOphth part 1 exam must be passed before you can progress into ST3.
ST3-7 placements rotate through posts at the RVI, SEI, and James Cook University hospital (JCUH) in Middlesbrough. Each of these placements after ST2 offers the opportunity for sub-specialty training. Usually, you will spend time in all three of these hospitals. It is a requirement of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists that the Refraction Certificate must be passed before you can progress into ST4.
By ST5 level, most trainees will have been exposed to all sub-specialty areas and will have acquired most, if not all their Workplace-Based Assessments (WpBA). At the discretion of the School and Health Education North East, this would be a good time to develop an area of sub-specialty interest, by choosing to study a subspecialty area in far greater detail as part of a Trainee Selected Component (TSC) or you can apply for a period of Out of Programme (OOP). You must pass the Part 2 FRCOphth examination by the end of ST7.
If you are in full-time training, you have a limited number of attempts at each part of the exam. You need take exams early enough to leave time for further attempts if they become necessary. If you fail to obtain an exam part by the time stipulated above, you will receive an unfavourable grade (known as an outcome) in your next annual assessment and may have to repeat part of all of that year of training. With a little forethought, you should be able to achieve all your milestones.