A Day in the Life of a Rheumatology Trainee

What our trainees say:

"I’m over half way through my training programme and would thoroughly recommend rheumatology training in the North East"

"The rheumatology community in our region is a diverse and accepting bunch .I moved into rheumatology after completing GP training, and others have moved from fields such as clinical genetics, microbiology and renal medicine to train in the specialty. I think this reflects the wide range of opportunities available within our specialty, including clinical subspecialties, teaching experience and highly rated research establishments."

"The clinical experience in rheumatology is the really interesting part for me. As it is predominantly outpatient based it allows you to get a long-term view of the diseases we deal with, to see how your clinical decisions have turned out, and to establish relationships with patients, which aren’t available in many other specialties. Although there aren’t many in-patients the ones we have are usually complex and challenging, providing a different type of experience. We also provide an important service for other specialties, dealing with referrals for a range of musculoskeletal diseases from muscle strains to septic arthritis."

"As a trainee with a young family one of the most attractive parts of rheumatology training was the flexibility it has been able to offer. I am able to live in a beautiful part of the country, with access to all of the amenities that the region offers, have great clinical training, and still have opportunities to be involved in teaching and research. What more could you ask for from a training scheme?"