This invaluable guide to the GPVTS supports trainees from the process of application, through to qualification and beyond. Written by a recently qualified general practitioner, it combines a frank and friendly approach with a wealth of insider knowledge to guide the trainee through each stage of the training process. It not only features real-life case studies from those in training or who have recently completed training but also gives handy hints and tips on how toavoid some of the common trainee pitfalls. This first hand account aims to guide trainees through all the highs and lows of training and practising as a GP plus everything inbetween.

• 1: Pre VTS


• 1: The million dollar question: do you want to be a GP?


• 2: Jumping through the right hoops to get on the training scheme


• Part 2: Early ST1


• 3: You've got a training post - congratulations!


• 4: What lies ahead? Introduction to the assessment process.


• 5: The ePortfolio explained


• 6: Supervisors, trainers and how to make the most of your meetings


• 7: The money stuff


• 8: Your hospital posts and how they differ to the foundation years


• 9: How to get the best out of your regional VTS teaching


• Part 3: Early ST2


• 10: The move into general practice and how it differs from hospital medicine


• 11: Your first GPST post and some basic tips on how to survive!


• 12: Stop and check! Are you ready for your ARCP panel review?


• 13: Thinking ahead and how to make yourself more employable at the end of it all


• 14: Thinking about applying for AKT? Some handy hints and tips...


• 15: Life events and changes that may affect your training


• 16: Having a baby and becoming a LTFT


• Part 4: Early ST3


• 17: Out of hours (OOH) and learning to juggle the EWTD again


• 18: CSA looms...how to stay focussed and some tips for success


• 19: The job race!


• 20: Preparing to leave the nest


• 21: Surviving as a locum (and making sure you fill in the right forms)


• Part 5: Post VTS


• 22: Life after the VTS (and where to go for support after leaving your trainer)


• 23: Revalidation and appraisal


• 24: If your question isn't answered in any of the above...

Lucy Blunt qualified as a doctor in 2004 from Leicester Medical School. She joined the Coventry and Warwickshire VTS Scheme in 2006, and became a Faculty Instructing doctor for the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare in 2009. In August 2009 she qualified as a GP, and is currently working part-time as a sessional GP in Stratford Upon Avon. Lucy started working as a GPwSI in Gynaecology in September 2010.