Abstract
Welcome to JIC, the RCGP Junior International Committee, associated with the Vasco da Gama Movement and WONCA Europe. Never heard of any of the above? Have an interest in primary care outside the UK, learning from others and helping to improve quality of training and patient care? Then read on. …
What is WONCA?
WONCA, or the
What is Vasco da Gama?
The Vasco da Gama Movement (VdGM), named after the pioneering 15th century explorer, is the WONCA Europe working group for young and future GPs. The idea for the movement was first put forward at the 2004 annual WONCA Europe conference in Amsterdam; it was officially launched the following year at the conference in Lisbon, the home port of Vasco da Gama, where the founding members hoped to convey a similar sense of adventure. Their mission was to encourage the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience of GPs throughout Europe, thereby developing and improving the discipline of general practice.
Since then the movement has flourished with young GPs throughout Europe becoming increasingly involved. There have been further VdGM conferences in Kos, Florence, Paris, Istanbul and Basel, and there are many GP groups in each country associated with VdGM.
What is JIC?
The RCGP Junior International Committee (JIC) was established in April 2009 at its first national meeting at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). We are a group of GP trainees and junior GPs (those GPs up to 5 years post qualification) who have an interest in international primary care. The JIC is fortunate to have the support of Dr Iona Heath, newly elected RCGP President, and Dr Steve Mowle, of the RCGP International Committee; both are active in encouraging trainees and young GPs to become involved in the RCGP and at an international level. The inaugural meeting was a wonderful opportunity for us to network with colleagues who share an enthusiasm for international primary care; we came from a variety of backgrounds—some with a great deal of international experience and others eager to find out more about a career in this exciting field. Almost a year on, we now have over 100 members and have achieved a great deal: from running a successful exchange with 19 international delegates at the RCGP conference in 2009 to many of our members being published at the WONCA World conference in Cancun in 2010. We look forward to welcoming you on board to continue our success together.
How to get involved?
The JIC is divided into several subgroups, each with an appointed lead that heads up a team of members working on a particular JIC project. As a newly formed national committee, the opportunities for taking part are ripe, and we have found being part of the JIC immensely rewarding. Getting involved with setting up a new committee has given us the opportunity to learn new skills outside our day to day clinical work, skills that are invaluable to a well rounded GP, e.g. planning, networking, finance and teamwork. And along the way, we have learnt about international primary care and formed lifelong friendships with GP trainees and young GPs across Europe. There are a number of activities undertaken by the JIC, we hope by sharing them InnovAIT readers may be inspired to get involved.
Research, education and training
The Research group has formed links with the VdGM research team and researchers from Germany and other countries across Europe. At present they are collaborating with European colleagues on a multinational questionnaire study on GP trainee satisfaction—a project backed by the European Academy of Teachers in General Practice (EURACT) and VdGM. In the future, the JIC research group hopes to set up a research platform that provides an active network for those interested in primary care research and facilitate projects that are open to trainees and young GPs across Europe. Those with a particular interest in research or those holding an academic post may be interested in joining this group. The Education and Training group is primarily focused on promoting attendance and publication at national and international primary care conferences, e.g. WONCA.
Image, recruitment and finance
The Image team will appeal to those with a creative side! This particular group is integral to a newly formed committee such as ours, as its function is to promote JIC and produce a brand logo, along with an up to date website and regular newsletters. The team also coordinated the poster presentation and stand at recent conferences: WONCA Europe in Basel and the RCGP annual conference in Glasgow. The JIC recruitment team works closely with the image group to sign up GP trainees and the aspiring GPs among foundation doctors and medical students. Our finance team is involved in establishing a financial structure for JIC, organizing fund-raising events and liaising with various sources for sponsorship.
Strategic planning
One of the Committee's aims is that we should provide GP trainees who are interested in working abroad with access to an extensive network of international organizations. Thus, strategic planning members are investigating forming links with international projects beyond VdGM, such as collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) affiliated to WONCA and other institutions under the guidance of the RCGP.
Exchange
The aim of this group is to extend the knowledge of general practice throughout Europe and beyond, by facilitating clinical observerships to practices. Of all our diverse activities, the exchange programme truly is the jewel in the crown and we hope to see more UK trainees taking part in visits to practices abroad. The JIC is working closely with the Hippokrates Programme—a network established to help GP trainees take part in European exchange visits. The programme was set up as a pilot project in 2000, with five participating countries, and has grown in popularity to now include 10 countries, from the farthest reaches of Scandinavia and Turkey. Previously the UK's involvement had been somewhat ad hoc, with no central coordination, but with the formation of JIC, we hope to change this and make the programme equally accessible to UK trainees.
The Hippokrates Programme does not require trainees to ‘exchange’ as such; trainees arrange stand-alone placements that are 1–2 weeks long, usually towards the end of ST3, and after the visit, the trainee completes an evaluation of the post and an exchange report. The reports are themselves valuable educational material that JIC hopes to collate for publication. The trainee takes part purely as an observer, and as the programme's common language is English, there is no requirement to speak the local language (although it is an obvious advantage). The Hippokrates Programme operates through local coordinators responsible for overseeing exchanges in their country, and the coordinating body identifies host practices that trainees can contact directly. At present there is no central funding for the programme, so for now it is the trainee's responsibility to self-fund or to find grants locally. It is hoped that as the programme gains in popularity, it will attract funding to facilitate exchanges.
Why take part in an exchange?
There is a host of benefits that come with spending time immersed in the world of European General Practice. An exchange offers the chance to observe primary care and training in another cultural setting and reflect on what is done differently and why. JIC recently invited a delegation of 19 trainees from all over Europe to the UK for an exchange visit and to attend the RCGP annual conference in Glasgow; here the trainees shared with us their experiences of general practice training in their own countries. In Portugal, trainees benefit from a highly organized 4 year programme that includes compulsory rotations such as paediatrics and psychiatry as well as optional rotations such as neurology. However, primary care is sometimes viewed as second class and older GPs have limited opportunity or incentive for professional development. In rural Sweden, the pressures on a single-handed doctor serving a vast region are high; here too, the GP suffers from a poor public image. In contrast, in the Netherlands, GPs have a more positive image and there are numerous opportunities for professional development and specialization within primary care. Interestingly, in the Netherlands, GPs enter the profession having worked a significant amount of time in psychiatry.
Taking part in exchanges also offers the opportunity to understand cultural health beliefs from a privileged perspective, an experience that serves to enrich consultations back home. Exchange visits provide a new and interesting set of encounters that at the very least make varied eportfolio entries. Moreover, the personal and professional development that comes from forming lifelong friendships is vast.
Where to find more information?
The JIC is in the process of formalizing how the placements are conducted. So far, a number of UK trainees have successfully completed visits, and all have reported a positive experience. We also have a great deal of interest from European trainees wishing to undertake placement within UK practices. If you are interested in getting involved as a host or a visitor, or would like to know more, you can contact the JIC exchange coordinators via our Google group.
The future
In its inaugural year the fledgling JIC has been busy. As interest grows, we hope to expand our activities to include long-term exchanges, host a greater number of international trainees, hold workshops at conferences and support trainees and young GPs conducting research in primary care. Furthermore, we hope that more UK trainees get the opportunity to be proactive in future WONCA conferences (Malaga and Cancun 2010, Warsaw 2011 and Prague 2013).
As trainees, we have found participating in international primary care enormously beneficial both personally and professionally. Understanding how others manage their day to day work provokes both reflection and evaluation of our own practice. The goal of the JIC is to remove barriers to allow the free exchange of knowledge and experience between GPs across Europe. We hope that our patients will ultimately be the ones who benefit from this work.