In this section
Internal Medicine Training (IMT) replaced Core Medical Training (CMT) from August 2019.
Within the NHS England North West there are two distinct IMT Training Programmes – Mersey and North Western.
The North Western Programme is divided into three Sectors; each provides the same high standards but offers a differing flavour of training:
- Lancashire and South Cumbria
- Greater Manchester North & West
- Central Manchester South & East
There are four trusts with seven sites in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Sector:
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (Royal Preston Hospital & Chorley & District General Hospital)
- Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust (Blackpool)
- University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (Furness General Hospital & Royal Lancaster Infirmary)
- East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (Blackburn Royal Hospital)
Recruitment is to the 3 year Internal Medicine programme but we recognise some trainees may not wish to go into the third year.
Posts in all of the major medical specialties are available in the North West scheme.
In Internal Medicine year 1 (IM1) there are 3 x 4-month placements. In Internal Medicine year 2 (IM2) trainees will all have a 3-month post in Intensive Care Medicine as well as a 6-month post and a 3-month post in different medical specialties.
The majority of trainees will be based in 1 site for each year of the programme. Trainees will not be in the same hospital in years 1 and 2 and a small proportion of the tracks rotate between the Sectors although most will remain within the same Sector for IM1 and IM2.
The North West School of Medicine aims to ensure that there is sufficient exposure to clinical medicine during Internal Medicine training to satisfy the curriculum, and all tracks will include a post in Geriatric Medicine, as recommended by the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB) and also an attachment to Intensive Care Medicine.
A wide range of other specialties are also included within the programme including Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Haematology, Diabetes and Endocrinology, Neurology, Oncology, Renal Medicine, Rheumatology and Respiratory Medicine.
As well as Trust-provided teaching sessions for Internal Medicine trainees, each Sector also runs IMT Sector Teaching Programmes and the Lancashire & South Cumbria Sector runs full-day teaching bi-monthly. The venue rotates through different hospitals in the Sector to involve all teaching trusts, with the programme designed to support the delivery of the curriculum; we receive excellent feedback for these sessions. Clinical Procedure Skills Training and Simulation & Human Factors Training are provided by the individual trusts within the Sector.
