A unique training experience

We offer hands-on clinical experience within highly specialist services and clinical teams. St Andrew's is ideally placed for niche training options not widely available elsewhere, such as women's services, learning disability, adolescent mental health and brain injury.

St Andrew’s also provides training in areas such as research, management experience and service development that other providers may find hard to deliver.

You will be working in a not-for-profit environment, in the independent sector, acquiring skills and experiences that add value if returning to the NHS post-training.

As a GMC approved site for higher specialty training, we collaborate with Postgraduate Deaneries and Training Schemes around the country to ensure that clinical training at St Andrew’s integrates with and enhances your NHS training. All our trainers are up to date with modern assessment methods such as WPBA.

If you'd like an informal chat or would like to visit one of our sites, please get in touch.

Quote

“I would recommend St Andrew’s to anyone; my elective has helped me to reflect on psychiatric diagnosis and treatment.”

Robyn, Stage 2 student from Cambridge University

Flexible, varied opportunities

We don't rely on trainees for service provision, so we are flexible in the placements we can offer, allowing you to prioritise your training needs. All of our placements support trainees in less than full time or flexible training. We offer:

Medical student placements: in support of your psychiatry module or simply to gain experience in specialist areas of psychiatry.

Medical student electives: for UK and overseas students; tailored to the individual's needs.

Taster sessions for Foundation Year Doctors: in academic psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, psychiatry of intellectual disability, rehabilitation psychiatry

Summer school for medical students and Foundation Year Doctors

Core Trainees: We offer core training clinical experience in forensic psychiatry.

Special Interest Sessions: All of our Consultant Psychiatrists are happy to supervise special interest placements on a block or sessional basis.

Fellowships

Clinical Fellowships
We offer Clinical Fellowships in Forensic Psychiatry for new CCT holders to consolidate and extend higher psychiatric training in a specialist area of forensic practice. 80% of the post is clinically focused and 20% devoted to developing skills as a future Clinical Leader. Clinical Fellows gain practical experience in service development, change management, quality assurance and project work and work with senior clinicians, managers and the Institute of Psychiatry.

Clinical Teaching Fellowships
The Clinical Teaching Fellowships are bespoke posts, tailored to interests and career intentions and are for doctors who have completed foundation training (not yet core) and core trainees (psychiatry, paediatrics, medicine, acute care or general practice). Four sessions are protected for educational activity and six for clinical activity (with regular, consistent supervision for both elements).

You will be actively involved in supporting medical student placements. One day per week will focus on ward based teaching with small groups of students. The second day is set aside for project work, linked to areas of interest. You will be fully supported to undertake a funded Pg.Cert. in Medical Education. Clinical work is within one of our specialist services (Men’s, Women’s or Adolescents). These posts are advertised regularly on our recruitment pages and are fixed term contracts for 1 year.

Medical specialty training

We support and complement the NHS in training future consultant psychiatrists, whilst staying true to public sector principles.

St Andrew’s offers a good representation of trainers and supports aspects of the new curriculum that many other providers will find hard to deliver.

St Andrew's Scholarship in Psychiatry

The St Andrew's Scholarship in Psychiatry is awarded to outstanding medical students who are interested in an elective placement in psychiatry in the UK or overseas.

Typically we open the scholarship for applications each autumn, and the deadline is in December but due to the current pandemic we are not currently offering our Scholarship for UK or overseas electives.

The application form in the downloads area.

Click below to download application forms

Elective Placement Application Form Non UK based Students application form Special Interest Sessions Application Form