TY - JOUR T1 - The training capacity of general practice JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 402 LP - 403 VL - 55 IS - 514 AU - Richard Watton Y1 - 2005/05/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/55/514/402.abstract N2 - The demand for training places in general practice looks set to increase greatly in the next few years. The challenge is to increase training capacity without sacrificing quality. Our experience at The White House Surgery in Sheffield in multiple training may be of interest to others who are doing or contemplating doing similar things.The demand for extra training places comes from three main sources. Modernising Medical Careers (MMC)1-3 aims to give all senior house officers (SHOs) experience in primary care as part of their foundation training. This will mean that all hospital-based consultants will eventually have spent some time working in general practice. GP registrars will spend more of their time being trained in practices.4,5 Finally, the number of medical school places has substantially increased. With the extra student numbers and the increasing specialisation of hospital firms it is not surprising that general practice is being looked at to provide more undergraduate training as well as generic postgraduate experience.The increase in numbers is such that, if the old model were to continue, of each training practice having one, or at most two, trainees, then the number of training practices would have to increase to such an extent that there would be a danger of sacrificing quality for quantity. One of the reasons general practice training has been successful is the high standard required for a training practice. This is particularly important when training SHOs and students who are going back into hospital medicine. If we give them a good experience of general practice, more of them may choose to work in the community or go back into hospital service with a greater understanding of and respect for the difficulties of family medicine. If they have a bad experience they return to hospital … ER -