About us
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides one of the main NHS settings for students from the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds.
Clinical placements are provided in all departments, supported by dedicated clinical teachers. Students are able to develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes through direct patient contact and clinical experience. The Undergraduate Clinical Educator team within the Education Service supports the Trust in its commitment to medical education.
The team here in Bradford comprises of an Education Lead, an Education Fellow, Clinical Educators and Rotating Post Foundation Fellows, all are very experienced health professionals from a range of clinical backgrounds including Nursing, Midwifery and Medicine. The team is supported by two administrators who work closely with the clinical areas and staff to provide the best clinical experience for the students. At present the Undergraduate Medical Education Director for the Trust is Dr Amy Illsley.
The Undergraduate team are responsible for the planning and delivery of a comprehensive teaching program for medical students of all years and trainee PA’s from both years from the University of Leeds and the University of Bradford. We work in close collaboration with all clinical areas and departments to provide the best learning experiences for students.
Aside from placement time in clinical areas we also provide award winning teaching in Field House and surrounding areas to compliment your learning in the clinical environment. We offer in-reach to your clinical area to lessen the load on clinical staff and offer you as a student a little extra time to discuss topics that have cropped up in clinical areas.
Coming on placement at BTHFT?
Pre-placement information
All information will be sent to you in good time before you are due to start including induction date, time and location. It is usually during or just after induction where you can get your security access card and accommodation keys if you have requested this. Parking permits are available but must be pre-purchased so we can have them ready for you, information on how to do this will be sent to you via email. Access to our IT systems is made available and logins with training will be sent via email also.
What we expect from you whilst here
Whilst on placement at BTHFT you can expect to be treated like a Trust employee and integrated into the teams you are placed with. However, with that comes an expectation that you will uphold the standards we ask of you:
You should never travel to site in scrubs or uniform that you will wear clinically, we have changing facilities on site that are accessible to students and we have a learners storage facility where you can use your own padlock to ensure your belongings are secure. Long hair should be tied up and off the collar and we should be bare below elbow when in clinical areas. Further information on uniform policy will be explained at induction.
We understand that absences may occur through sickness or other reasons, all that we ask is that you ensure we have free flowing communication channels from yourself to your supervisor, the Undergraduate team and reporting absence through your university software where absences are logged.
Depending on your year group there will be different opportunities available. They will all be highlighted at induction but you can be sure that there will always be some learning at BTHFT. Feedback in recent years has been particularly complimentary to the teaching quality and frequency that we offer medical students and tPA’s whilst on placement.
We are fortunate enough to have a dedicated library on site at BRI in Field House which is accessible 24/7 and staffed during office hours. Resources are plenty in our library and if you cannot find reference to a particular subject then our library staff will be more than happy to help you find resources. They are based next to reception in Field House to find out more information.
We, as a Trust, are committed to the Freedom to Speak up scheme whereby you can email speakup.guardian@bthft.nhs.uk if you would like to report something which you do not feel you can speak to anyone else about. Alternatively we have lots of outlets for you to raise concerns and get support for anything you need help with.
Our office is based on B floor of Field House with a large logo on it stating, ‘Undergraduate HQ’, we have an open-door policy, please simply knock and enter and someone is usually around to answer any problems, signpost you or simply sit and have a chat about something troubling you. We also have a team email and phone where you can message us if you do not want to speak in person, details of which will be given during your induction.
We have improved access to wellbeing resources and now run a student wellbeing service within the Undergraduate Medical Education team. Simply email wellbeing.ugme@bthft.nhs.uk and you will receive an automated email with a wealth of resources you can access. You can also book to speak to somebody in a more formalised environment, the email is accessed by the whole team so we will endeavour to answer same day or next working day if late or if your enquiry is sent over the weekend or bank holiday.
We often ask for feedback during our interventions with you and keen to see how we can constantly improve. If you have any informal comments about your time here, we are keen to hear them, please speak to any member of the team or alternative contact methods listed in induction.
What have we achieved recently?
- Team Clinical Teaching Excellence Award from Leeds Institute Medical Education 2023
- Longstanding Teaching Excellence Award from Leeds Institute Medical Education 2023
- Hosted a regional conference for Undergraduate Teams across West Yorkshire to come and showcase work- MEETUP (Medical Education Excellence Through Undergraduate Projects) 2023
Elective Student Application Information
The Trust welcomes applications for a limited number of elective placements for medical students from the UK and overseas. The placements provide an opportunity to experience the complexity and diversity of healthcare provision in an acute setting. A limited number of placements are available and demand is high.
Electives are typically offered from mid-June and must be completed by the end of August, and can range from 1 to 4 weeks duration. You can specify up to two speciality requests on the application form. If we are unable to allocate to your first choice of placement, we will look into placing you in your second choice. Electives are only available in one speciality and cannot be split.
Application forms are available from November to January and the deadline for submission of applications (Stage 1) is the end of January for consideration for a summer placement of the same year. You can request an application form from November by emailing undergraduate@bthft.nhs.uk
Please note we are unable to assist with organising visas for overseas students.
Widening Participation Days
At Bradford we are proud of our efforts within the local community enhancing chances of being accepted into medical school. We offer two days yearly to local students in further education introducing them to medicine and then looking at how to approach a medical school interview.
- Introduction to Medicine – held yearly in spring
This is the first of our two days looking primarily at UCAS applications, geographical landscape of medical schools and medical school specific admission policies. It is targeted towards end of year 12 students. You will get chance to discuss these factors with senior faculty recruited from around Bradford Teaching Hospitals including consultants and registrars. In the afternoon you will get the opportunity to attempt some of the skills that may be required of you throughout medical training and a career as a doctor. - Interview Techniques for Medical School – held yearly in autumn
This is the second of our two days looking into the unanswerable question of ‘how do you pass a medical school interview’, you can expect expert talks on well researched techniques and how interviews are set out and the variation this may include from medical school to medical school. In the afternoon you will be put to the ultimate test and get to sit a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) circuit with a multitude of challenges and communication conundrums.
We tend to advise attending the days as a pair with ‘Introduction to Medicine’ coming first however we appreciate sometimes people miss application and so if you would like to enquire about either of these days individually or as a pair, please contact: Apprentice.queries@bthft.nhs.uk
