Rheumatology.
Rheumatology is one of the specialities within medicine and retains a very strong reliance on sound clinical skills despite considerable advance in the understanding of the molecular basis of rheumatological disease. According to the 2017 RCP census there are over 800 Consultants and 300 SpRs/STRs in Rheumatology (click here). Consultant job prospects are good.
Choosing a Career in Rheumatology
Rheumatology provides an excellent opportunity to practice clinical medicine in its broadest sense with principles of acute and chronic disease management at its core. This may often result in the building of satisfying and rewarding long term therapeutic and educational relationships with patients.All trainees dual accredit in GIM and there are ample opportunities to develop sub-speciality interests and/or develop an academic career pathway.
Training in Rheumatology
Specialty training typically takes 5 years. It will include posts in pure Rheumatology & posts that are combined with GIM. Details about the curriculum/ ARCP requirements etc can be found here. Trainees need to pass the SCE (Specialty Certificate Exam) to gain their CCT. Most trainees will sit this in their 2nd or 3rd years of the programme. It runs once a year, usually in June (click here).
The training programmes in Yorkshire run a combined programme across West /East/North Yorkshire, and a separate rotation in South Yorkshire. Please follow the links below for more details on the individual programmes.
For prospective trainees, details of the national recruitment process can be found here. Round 1 interviews typically occur in March/April, hosted by KSS Deanery at a central London address. Round 2 is usually in September.
Further information on the specialty
For further information on the specialty and on the curriculum covered can be found on the JRCPTB site.
Contacts
Faculty contact details can be found on our Contacts page.
South Yorkshire Programme
The Programme
The South Yorkshire Rheumatology training programme is centred around Sheffield, where there are departments at both the Royal Hallamshire and the Northern General Hospitals. We have 5 trainees, rotating between the Sheffield hospitals, Rotherham Hospital and Doncaster/Bassetlaw Hospitals. Trainees spend a minimum of 2 years at the Sheffield hospitals.
Our programme gives dual accreditation in Rheumatology & GIM. In general, one year will be spent doing high intensity general medicine at Doncaster Hospital, and two years doing lower intensity general medicine either at Doncaster or Rotherham hospitals.
We have close links with the academic unit of Infection & Immunity, University of Sheffield and encourage our trainees to develop an academic interest. We also offer clinically based projects within connective tissue disease, general rheumatology and paediatric & adolescent rheumatology.
If trainees have an academic interest, their educational supervisor will offer advice, and signpost them to the most appropriate colleague to help support their research.
South Yorkshire Rheumatology
Across the region, we are a young and dynamic Rheumatology team, and bring clinical and academic experience from across the UK & abroad. We have a regular Thursday afternoon postgraduate education programme which maps to the JRCPTB Rheumatology curriculum. Our trainees take a lead role in preparing topics and arranging internal and external speakers for these afternoons. We also run a programme of Regional Rounds. In addition, our registrars join the East Midlands trainees for approximately 8 training days per year.
The Individual Hospitals on Rotation
The main Rheumatology department is based at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, where we have a dedicated Rheumatology out-patients department and day-case unit. Clinics are also held at the Metabolic Bone Centre at the Northern General Hospital.
We work closely with our 7 clinical nurse specialists, who have sub-specialities in biologic therapies, connective tissue diseases and adolescent Rheumatology. Our specialty therapy services are based at the Hallamshire. In-patient beds are available on wards O1, P3 and P4, also at the Hallamshire. On Monday lunchtimes, we have our x-ray meeting, run by the MSK Radiology team, followed by our weekly departmental meeting.
We hold a variety of clinical interests across the 11-strong consultant team and are able to offer training and experience over and above the basic curriculum requirements in:
Connective tissue disease, including close links with the Sheffield Pulmonary Vascular Unit for Pulmonary Hypertension
Paediatric & Adolescent Rheumatology, in conjunction with Sheffield Children’s Hospital
Sports & Exercise Medicine
Metabolic Bone Disease
Uveitis
Management of rheumatological problems through pregnancy, in conjunction with the Jessop Wing
The Rheumatology department in Rotherham has an enthusiastic team of 3 consultants, 1 registrar & 1 F2 doctor, with other junior trainees cross-covering inpatients. There are 2 specialist nurses, a bone health specialist nurse and a dedicated therapy team. There is an active day-case unit. Clinics are unselected and general, and offer the trainee exposure to a broad range of rheumatological conditions. Special interests within the department include crystal arthropathy, connective tissue disease, vasculitis, and paediatric rheumatology. There is also a dedicated specialist bone-health unit. GIM on the acute medicine unit can be incorporated within the job as required by the trainee.
Our professorial unit in Barnsley does not yet have a trainee on rotation, but this may change in future years. Our 3 colleagues here have special interests in Psoriatic Arthritis, Medical Education, Osteoporosis and Early Arthritis and they are active participants in our regional programme.
Useful Documents
Doncaster & Bassetlaw Hospitals Induction Pack
Useful Links
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Rheumatology Department
http://www.sth.nhs.uk/services/a-z-of-services?id=228
JRCPTB Rheumatology
https://www.jrcptb.org.uk/specialties/rheumatology
British Society for Rheumatology
https://www.rheumatology.org.uk
Midlands Rheumatology Society
http://www.midlandrheumatologysociety.org/