The Deaneries
Training is organised by deaneries which are in charge of all medical training in a demarcated geographical area. Training placements will usually be within one deanery, but may be across deaneries in special circumstances. The delivery of training is overseen by a training programme director.
In each region in England there are one or more postgraduate deans who, with their regional postgraduate medical education committees, oversee training in all medical specialties in their locality. Similar arrangements apply in Scotland , Northern Ireland and Wales.
Local specialist training committees for public health
The local specialist training committees for public health, like those for other specialties, are sub-committees of the local postgraduate medical education committee.
Membership includes:
- the postgraduate dean
- the local Faculty adviser
- a representative of local university departments of public health
- trainers from NHS departments of public health
- and trainees.
The committees are the responsibility of the postgraduate medical dean, are independent of employing authorities and are usually chaired by the local Faculty adviser.
They co-ordinate training and continuing education in public health at all levels within their locality as well as monitoring standards of training programmes and the progress of individual trainees.
Training programme directors are appointed in open competition by the deans and represent the deans.
Faculty advisers are appointed by the Faculty through an election process, work closely with Programme Directors and have a complimentary role in the implementation of the training programme.
Such transfers are not automatic, but at the discretion of the deans involved. Something in the personal circumstances of the applicant must have changed substantially since employment was first taken up. Please refer to the Lead Dean for Public Health for more information.
National Training Number
Trainees who have been appointed to a substantive training post will be issued a unique training number by the postgraduate dean. This is their National Training Number (NTN).
There are variations on this number for trainees in particular categories; e.g. those in fixed-term specialist training appointments (FTTA), an FTN, and those on research programmes, an RTN.