SPIN: New to Practice Fellowships Scheme – GP Fellow blog: Dr Ferduche Miah

Dr Ferduche Miah, a GP Fellow in North East London, tells us about why they decided to pursue a SPIN – New to Practice (NTP) Fellowship, what they have gained from the experience and why they would recommend it to others.

What attracted you into taking up a SPIN – New to Practice (NTP) Fellowship?

Qualifying amidst the pandemic was a really stressful time – the challenges of navigating post Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT)-life can be difficult at the best of times!

The SPIN – NTP Fellowship has been a really positive experience because it’s given me an outlet to work on a project which I truly enjoy. In the process, I’ve been able to network with lots of other doctors, mentors and service managers as well.

Why would you recommend a SPIN – NTP Fellowship to other recently qualified GPs and General Practice Nurses?

The SPIN – NTP Fellowship Scheme allows you to explore any concerns that you might have, especially whilst you're still at quite an early stage of your career. It helps to bridge that gap – through the monthly educational meetings, the supervision and, depending on where you work, being connected with a local mentor as well, all of which I found really positive and helpful. I also found it emulates a lot of the important themes of our old vocational training schemes that we are more familiar with.

The SPIN – NTP Fellowship Scheme helps to contextualise the care we deliver as GPs and serves as a gentle reminder that we are only one team of stakeholders in the broader sense. This opportunity has given me experience of commissioning boards and a variety of new services. It is enlightening to meet different professionals in a way that traditional GP work would not easily allow.

Depending on which type of project you take up, it also presents a way of learning new skills, and often new vocabulary. It enriches your daily clinical work and adds meaning to the more predictable parts of the job.

But the SPIN – NTP Fellowship Scheme goes even further: it allows you to work on project or an area of medicine that truly energises you and, through this, helps you to develop your career aspirations.

Has anything surprised you about your SPIN – New to Practice Fellowship?

I think initially I underestimated what I was going to gain from the SPIN – NTP Fellowship Scheme. It has been created as a way of retaining new GPs in our new salaried posts but, in reality, you really get out what you put in – for starters, you are able to access the continuous professional development as well as lots of courses locally.

I've been really lucky to be able to meet lots of amazing colleagues, including nursing managers, service managers, and practitioners, as well as other mentors.

It definitely adds more meaning to my clinical work and I really feel it's adding a new dimension to me as a GP.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone considering taking up a SPIN – New to Practice Fellowship?

I think it's definitely wise to spend some time reflecting before joining onto a project to really, truly find out what is your interest, whatever that may be within medicine, because it will mean you get more out of your project.

The great thing about the SPIN – NTP Fellowship Scheme is that, if there isn't something currently out there that matches your interest, you may be able to set up a project of your own with local support.

Whatever your career drive or passion, you'll have the opportunity to develop a project and gear activity towards that.

How has your SPIN – New to Practice Fellowship helped you in your career and what are your aspirations now?

I think it's definitely opened up doors that I didn't even know existed. It sounds awfully cliched, but it's true.

I could sense the difference in how I was feeling quite quickly. Burnout and low morale are common taglines but knowing you have a network of other like-minded colleagues around you really helps with the adjustment.

Being part of the SPIN – NTP Fellowship Scheme has helped me grow in confidence, to go out and explore interests that are truly unique to me.

I've been able to pursue my interest in publishing and I've also been able to carry forward my passion for helping aspiring doctors to be, getting involved with my medical school.

I think that's the great, overriding thing about the SPIN –NTP Fellowship Scheme: it's not just about the progress of your niche project. It's actually more about the realisation that we, truly, are just one big team.

In the process, the SPIN – NTP Fellowship gives you the opportunity to explore your interest in a safe and protected manner. It has most definitely made me a more well-rounded GP. I feel able to face situations with new-found confidence and I hope this will translate into better care of my patients.

This is the third blog in our series looking at the SPIN – New to Practice Fellowship Scheme.

Read the first blog by Rachel Roberts, Primary Care Dean for HEE London, on setting the scheme up and the second from Munir Ali-Zubair looking at things from the perspective of a SPIN NTP GP Programme Director.