The Rotation
There are four specialist registrar posts in our four year rehabilitation medicine training rotation. Each trainee should spend half the rotation in Cambridge and the other half in Norwich. This can vary depending on the particular training needs. These will include 3 months training on a Spinal injuries attachment.
The drop down menu below provides more information on each of the rotations
At Cambridge the trainee is based in Addenbrooke's Hospital, a busy teaching hospital, internationally recognised and the time is split between the Lewin Rehabilitation Unit, the Disablement Services Centre (DSC) and the new J2 Ward for Major trauma. The trainee will also undergo the majority of their musculoskeletal training whilst at Addenbrooke's; this involves experience in rheumatology, orthopaedics, and pain management. The Lewin Unit is a 8-bedded unit with expertise in complex neurological disability. The trainee has a pivotal role in the unit working closely within the multidisciplinary team. In the DSC experience is provided in the fields of prosthetics, orthotics and special seating. This unit was the first in the country to receive the recognition of a Charter Mark. Because of the enormous variety of clinical activity at Addenbrookes, the Trainee will have the opportunity to gain experience in areas related to rehabilitation medicine such as urology, neurosurgery and neurology. Addenbrookes Hospital, is one of the UK’s Major Trauma Centres, and covers the entire East of England. With this and the development of trauma rehabilitation the trainee will have the opportunity to gain experience in trauma rehabilitation working in the “RAAR” (Rapid Access Acute Rehabilitation Unit)
At Norwich, the trainee is based at the Colman Centre for Specialist Rehabilitation (CCSRS). This service offers comprehensive rehabilitation programmes to people with complex disability through the in-patient, out-patient and outreach services. This includes 20 beds, level-I rehabilitation unit specialising in neuro-rehabilitation. Rehabilitation of people with limb loss takes place in the on-site 10 bed, in-patient unit. This is one of only a handful of inpatient units in the country for amputees. Outpatient amputee care is provided at the DSC which is based at the nearby Julian Hospital. There will be ample opportunity to gain experience of residential visits and community assessments.
Three months are spent at a specialist spinal injuries unit. Historically this has been at either Stoke Mandeville Hospital or Stanmore Hospital, Middlesex, both of which have international reputations for spinal injuries rehabilitation. However, recently links have been made with the Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow. This attachment usually takes place during the third year of the training programme and is funded through the employing trust.
There are fixed teaching sessions for trainees throughout the rotation as well as the opportunity to attend training sessions relevant to the specialty provided by other disciplines (neurology or rheumatology, for example).
The trainee will be expected to take part in research, audit and teaching. Recent trainees going through the programme have presented work at international conferences and carried out small scale research projects which have been published in peer-reviewed journals. The trainees are involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at each clinical site and the trainees are expected to participate in this.
These posts provide core experience in the widest range of neurological, amputee, musculoskeletal, spinal injuries and trauma rehabilitation in a well supported environment, with support from six rehabilitation medicine consultants.