The Careers Unit - Providing careers support for London Doctors
About The Careers Unit
The Careers Unit was set up in September 2008 in order to provide a first-class careers support service for doctors in London. The work of the unit includes:
- Offering 1:1 and group careers support sessions at local level, and centrally at the deanery
- Producing a range of different careers support resources
- Training senior faculty in how best to help trainees with their career planning
- Establishing a research programme in medical career development
Our Philosophy
We are passionately committed to the quality of careers support we provide. We work closely with medical specialist colleagues from the University of London Careers’ Service and all practitioners delivering services for the Careers Unit are highly experienced and appropriately qualified.
Our approach uses the four stage framework of career planning:
Stage 1: Self Assessment
Stage 2: Career Exploration
Stage 3: Decision Making
Stage 4: Plan Implementation
Using this framework helps doctors approach the task of career decision making in a systematic way. (For example, there is no point worrying about application forms and interviews – Stage 4 tasks, if you haven’t spent sufficient time on the earlier three stages).
There is also evidence that when both the providers and recipients of careers support share a common framework, the recipients find the career support more useful. So on our training workshops for senior faculty, we outline the importance of using the 4 stage framework when providing careers support to a trainee.
Find more information about support for trainees here
Find more information about support for trainers here
Who we are
Dr Andrew Long is a Consultant Paediatrician and was Clinical Tutor, Director of Medical Education and Associate Medical Director for Bromley Hospitals for a period of 11 years. In this role he developed an interest in providing careers support for doctors at all levels of training. He was involved, as Chair of the National Association of Clinical Tutors, in developing a national careers strategy. In 2006 he joined the London Deanery as Associate Dean with a specific responsibility for developing a careers support system within the Deanery. He has worked closely with national groups for careers management as well as with the University of London Careers Group and the KSS Deanery Careers department. He is a module co-leader on the Postgraduate Certificate for Managing Medical Careers.
Nicola Greaves is The Careers Unit Administrator and her background is in the training and charity sector.
Dr Caroline Elton is a chartered psychologist whose has 11 years experience in medical education and 20 years experience in career counselling. Caroline is the joint author of ‘Roads to Success’ – a careers support handbook for trainees (and their supervisors) and has also written the e-learning module in careers support for London Deanery’s faculty development programme. Caroline helped design the PG Certificate in Managing Medical Careers and is the lead on one of the course modules. She was actively involved in the initial stages of setting up the national medical careers website, and retains a role as the psychologist adviser to the project.
Where we are
London Deanery
The Careers Unit - Room ST321
Stewart House
32 Russell Square
London
WC1B 5DN
How to contact us
- If you have a query that could be answered by email, then the address is careersunit@londondeanery.ac.uk. Or you can contact the Careers Unit on 020 7866 3230.
- If you want to find out about courses in your trust then visit the list for trainees and trainers.
- If you want to arrange a confidential career support session then the referral process is via your educational supervisor/medical education manager/training programme director. Please ask them to email careersunit@londondeanery.ac.uk.
- If you are an educational supervisor/medical education manager/training programme director who wants to find out whether we could provide appropriate careers support for a particular trainee, then please email caroline.elton@londondeanery.ac.uk