Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, we have trainees from all over the UK and all over the world. Some have moved to London just to complete the LiPA programme and be able to apply for specialist registration via the portfolio pathway.
The current LiPA trainees and faculty are a friendly and supportive group of people who are happy to help or advise about all manner of things, from where to live to what activities are available to do outside work locally.
Yes – you must be fully registered on GMC register with a license to practice.
Yes, you will be assigned to an on call rota depending on your experience. This may be in general anaesthesia, trauma, obstetrics or ICU. You are treated the same as a HEE trainee.
Yes. This is a condition that host hospitals have to agree to before we send LiPA trainees to them.
Yes, you will be assigned an educational supervisor at each hospital by the College Tutors at that hospital.
Yes, we do and we take your feedback seriously and will provide you with a transparent action plan.
Yes and there will also be regular LiPA specific meetings e.g. providing advice on putting together your evidence for submission to the GMC.
You will be paid by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust throughout your four year LiPA training programme. Trainees love this because it reduces the administrative burden when you move between sites.
Each trainee gets 30 days. Individual hospitals may, at their discretion, also offer private study leave before approved exams.
We provide a generous study budget of £2000 per year for LiPA trainees
Yes, there are currently at least 6 former LiPA trainees who are on the specialist register and have consultant jobs at several different hospitals. There are a few more with locum consultant positions waiting for their application to the GMC register to go through.
Yes, we stay in touch with former LiPA trainees, many of them have achieved entry onto the specialist register. Currently there are six LiPA alumni who are now on the GMC specialist register and there are a few more with locum consultant positions waiting for their application to the GMC register to go through.
Yes, you will be assigned a Trust appraiser and need to complete an annual appraisal using Imperial’s L2P software
In person ARCPs are held twice a year. They focus on key competencies completed, your pastoral needs and future career aspirations.
Yes, we do.
Absolutely- we pride ourselves on providing flexibility around your training and pastoral needs.
Less than full time training can be accommodated.
The portfolio pathway is a way to take personal responsibility for the collection of evidence to prove your competency to become an anaesthetic consultant. The LiPA programme provides a support framework to aid in the collection and preparation of this evidence. For more information see the GMC “speciality specific guidance for anaesthetics”
Previous LiPA trainees have included IMGs with anaesthetic experience in other countries wanting to become consultant anaesthetists in the UK, HEE trainees who have completed stage 1 training but applied to LiPA instead of traditional training or trainees who have been completing the portfolio pathway elsewhere or own their own who have joined the LiPA programme top finish the remainder of the curriculum.
Positions on the LiPA programme will be advertised on NHS jobs when available, usually this is twice a year for jobs starting in August and February. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust will be the employing trust.
You need to be equivalent to a new ST4 anaesthetist.
This means having RCOA 2021 curriculum ‘Stage 1’ sign off or equivalent anaesthesia (including obstetrics, paediatrics and ICU) experience and have successfully passed the primary FRCA examination or equivalent exam.
For stage 1 equivalence please see the documents on the 2021 anaesthesia curriculum available on the RCOA website.
The LiPA programme takes you from ST4 equivalent to Consultant Level.
The LiPA programme takes you from St4 equivalent to Consultant Level. You must therefore have relevant experience in general anaesthesia, obstetric anaesthesia, paediatric anaesthesia and intensive care medicine beforehand.
No, some prior UK experience is mandatory. This is for your own benefit to make you familiar with the structures in the NHS and how it works before embarking on your demanding Portfolio Pathway journey.
Yes, they are, you will have plenty of opportunities to obtain evidence towards the seven non-clinical domains during your time on the LiPA programme
On the LiPA website there is a LiPA trainee specific page that gives details of courses and activities relevant to all parts of the 2021 anaesthesia curriculum. Among other things, it details what modules can be completed at which hospital.
