We recruit and train doctors, and those from a professional background other than medicine, to enable them to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience required to be effective public health specialists.

For more than 40 years, the Faculty of Public Health has been at the forefront of the development and transformation of the Public Health profession.  The Oxford School of Public Health oversees all aspects of training in Public Health with NHS England Thames Valley.  NHS England Thames Valley encompasses Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, including Milton Keynes.  Overall coordination and management of the programme is provided by Dr Jill Morris, Training Programme Director and Associate Head of School.

The aim of the Oxford School of Public Health is to recruit and train doctors and those from a professional background other than medicine to enable them to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience required to be effective public health specialists. It aims to accommodate the evolving role of the speciality to allow a choice of career path and to cover the academic, health protection and service components of public health practice. The principles which underpin the maintenance of high quality Public Health Training across the Thames Valley include:

• explicit deanery-wide standards for training are adopted and reviewed annually;
• the training provided in all training locations is appraised periodically;
• the progress of all registrars is reviewed in a systematic and constructive manner annually;
• trainers are provided with appropriate support and continuing education;
• registrars are able to attend a formal academic course at Oxford University.

All registrars will be allocated an Educational Supervisor which will change with each placement they go to.  An Educational Supervisor will normally be a consultant in the department in which the registrar is working at the time and will be responsible for introducing new registrars to the department by organising a planned induction programme. The trainer and registrar agree competencies to be covered and what evidence will be expected before the competency is signed off as completed.  Registrars may have an academic supervisor when undertaking an academic placement and any other academic work.

For further information about the training programme, please look at our FAQs.

Further information about specialty training:

The Faculty of Public Health is the standard setting body for specialists in public health in the UK. It is a joint Faculty of the three Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (London, Edinburgh and Glasgow). It is a very useful source of information about specialist training in public health.

The Gold Guide Information about specialty training generally.

General Medical Council The GMC oversees all medical training.

Specialty training Information useful to anyone thinking of applying for a specialist training post in public health

UKPHR An independent, dedicated regulator for public health professionals in the United Kingdom.