Barriers to involving GP Speciality Trainees in the teaching of medical students in primary care: the GP trainer perspective

ABSTRACT

Involvement in teaching activities is a curriculum requirement for GP Speciality Trainees (GPSTs). There are numerous potential benefits to involving GPSTs in teaching, including mutual educational benefit for both GPST and learner. However, GPSTs on placement in primary care may be less involved in teaching activities than hospital-based trainees. The reasons for this are not fully understood. This multi-site study aimed to explore the perceptions of GP trainers of the barriers to involving GPSTs in teaching in primary care. Focus groups of General Practice (GP) trainers from four regional GP training programmes across Northern England were conducted. Data were analysed thematically. Trainers cited barriers relating to the trainee (e.g. capacity and capability), practice (e.g. capacity), and teaching (e.g. appropriateness of teaching methods). Underlying these barriers, there appeared to be a cultural attitude towards GPST involvement in teaching: trainers viewed teaching as an extraneous rather than integral part of GP training, considered teaching to represent a deviation from the norm and felt that the GPST was restricted to a learner role. Whilst attempts to address the practical barriers identified in this study are required, a cultural shift in which the role of the GPST as a teacher becomes normalised is urgently needed.

KEYWORDS:

• General Practice Speciality Trainees
• trainees as teachers
• post-graduate education
• near peer teaching
• primary care

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the participants for agreeing to be involved in this study and the relevant training programme directors for permission to approach their GP trainers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was granted by Newcastle University (Ref: 12,766/2016)

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University [Small development grant received from the FMS unit for Educational Research Development and Practice, Newcastle University]