GP registrars teaching medical students- an untapped resource?

ABSTRACT

Background

General practice placements are fundamental to undergraduate medical education but there are difficulties in recruiting teaching practices. Developing “near peer teaching” may help. Health Education England & UCL run a programme in general practice (GP) training schemes with Innovative Training Posts in medical education.

Aim

To evaluate GP innovative training posts in undergraduate medical education.

Design and Setting

Focus groups and interviews with GP specialty trainees (“trainees”), medical students & educational stakeholders in London.

Method

A qualitative study exploring stakeholders’ perspectives of this initiative. Transcribed interviews were analysed thematically.

Results

We interviewed 26 stakeholders. Students valued trainees’ generalist expertise and making explicit areas of medicine. Trainees adopted student-centred approaches, addressing students’ assessment agendas, in contrast to senior doctors. Trainees also provided career guidance. Trainees expressed benefits to their development; their identity as learners & educators, and clinical knowledge. Teaching & learning for trainees were inter related; as identified by “to teach something well is to understand it well”. Educational leaders were supportive but had to champion such initiatives.

Conclusion

Near peer teaching in general practice is relatively novel. There are strong educational benefits for learners & teachers clearly influenced by the social context of learning. Positive career roles are modelled by trainees.

KEYWORDS:

• Undergraduate medical education
• family practice

Acknowledgments

Dr Sanjiv Ahluwalia of HEE across North Central and East London for commissioning this evaluation, Dr Kerry Boardman for her advice, Corinne Ward for transcribing interviews, and all the participants.

Authors' Contributions

All authors had a substantial contribution to the manuscript in terms of design, data collection, analysis and write up.

Disclosure statement

JR and MJ run UCL community-based teaching programmes. JR is the Royal Free Hospital TPD and is the programme director for the ITP programme. JR was a stakeholder interviewee.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was sought and granted for this research project at both UCL and KCL. Approval 5491.001 and 2091. All participants consented to study involvement.

Guarantor

Melvyn Jones.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

HEE North Central and East London [Commissioned evaluation].