GMC Trainer recognition (ES/CS) | Health Education England East Midlands

Named Clinical and Educational Supervisors / GMC Recognition of Trainers

NHS England - East Midlands has undertaken to develop a strategy that oversees the delivery of flexible high quality training for all supervisors within the region which meets the GMC Recognition of Trainers project. We aim to develop high quality educators who are delivering the best possible supervision for trainees. We envisage that this will aid the recruitment of trainees who are attracted to work and train in the East Midlands, and support educators to develop their skills. Having the best educators supervising and motivating trainees will in turn support the best possible care for patients across the region.

The GMC has recogised four specific trainer roles:

a. named educational supervisors in postgraduate training
b. named clinical supervisors in postgraduate training
c. lead coordinators of undergraduate training at each local education provider
d. doctors responsible for overseeing students’ educational progress for each medical school.

Please note that NHS England currently only has administrative involvement in the first two roles.

The GMC has chosen to use the 7 domains originally developed by the Academy of Medical educators. Local education providers such as hospitals and general practices will use the seven domains to show how they identify, train and appraise trainers.

ensuring safe and effective patient care through training
establishing and maintaining an environment for learning
teaching and facilitating learning
enhancing learning through assessment
supporting and monitoring educational progress
guiding personal and professional development
continuing professional development as an educator.

Named clinical supervisors must demonstrate evidence in domains 1-4 and 7, whereas trainers in the other 3 roles must demonstrate evidence in all 7 domains.

What do I need to act as a named supervisor?

Please see the guidance below related to minimum requirements for named supervisors. This has been written by Ed Briggs, Associate Postgraduate Dean, and Rob Powell, Secondary Care Dean, at NHS England. A Named Clinical/Educational Supervisor will need to:

Be working at consultant level and be on the GMC GP register/specialist register as appropriate, or be registered as a SAS doctor.
Be appropriately trained as a Clinical/Educational Supervisor and maintain ongoing CPD appropriate to their role/s (see our page on Training and Resources for further information)
Have their named supervision role included in their job plan
Be annually appraised including their trainer role
Have a substantive employment contract with the Local Education Provider (LEP - usually a Trust), or be in a fixed term/locum contract with the LEP for longer than six months as of the GMC trainer recognition date

How do I get recognised on the GMC register as a trainer?

LEPs are responsible for reviewing named clinical/educational supervisors to ensure that they meet the above requirements. Once confirmed, they must notify the relevant NHS England local office (for the East Midlands, TrainerRecognition.EM@hee.nhs.uk) who has been approved to act as a named Clinical and/or Educational Supervisor, and NHS England will confirm this to the GMC for recognition on the List of Registered Medical Practitioners (LRMP). NHS England will not be able to recognise any trainer without confirmation from an East Midlands LEP that the trainer has met the requirements.

To recognise a doctor as a trainer, NHS England will need the following from the LEP representative/s (check with your local Medical Education Manager or Director of Medical Education if you're unsure, or email TrainerRecognition.EM@hee.nhs.uk):

Your GMC number
Whether you are recognised as a Clinical Supervisor, Educational Supervisor, or both
The training programme/s that you will be supporting in the above role eg Anaesthetics, Paediatrics, Rheumatology
The stages of training you are supporting for this specialty and in this role. ie Foundation, Core, Higher, GP, or a combination thereof
Recognition end date This is usually your next revalidation date, but your LEP can confirm local arrangements. This can be no more than 5 years from the date of your recognition, usually today's date.
The training site/s for which you are acting in this role

Other clinical roles, including shorter term consultants or senior trainees, can provide day to day clinical supervision if of an appropriate level and appropriately trained to support specific skills, but the formal roles of named clinical and named educational supervision need to meet the above criteria.

Training resources

For current/aspiring trainers looking for CPD suggestions relevant to their training role, please see our Training Resources page: https://www.eastmidlandsdeanery.nhs.uk/policies/GMC_trainers/TrainingResources

Appraiser Guide for Secondary Care

We have produced a document to support both you as educators and your appraisers. Your NHS appraisal should consider your entire scope of practice, including any educational roles you undertake. This document makes some suggestions as to the type of evidence you might want to include for appraisal and revalidation as an educator. The document can be found in the list of pdfs on the right hand side of your screen.

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