Interested in becoming an Educational Supervisor (Trainer in old money) or Clinical Supervisor? Including information on Associate Training Practices.

You can become a CS by either applying directly for that training, (see further down the page) or you can become a CS after the first Module of the ES course, bypassing the CS course. If you have done the CS course previously and now wish to be an ES then you will still need the whole ES course.

Educational Supervision.

We are pleased to announce that from January 2025 a third route to becoming an educational supervisor (ES) will be offered. This route will run alongside the PG Cert course but with no assessment required.

The ES training course will consist of 5 days in total, split into two modules of 2.5 days each. There will be two cohorts a year with one being January & April and the other being Sept & January. You must be able to attend all the dates. Spaces are limited and will be offered on a first come, first served basis, with a waiting list in place.

The PG Certificate in Clinical Education (PG Cert) will continue to be an option going forward for potential ES who wish to complete it, and those who have an interest or a role within medical education. The PG Cert is run in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University. There are two modules -three days of teaching each module. One day is F2F and two days are teams (with cameras on and participating). As above there will be two cohorts a year with one being January & April and the other being Sept & January. The teaching is delivered by experienced medical educators using a mix of small groups and big group teaching.

Clinical Supervisor to Educational Supervisor Conversion Course

An alternative route to ES is for experienced GP clinical supervisors (CS) to convert to ES. You must have been an active CS for a minimum of three years in a training practice, or five years in a non-training practice to apply. There is a small portfolio for evidence required on applying and a bit of homework post course.

ES Approval

Following completion of any ES Course there will be an approval process, with the support of your local training programme. This process consists of completing some documentation demonstrating how you and the practice will support those in GP training to progress successfully. Once approved GMC registration is annotated as an educator for a period of 5 years.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for any route you must be working a minimum of four clinical sessions in a GP practice, either one which is already a training practice or in one which will support you and become an approved training practice and increase/maintain training capacity.

To register you interest and find out more please contact Julia.Taylor50@nhs.net

Please expect to discuss the following;

Whether or not you are in an existing GP or Foundation training practice this will help us to assess the amount of preparation that you will need to undertake to become an ES/training practice.

Discuss what CPD activities you have undertaken or plan to undertake to develop your skills as an ES and how these fit in with your PDP.

Direct you towards your local GP Training Programme Director team (if you have not already been in contact) - this is to ensure that your local GP Training Programme Director team is aware of your intentions, talk to you about your plans - their support for your application is essential and they will also consider local need for new ES. Invite you to local educators meetings and add you to e-mail circulation list and otherwise begin to get you involved in the world of medical education. (You should begin to attend educator meetings /workshops at least 3 months before you plan to undertake an ES course.

Ensure that you have the full support of the wider practice to become an ES/training practice.

You must be working a minimum of 4 sessions within an already approved learning environment, or one which is seeking approval imminently to be eligible for the course.

Possibilities related to you becoming a supervisor of Foundation doctors in GP.

For those wishing to pursue the PG Cert - The time commitment and level of study required to satisfactorily complete the course.

The PG Cert

Read the Information about the PG Cert on our website. - PG Certificate in Clinical Education | Health Education England East Midlands

Approval

The informal approval visit is currently carried out by an NHSE (East Midlands) representative again and normally lasts between 1 and 2 hours. It is a formative assessment intended to identify areas for development/action. You can read about the assessment criteria here. A decision will be made at this visit about whether to proceed to formal approval.

The formal approval visit (virtual in most cases)

This is a half day process at which the NHSE (East Midlands) representatives will be;

A lead visitor - normally an Associate Post Graduate Dean (APD), a Training Programme Director (TPD)a PD, or the Education Advisor.

A Training Programme Director or experienced ES from another practice.

To be approved as an ES there must have been recent peer review of teaching. This would not normally be done at the approval visit and therefore could have been at:

Your local educator’s group

By your GP Training Programme Director

By another experienced ES

These documents may be helpful with this and can be found here:

Teaching Review Checklist
Teaching Review Checklist Grid
Teaching Review Process
Peer Review of Teaching Form

Clinical Supervisor Training

You will be eligible to become a CS following completion of the first module of the ES training course or PG Cert.

Alternatively, you could choose to complete a standalone CS Course.

Becoming a GP Clinical Supervisor - training for GP Specialty

If you are working as a partner, salaried GP or long-term locum in an existing training practice, don’t wish to become an educational supervisor yet, but are keen to help with the GP Specialty training by doing debriefs, giving feedback and carrying out assessments, why not consider doing the Clinical Supervisor course? This runs over one and a half days, is free to participants, and is an excellent introduction to medical education.

Becoming a GP Clinical Supervisor for Foundation Doctor Trainees

If you are interested in clinically supervising Foundation trainees on a placement in GP, then again you will need to complete the relevant one-and-a-half-day course. If you are working in an existing training practice, then gaining approval is relatively easy. If you and your practice are new to training, then an approval visit will need to happen. This will be explained on the course.

Hear what it’s like to be a clinical supervisor for a Foundation Doctor.

Hear what F2 enjoy about their GP placement.

The course meets the GMC criteria for training clinical supervisors and those that complete it and have a successful approval of their practice as a suitable learning environment will have their GMC registration annotated as an educator which means you can be a supervisor. Please see the download GP ST and F2 Clinical Supervisor Course, for more information. If you wish to supervise both GP Specialty Trainees (ST1/2/3) and Foundation trainees, you will need to complete both half day sessions on day 2. Otherwise for Foundation Trainees come to the 'Foundation' session, for GP Specialty Trainees (ST1/2/3s) come to the 'GP Specialty' session.

Please note, all Part 2 AM and PM sessions can also be booked as a refresher. All supervisors should complete the appropriate refresher every five years.

Please do not share links to the course with other GPs – all attendees must book on via Accent Course Manager to control course numbers and provide some governance.

Attendnace certificates can be found on your Accent Course Manager account after completion of your course evaluation.

The course dates for 2024/2025 are as follows:

2024

Tuesday 08 October 2024 - CS Training Part 1 - covers generic CS skills (feedback, educational theory, dealing with issues etc)
Tuesday 22 October 2024 - CS Training Part 2 (AM GP Specialty, PM Foundation)

Tuesday 05 November 2024 - CS Training Part 1 - covers generic CS skills (feedback, educational theory, dealing with issues etc)
Tuesday 19 November 2024 - CS Training Part 2 (AM GP Specialty, PM Foundation)

Tuesday 03 December 2024 - CS Training Part 1 - covers generic CS skills (feedback, educational theory, dealing with issues etc)
Tuesday 17 December 2024 - CS Training Part 2 (AM GP Specialty, PM Foundation)

2025

Tuesday 07 January 2025 - CS Training Part 1 - covers generic CS skills (feedback, educational theory, dealing with issues etc)
Tuesday 21 January 2025 - CS Training Part 2 (AM GP Specialty, PM Foundation)

Tuesday 04 February 2025 - CS Training Part 1 - covers generic CS skills (feedback, educational theory, dealing with issues etc)
Tuesday 18 February 2025 - CS Training Part 2 (AM GP Specialty, PM Foundation)

Tuesday 04 March 2025 - CS Training Part 1 - covers generic CS skills (feedback, educational theory, dealing with issues etc)
Tuesday 18 March 2025 - CS Training Part 2 (AM GP Specialty, PM Foundation)

To book a place on any of the above sessions, please do this via Accent Course Manager. If the session does not appear on course manager it is full – sorry.

You will be sent a link to join the online session the week before your booked session(s) via microsoft teams and so you will need access to a computer with a webcam, speakers and microphone.

Lincolnshire Clinical Supervisors’ Course

The Lincolnshire clinical supervisors’ course is held annually, usually at the end of March. The course covers those interested in supervising a range of trainees:

GP registrars both in-practice and in out-of-hours (OOH) setting, internationally recruited doctors and foundation doctors. The course aims to endow the novice teacher with the fundamentals of teaching and is a skills-based course that focuses on experiential learning. The course caters for different educational roles of clinical supervision.

Developing Associate Training Practices in the East Midlands

We have developed a ‘hub & spoke’ model of training environment within Primary Care to expand the capacity for training within this sector, enabling additional GPs and practices to become involved in training GP Registrars

This model has been used informally in the region for some time, and is suitable for practices who are working towards, as well as those who might not yet feel ready or able to take the steps to become a fully approved training practice

The model is based on the same premise as Clinical Supervisors in non-Primary care settings plus criteria used for under-graduate medical training placements

Associate Practice requirements

Application / questionnaire structure based on that used for under-graduate placement approvals

Meeting and tour of the premises to gain GMC approval of placements (can be done virtually)

5 yearly QA reviews by local programme team / NHSE quality team

Supportive link with an experienced Approved Trainer / Practice (hub) or APD (local arrangements to be determined by the local programme)

GP requirements

1.5 days formal training to qualify as a GMC approved Clinical Supervisor

3 hours per year of CPD to maintain your eligibility

Annual informal review with your nominated link trainer / APD

Regular Trainers Workshops and involvement with central teaching programme

Practice benefits

Trainer’s grant for hosting GP trainees on placement

Trainee’s salary fully paid by the Lead Employer

No HR or payroll issues to worry about

Support from your nominated link trainer / APD when needed

Encouragement and support to become a fully approved training practice in due course

Programme / NHSE benefits

Further expansion of GP placements

Quality assurance appropriate to the level of supervision required

Additional support for local HDR programmes

Natural development pathway towards full Approval status

Support

This will be provided by local TPDs, experienced trainers, or patch APD, as determined locally

We anticipate that there would be initial meetings to help with approval set up, support with arranging inductions and timetables and ad-hoc support for the trainer particularly for the first placement

The annual review would be an informal meeting to ensure ongoing contact

NEW - Webinar for General Practices who want to host F2 doctors

In January 2022 an informal webinar was held to provide information to any practice who would like to know more about hosting an F2 doctor. It can be viewed here.