Recognition and approval of trainers: a consultation

• Proposed process
• Standards and areas
• Responsibilities
• Consultation

From 6 January to 30 March 2012, the GMC consulted on proposals for the recognition and approval of trainers.

The outcome of the consultation will be reported to the GMC Council in June 2012.

The proposals relate to:

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

The proposals would not cover other doctors whose practice contributes to the teaching, training or supervision of students or trainee doctors.

A separate statement sets out the GMC’s perspective on SAS doctors acting as named educational supervisors or named clinical supervisors (pdf).

Proposed process

Recognition and approval of trainers

 

Standards and areas

We will use our existing standards for postgraduate training set out in The Trainee Doctor (pdf) and for undergraduate education in Tomorrow’s Doctors.

We propose to use seven areas originally set out for postgraduate training by the Academy of Medical Educators to provide a structure:

1. a. ensuring safe and effective patient care through training
2. b. establishing and maintaining an environment for learning
3. c. teaching and facilitating learning
4. d. enhancing learning through assessment
5. e. supporting and monitoring educational progress
6. f. guiding personal and professional development
7. g. continuing professional development as an educator.

Responsibilities

Local education providers such as hospitals and general practices would use the seven areas to show how they identify, train and appraise trainers in each of the four categories above. Postgraduate deaneries and medical schools would then use that information to show the GMC what local arrangements are in place to meet our standards.

We already approve GP trainers and our proposals build on these arrangements. We need new legal powers to be able to approve other trainers. In the meantime, we believe that more formal arrangements for recognising trainers will help to make sure that local education providers, deaneries and medical schools are meeting our standards for the seven areas.

Particularly at a time of resource constraint, we aim to protect and enhance the status of training. We believe that our proposals, which build on existing arrangements, support that aim by providing a structure that will add value while involving minimal additional effort or resource for our partners.

Consultation

The GMC consultation on the proposed process ran from 6 January to 30 March 2012. The outcome of the consultation will be reported to the GMC Council in June 2012.

More details of the GMC's proposals are set out in the consultation document (1.01 MB, pdf). 

Postgraduate deaneries and medical schools have piloted our proposals and we have published the detailed returns from the pilots (264 KB, pdf).

If you would like any further information about this work, please contact Ben Griffith at bgriffith@gmc-uk.org or on 020 7189 5283.