Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

Recognition and approval of trainers: a consultation

The GMC is consulting on proposals for the recognition and approval of trainers. The consultation runs from Friday 6 January to Friday 30 March 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

Recognition and approval of trainers flowchart

 

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

We need to know what you think about our proposals.

From 6 January to 30 March 2012, you can take part in the trainers consultation online.

Alternatively, you can print the consultation document (1.01 MB, pdf) and email your response to trainersconsult@gmc-uk.org. Or you can post it to:

Ben Griffith
Education Directorate
General Medical Council
350 Euston Road
London NW1 3JN

Postgraduate deaneries and medical schools have piloted our proposals and the outcome is set out in the consultation document. In addition we have published the detailed returns from the pilots (264 KB, pdf).

If you have any questions, or would like a paper copy of the consultation document, or the text in another format such as large print, please contact us at trainersconsult@gmc-uk.org or 020 7189 5283.