Educator Workforce Strategy: mobilise trainees to deliver more education and supervision
Dear Editor,
Little attention is paid to the role of Junior Doctors in the delivery of teaching to Medical Students, nor the role of Junior Doctors in the delivery of teaching to their peers in this analysis of the planned expansion of trainee places (1).
Most teaching I experience in hospital, particularly departmental teaching, is delivered by trainees, for trainees, with touches of supervision for the purposes of portfolio signatures. At Medical School, most of the teaching I received was from trainees and Clinical Fellows. This is not to diminish the vital role of our consultant colleagues but to highlight the important role trainees must play in the Educator Workforce Strategy.
Teaching and supervision of medical students should be delivered in a pyramidal distribution of increasing seniority. The majority of teaching delivery can be delivered by Foundation Trainees, Clinical Fellows, and Core Trainees, with less time-intensive contact time by more senior colleagues for assessments, providing advice, and supervision where required. This could represent a huge increase in value for money compared with the current models of supervision and teaching delivery by our consultant colleagues. Furthermore, Universities and Training Programme Leads should reduce the administrative requirements attached to the supervision of trainees to reduce the burden felt by our consultant colleagues.
Many doctors, including myself, find teaching to be a particularly fulfilling part of work. We are respected by our students and they show gratitude for our time. We typically teach alongside our clinical duties; it is an appreciated rarity to be excused from clinical duties to deliver teaching. I strongly suspect the opportunity to deliver a protected morning or afternoon a week of bedside teaching would be heavily oversubscribed.
Decision-makers should consider mobilising more of the trainee and Clinical Fellow workforce to deliver teaching and supervision of students and junior trainees. Provide us with the time and the means and we can help alleviate the training workload of our consultant colleagues.
1. Waters A. Medical training at breaking point: will an increase in learners push the system over the edge? BMJ 2024; 386 :q1556 doi:10.1136/bmj.q1556
Rapid Response:
Educator Workforce Strategy: mobilise trainees to deliver more education and supervision
Dear Editor,
Little attention is paid to the role of Junior Doctors in the delivery of teaching to Medical Students, nor the role of Junior Doctors in the delivery of teaching to their peers in this analysis of the planned expansion of trainee places (1).
Most teaching I experience in hospital, particularly departmental teaching, is delivered by trainees, for trainees, with touches of supervision for the purposes of portfolio signatures. At Medical School, most of the teaching I received was from trainees and Clinical Fellows. This is not to diminish the vital role of our consultant colleagues but to highlight the important role trainees must play in the Educator Workforce Strategy.
Teaching and supervision of medical students should be delivered in a pyramidal distribution of increasing seniority. The majority of teaching delivery can be delivered by Foundation Trainees, Clinical Fellows, and Core Trainees, with less time-intensive contact time by more senior colleagues for assessments, providing advice, and supervision where required. This could represent a huge increase in value for money compared with the current models of supervision and teaching delivery by our consultant colleagues. Furthermore, Universities and Training Programme Leads should reduce the administrative requirements attached to the supervision of trainees to reduce the burden felt by our consultant colleagues.
Many doctors, including myself, find teaching to be a particularly fulfilling part of work. We are respected by our students and they show gratitude for our time. We typically teach alongside our clinical duties; it is an appreciated rarity to be excused from clinical duties to deliver teaching. I strongly suspect the opportunity to deliver a protected morning or afternoon a week of bedside teaching would be heavily oversubscribed.
Decision-makers should consider mobilising more of the trainee and Clinical Fellow workforce to deliver teaching and supervision of students and junior trainees. Provide us with the time and the means and we can help alleviate the training workload of our consultant colleagues.
1. Waters A. Medical training at breaking point: will an increase in learners push the system over the edge? BMJ 2024; 386 :q1556 doi:10.1136/bmj.q1556
Competing interests: No competing interests