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This AMEE guide discusses theoretical principles and practical strategies for health professions educators to promote impactful mentoring relationships. Traditional definitions are challenged, distinctions are made between roles such as mentor, advisor, coach and sponsor. As educational environments change and options for professional development expand, we argue that the traditional dyadic format of mentoring alone will not help mentees to maximise their professional growth. Newer formats of mentoring are discussed in detail and their advantages and disadvantages compared. We use a variety of theoretical concepts to anchor the practice of mentorship: self-focussed and other-focussed motives; psychological safety; personal interpretive framework; Daloz model for balancing support and challenge; zone of proximal development; communities of practice; and development along multiple layers of competence. Recommended strategies for effective mentoring are based on extensive review of literature, as well as combined professional mentoring experiences of the authors. We use key principles from the theories described and phases of mentoring relationships as foundations for the suggested best practices of mentorship. Finally, we emphasise the role of mentees in their own professional development and provide tips for them on seeking mentors, expanding their mentoring network and taking the lead in setting the agenda during mentoring meetings and formulating action plans for their own advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the development of the virtual Simulated Surgery assessment for the Induction and Return to practice (I&R) scheme and how it was used in the assessment of clinical and consultation skills. The evaluation examines the reliability and consistency of the virtual Simulated Surgery with the face-to-face assessment and reports feedback from the participants (candidates, administrators, marshals, examiners and role-players), highlighting what is lost and/or gained by the difference in format. Finally, the paper discusses the benefits and problems of remote assessment generally and looks at how this mode of assessment may be used in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In GP training, educational supervisors are responsible for collating evidence of a trainee's performance and progress to allow them to progress to the next stage of training. In hospital posts, they rely upon a clinical supervisor's report to help assess progress. Clinical supervisors are clinicians from various specialties who may not have an in-depth knowledge of the GP training programme, and anecdotally, our impression was that clinical supervisor reports were impersonal and not helpful in assessing a trainee's performance. We set out to evaluate the usefulness of a clinical supervisor's report in the context of completing and educational supervisor report for trainees in hospital posts. We reviewed clinical supervisor and educational supervisor reports for a cohort of 30 trainees in the Wessex Deanery, and conducted a questionnaire for their educational supervisors. All educational supervisors valued the clinical supervisor reports in completing their report, those with personal comments being the most useful. The majority of reports had a mixture of personal and generic comments. Overall, clinical supervisor reports provide additional information to evaluate performance, and they should continue to be used. To improve their use further, guidance can be given to clinical supervisors about the value of personal comments for trainees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on developing the use of audio-consultation observation tool (COT) in General Practice (GP) training. Topics covered include COT as a component of Membership of the Royal College of General Practice (MRCGP) workplace assessment and GP audio-COT training in out of hours (OOH) consultation setting. Also mentioned are teaching skills in telephone consultations, audio-COT as a tool for formative assessment and criteria for audio-COT assessment without visual clues.

The article discusses a study that developed a workshop plan with the educational activity focused on the general practitioner (GP) to foster GP practice resilience. Topics include workshop programme goals including awareness of stressors in the GP environment for managing them and valuing time with colleagues in a continuing professional development (CPD) interaction. Conclusions indicated effectiveness in the renewal of focus on well-being of GP practitioners through creative sessions.

The aim of this exploratory study was to capture and identify changes in clinical thinking amongst foundation trainees after a four-month attachment in general practice, and to develop a means of analysing the data collected to inform understanding about how clinical thinking develops and changes for a trainee - the learner - in the context of clinical experience. We use the term ‘clinical thinking' consistently throughout our paper to refer to the trainees' general thinking about a case, and do so in the same way as other academics.1-4 Through the innovative use of Mind Maps, we have sought to demonstrate whether there was a significant change in the themes and key features contained in maps drawn by foundation year 2 trainees before and after an attachment in general practice, and to locate the nature of the change if present. Being able to identify such change is potentially valuable as it can assist in revealing a trainee’s learning needs and shape future learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of all UK deaneries was carried out to identify the processes and procedures associated with the approval of GP clinical and educational supervisors and to document the current similarities and difference between deaneries. The results of the survey were placed in the context of recent literature. Results showed notable variation in some areas as well as relatively recent developments becoming established practice, such as the requirement for a certificate of medical education. Overall, results indicate a time of transition and the potential for practice to be aligned across deaneries and local education and training boards (LETBs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN IN THIS AREA Actors have been used for many years to contribute to the training and assessment of medical students, specialty trainees and established doctors. Their role to date, however, has largely been limited to playing patients in scenarios. WHAT THIS WORK ADDS The study presented here is a qualitative evaluation of a pilot scheme to trial a workshop method which used professional actors to play doctors in the role of an appraisee or registrar (GPST3). The main findings showed that this method allowed participants to: gain insight into the dynamics of interpersonal communication and interaction - reflect on the responsibilities of being an appraiser/GP trainer-test out different ways of handling difficult situations which may be encountered. It also allowed the session organisers to look more closely at the method in practice, in order to develop and fine-tune it for the future. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH The findings from the present study would benefit from further evidence arising from wider testing and reporting of the workshop method. Consideration of the impact of playing the role of doctor from an actor's perspective should also occur, as it has for actors playing patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey was undertaken of the application and reapplication forms used by all the UK deaneries for general practice (GP) specialty training. The aim of the survey was to identify similarities and differences between deaneries in terms of the content and nature of the information requested, and the relationship of that information to the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board's (PMETB) Quality Assurance Framework (QAF). The details requested on the application forms were compared to the guidance set out in Generic Standards for Training,1 in order to see if they reflected the areas and standards required by the PMETB for the quality assurance of medical education and training. Although many similar areas of information were requested in the application process, great variation was found across some items which were not attributable to regional or contextual differences. The survey also found that the majority of domains of Generic Standards for Training1 are not well covered in the paper application process. Although deaneries may view their application processes for trainer approval as robust, this paper makes a number of recommendations and argues for the development of a standardised form for the appointment of general practice specialty training (GPST) trainers across the UK, based upon the PMETB QAF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of all UK deaneries was carried out to identify aspects of training practice inspection that are in common usage. Great variation was shown in some areas, and trends such as the use of Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) data as measures of practice performance and videorecorded teaching are common. General practice registrars rarely take part in visits. The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) initiative towards quality assurance will require examination and standardisation of some processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United Kingdom, traditional vocational training schemes (VTSs) for general practice generally comprise four hospital posts lasting six months each, followed by a year in a practice which has been approved for training. It has long been argued that this training model does not fully prepare future GPs with the knowledge and skills needed for their career. Early evidence suggests that integrated training programmes (ITPs) provide a different model of training, which may better prepare trainees for a career in general practice. In Wessex, an ITP that offered integrated training prior to the final registrar year was devised and piloted. Each week, two days were spent in general practice and three days attached to a hospital specialty. The purpose of the research was to see if the integrated model of training provided measurable differences to the experience of training, when compared with the traditional model. Four years of post-evaluation data for Southampton were statistically analysed to compare the responses of trainees on the ITP with those of trainees on the VTS. In addition, four focus groups explored the strengths and weaknesses of each model of training. Significant differences were found between the two groups of trainees. In each case, the ITP group of trainees showed significantly more positive responses to the Senior House Officer (SHO) Educational Audit Project (SEAP) questionnaire than the VTS group. In no questions did the VTS trainees show significantly more positive responses than the ITP trainees. The findings of the statistical analysis were explored further through the reflections of the focus groups. The two models of training were perceived to have very different effects on the training process, most markedly when both types of trainees joined together at the start of the final general practice registrar (GPR) year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on learning by experience, which is among the effective ways of learning for adults, and is established in the culture of quality management processes and general practice (GP) education. It says that opportunities in undertaking such learning could be missed if there are similarities in the training or healthcare systems of GPs and continuing professional. Meanwhile, an international collaboration through an exchange of educators and GP trainers is discussed.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "An evaluation of the experience of integrated GP training placements in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Deanery," by R. Griffin, A. Tavabie and I. McLean in the March 2011 issue.