Home > Education and Research > Education & Development > Postgraduate Medical Education > Medical Education and Supervision

Medical Education and Supervision

Education and Supervision Role Definitions:

Named Clinical Supervisor

A named clinical supervisor is a trainer who is responsible for overseeing a specific doctor in training’s clinical work throughout a placement in a clinical environment and is appropriately trained to do so.

The named clinical supervisor leads on providing a review of the doctor in training’s clinical or medical practice throughout the placement and contributes to the educational supervisor’s report on whether the doctor should progress to the next stage of their training.

Named Educational Supervisor

A named educational supervisor is a trainer who is selected and appropriately trained to be responsible for the overall supervision and management of a specific doctor’s educational progress during a placement, or series of placements. The named educational supervisor regularly meets with the doctor in training to help plan their training, review progress and achieve learning outcomes.

The named educational supervisor is responsible for the educational agreement and for bringing together all relevant evidence to form a summative judgement about the doctor’s progression at the end of a placement, or a series of placements.

Guidance for completing the Medical Educator section on L2P appraisal system:

Medical Educator guidance for appraisal

 

Examples of activities or evidence for each domain of GMC professional development framework:

This section enables the appraise to log activities against each of the GMC professional development framework domains for medical educators

You can evidence your role as an educator for students and multi professional team members, as well as trainees and your peers:

1.Ensuring Safe and Effective Patient Care through Training:

  • Review of results and action plan development from GMC survey data.
  • Teaching on a Resuscitation/Simulation course.
  • Development of local departmental Simulation programme.
  • Development of learning resources/ sessions as an outcome from M+M or datix/ SI.
  • Review of training programme/ HEE visit with action plan.

2.Establishing and Maintaining an Environment for Learning:

  • Development of online learning resources.
  • Development and feedback from local teaching programmes for trainees.
  • Local induction programme and trainee feedback.
  • Local faculty group meeting minutes/ action plans.

3.Teaching and Facilitating Learning:

  • Development and feedback from teaching sessions for trainees/ peers.
  • Educational sessions delivered at conferences/ clinical meetings.
  • Facilitation of learning sessions for clinical multi-professional teams.

4.Enhancing Learning through Assessment:

  • Creation of assessment items such as Royal College exam question writing.
  • OSCE examining/ OSCE station writing.
  • Acting as an external examiner/ clinical examiner.
  • Assignment marking for Postgraduate courses.
  • Mock exam trainee teaching/ examining.

5.Supporting and Monitoring Educational Progress:

  • Educational supervisor meetings/ reflection.
  • Completion of work place based assessments.
  • Placement lead for undergraduate students or PA student – introductions to post/ sign off.

6.Guiding Personal and Professional Development:

  • Careers fair participation/ careers guide resource creation.
  • Trainee induction professional development sessions.
  • Supervision of SSC T and F year medical students.
  • Mentoring and peer review.

7.Continuing Professional Development as an Educator:

  • Royal College or London School courses for medical educators.
  • Educational supervision courses such as SuMMiT.
  • Online HEE workshops for supervisors.
  • Online educational learning such as Future Learn.
  • 360 feedback in your role as an educational supervisor.
  • Formal/ informal feedback in your role as an educator.
  • Reflective comments on education journal articles linked to your role.

 

Educational Supervision Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How can I become recognised as an Educational or Clinical Supervisor at St George’s?

You will need to complete the Professional Development Framework  (PDF Form) and send it to PGME@stgeorges.nhs.uk.

The Post Graduate Education (PGME) team will send it to the Director of Medical Education (DME) or ADME for your division to review and sign, then return a copy to you. Each year the PGME then reports the list of Trust approved supervisors to Health Education England (HEE). Your GMC registration will then be updated with the additional comment ‘This doctor is a trainer recognised by the GMC’.

To be able to complete the Professional Development Framework form you will need to show that you have undertaken training and demonstrated competencies against all seven areas of the Framework.

You may choose to access training from a variety of sources, such as through internal courses such as Summit, or through specialty specific educational supervision courses such as those run by the Royal Colleges or Specialty Schools.

Your Educational Lead or College Tutor should be able to signpost you to specialty specific courses or have a look on the specialty school websites.

Alternatively, you may choose online learning:

  • E-learning modules via ‘Educator Hub’ on the e-learning for healthcare HEE site. Video based modules mapped to the seven areas of the framework.

https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/educator-hub/

  • E- learning modules are also available via ‘Future Learn’:

Clinical Supervision with confidence

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/clinical-supervision-with-confidence

Once you are recognised you will need to continue to demonstrate on-going commitment to your development as a medical educator in a three-yearly cycle of review. The seven areas of the Framework are mapped to the ‘Medical Educator’ section of your L2P appraisal form to allow you to update and reflect on your development as part of your yearly appraisal.

 

  1. I am recognised, but I need to show that I am maintaining my performance as an Educational or Clinical Supervisor at St George’s. Can you help?

If you want an overall update you might choose a course such as Summit or a specialty specific educational supervision update course. However, it is worth looking at the ‘Medical Educator’ section of your last appraisal or your original Professional Development Framework form and think if there are specific gaps you want to fill or areas you need to develop.

Educational supervisors, exception reports and work schedule reviews:

https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/educational-and-clinical-supervisors/

Supervision of less than full time trainees:

https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/supervision-of-less-than-full-time-trainees/

  • E Learning modules are available via ‘Future Learn’:

Clinical Supervision – assessing and providing feedback https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/clinical-supervision-assessment-feedback

  • E-learning modules via ‘Educator Hub’ on the e-learning for healthcare HEE site. Video based modules mapped to the seven areas of the framework.

https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/educator-hub/

  • Sign up for the London Deanery Educational Supervisors Multisource feedback tool:

https://faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk/supervisor-MSF

As long as you supervise a minimum of 5 trainees over 3 years you can use this to find out more about your performance as a supervisor from your trainees’ perspective.

Does your department routinely survey their trainees at the end of their placements?  Example questions for departments can be found here.

If you contact PGME team, they will be happy to put together a survey monkey link for your trainees, or alternatively create your own survey using MS Forms.

 

  1. I am supervising a trainee who is experiencing difficulties. What support is available?

Support for your trainee:

  • HEE London and KSS Professional Support Unit – services accessed via trainee self-referral
  • Careers support
  • Individual support team
  • Specialist Clinical Communication & Linguistics
  • Coaching
  • Exam support including dyslexia assessment
  • Supported return to training

https://www.lpmde.ac.uk/professional-development/professional-support-unit

  • Occupational health

https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/service/occupational-health/

  • Trainee’s own GP
  • Guardian of safe working

https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/work-with-us/medical-and-dental-staff/staff-support-including-guardian-roles/guardian-of-safe-working/

Support for you as their supervisor:

Any trainees who are experiencing difficulties should be specifically discussed during Local Faculty Group Meetings and action plans for local team support agreed and documented in the Local Faculty Group Meeting form which should then be sent to PGME.

LFG Reporting Form Nov 2022

As Educational Supervisor you should update your Educational Lead/ College Tutor and Training Programme Director.

Mental health advice for supervisors on supporting learners at work

Short animated films and advice leaflets for both learners and supervisors: Click here

 

  1. I am supervising a LTFT trainee/trainee returning to clinical training. Where do I find resources to help me with this?

PGME are running some update courses to help educational supervisors develop the skills and knowledge to supervise these trainees. Look out for course dates.

Resources for supporting LTFT trainees:

A Reference Guide for Postgraduate Specialty Training in the UK- including information about applying for and undertaking LTFT training: The Gold Guide

PGMDE portal: Support : HEE-NHS

GMC guidance: GMC Position Statement on LTFT Training

Guidance on LTFT rotas: NHS Employers Good Rostering Guide

LTFT pay: BMA – LTFT Trainees – Your pay explained

Pregnant trainees: Risk Assessment for Expectant Mothers

Resources for educational supervisors of trainees returning to clinical work:

General information about SuppoRTT:

SuppoRTT | Health Education England (hee.nhs.uk)

Website with forms that need to be completed to apply for funding:

Apply for SuppoRTT | London (hee.nhs.uk)

Supported Return to Training | London (hee.nhs.uk)

List of courses available for returning trainees:

Supported Return to Training (SuppoRT) Resources Courses and Events | London (hee.nhs.uk)

 

General info:

Return to Practice Guidance 2017 revision – Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (aomrc.org.uk)

EJDWL_Report_Edit_FINAL.pdf (hee.nhs.uk)

 

For educational supervisors interested in undertaking further training in supporting LTFT trainees,  Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) has developed an e learning course:

Supervision of Less Than Full Time Trainees – elearning for healthcare (e-lfh.org.uk)

Questions about supervising LTFT trainees and the SuppoRTT programme can be directed to the trust champion- Dr Rosy Wells (rosy.wells@stgeorges.nhs.uk)