Dear colleague
Survive and Thrive - a resilience framework for GP trainees
RESILIENCE is generally considered to be positive adaptation in the face of adversity
Supporting our trainees to develop their personal resilience and the skills to flourish in a continually changing work environment is a key priority for the GP School in the Peninsula.
In order to facilitate this a new ‘resilience framework’ is being integrated into the GP Training Scheme. It will introduce trainees to various concepts exploring the development of personal and organisational resilience, various models and methods to develop different aspects of resilience and above all allow trainees some time and space to consider what this means for them personally and their work.
The ‘framework’ will stretch over the three years of Vocational Training and will be delivered through sessions at HEE days, VTS and small group discussions. Year 1 will concentrate on developing self-awareness through exploration of strengths, values and needs; year 2 will look at how we interact with those around us and year 3 will look more at organisational resilience as the trainees move into practice for their ST3 year. By completion of training it is hoped that the trainees will have a ‘scaffolding’ of skills that they can continue to build on as they progress into independent practice.
To further support this framework we will be running a series of “masterclasses’ which will explore some of the concepts in greater depth. These will be open to all trainees from any specialty and post registration doctors including GP Trainers. We really hope they will be of interest to you.
Recognising that this is an important initiative, the Peninsula GP School is working in close collaboration with CAMERA [Collaboration for the Advancement of Medical Education Research and Assessment] at Plymouth University to evaluate the implementation and impact of the ‘framework’.
Your role as a GP Trainer will be really important to the success of this initiative. We know that you already do a lot of work one to one with trainees exploring the concepts we are introducing. We hope the framework will help build on this work - using some of the tools and ideas in your tutorials, case reviews etc. Your discussions with your trainee are key to reinforcing the learning that is happening at VTS.
To help you with this, a link to some of the resources we are using this year is attached.
http://northdevon.org/vts/survive-thrive-trainee-resources/
Details of the Masterclass programme will be available shortly. A work plan and further information are also available through the Peninsula Postgraduate Medical Education website:
[http://primarycare.peninsuladeanery.nhs.uk/ ]
There will be an opportunity to explore more ideas around the framework and the resources at this year’s GP Trainer Conference – Nov 9th/10th at the Headland Hotel, Newquay. We would also be happy to attend your local GP Trainer workshop to look at the tools in more depth.
We welcome any feedback you have about this initiative. We would also like to ask you to send in ideas for further resources we could use. Over time we aim to build up a ‘resource pack’ that is available to trainees, trainers and other colleagues.
General Practice is under huge pressure but is still an amazing, worthwhile job. We need well trained, knowledgeable, resilient GPs for the future. We hope that investing in this initiative will help to support our trainees and reinforce how much they matter both as individuals and to the Profession.
We are grateful for your support.
On behalf of the Peninsula GP School
Susanna Hill, Sarah Ansell, Vik Mohan
Dr S Ansell, APD North Devon and Recruitment lead
Dr S Hill, APD Quality and Assessment lead
Dr Vik Mohan, Salaried GP Exeter University Student Health Centre