The School of Primary Care supports the supervision of a range of learners including GP Postgraduate Doctors in Training (GP Specialist Trainees), Foundation Doctors in primary care and the wider Multi-disciplinary Team.

Becoming a supervisor is a challenging and rewarding career move. The process of preparing the practice to supervise learners often acts as a stimulus for personal and career development.

Having learners in the team usually brings a great deal of enthusiasm to a practice and often act as a catalyst for the supervisors' own professional development. It also brings practices service provision, additional income and help with succession planning.

This page focuses on GP training. Additional information about multi-disciplinary learning opportunities can be found at the South West Primary Care Academy website

GP Speciality Training Supervision

Background

Specialty training programmes/posts, including those in general practice, must conform to the training standards set by the GMC for specialty training approval to be granted. Postgraduate Deans are responsible for the quality management of their specialty training programmes.

Standards for medical education and training in Promoting Excellence for General Practice: Application of GMC Standards to GP Specialty Training. This sets out the standards expected of organisations responsible for GP Specialty training and education in England.

https://www.rcgp.org.uk/mrcgp-exams/information-deaneries-supervisors-trainers

The GMC has published criteria for trainer recognition: https://www.gmc-uk.org/education/how-we-quality-assure-medical-education-and-training/approving-medical-education-and-training/approval-of-trainers/criteria-for-trainer-recognition

Quality Assurance (QA) of GP Training takes place in different ways in the South West GP School. External scrutiny is via the GMC and School Board. Internal assurance occurs via the Quality Panel, and approval and reapproval of GP Clinical and Educational Supervisors.

Information about the quality assurance process of training locations, practices and Learning Organisations, including approval and reapproval, can be found here https://www.severndeanery.nhs.uk/about-us/quality-management-4/show/primary-care-learning-organisation-toolkit This is managed by HEE SW’s Quality Team in conjunction with the region’s Training Hubs.

Definitions

Overview of Process

Becoming a Supervisor

Southwest Multiprofessional Modular Supervisor Pathway Project

Maintaining Approval

CPD - Menu of options

Local contacts

Course dates

Definitions & criteria for Educational and Clinical Supervisors

All GP Doctors in Training (DiTs) must be overseen on a daily basis by a named Clinical or Educational Supervisor, who are required to meet certain criteria in order to fulfil the role.

Named Clinical Supervisor (CS)

A named clinical supervisor is a trainer who is responsible for overseeing a specific DiT’s clinical work throughout a placement in a clinical or medical environment and is appropriately trained to do so. The named clinical supervisor leads on providing a review of the DiT’s clinical or medical practice throughout a placement and contributes to the educational supervisor’s report on whether the DiT should progress to the next stage of their training.

Named Educational Supervisor (ES)

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 a series of placements. The ES regularly meets with the DiT to help plan their training, review progress and achieve agreed learning outcomes. The ES 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.

• Supervise	GPST1, 2 & 3 Doctors in Training (DiTs) Foundation DiTs Retained Doctors
  Duties	Clinical supervision Workplace-based Assessments (WPBA) Overview of educational progress to CCT Interim and annual Educational Supervisor Report (ESR)
  Criteria	On local performer’s list At least 3-years post-CCT 6-12 months in current organisation (to be agreed with Patch AD) When the DiT is in the same practice as their ES, the supervisor needs to be available for at least four of a supervised doctor's sessions per week (i.e. 4 sessions of overlap). This can be reduced pro-rata if the supervised doctor is LTFT, but should then be a minimum of 2 sessions of overlap. These need to be actual availability, i.e. after outside commitments have been taken into account.

Where a trainer is acting as both ES and CS, the requirements regarding availability apply as above for CS

Overview of process from Expression of Interest to maintaining approval

Becoming an Educational or Clinical Supervisor

All qualified GPs wishing to pursue accreditation as a named Educational and/or Clinical Supervisor, either for the first time, after relocating to the South West GP School footprint, or following a break from active supervision, should complete this online Expression of Interest form

New prospective supervisors will be required to attend the GP School’s accredited Multi Professional Modular Supervisors’ Course (MMSC).

Relocating supervisors or those wishing to seek reapproval following a break, will need to discuss their individual circumstances with the local Patch Associate Dean. The criteria set out above still apply.

Modular Supervisors’ Courses take place approximately three times per year.

In advance of each cycle Local Programme Teams use a range of information to identify priority invitees, which can include:

• Creating additional capacity within new or existing Learning Organisations
• Succession-planning, where an existing Supervisor intends to retire or step down from training
• Providing support for Supervisors where they are the only trainer within a practice/Learning Organisation
• Other local intelligence

Course attendance is agreed by the local Programme Team, based on need. There may be a delay while awaiting a course and it is possible that not all applications will progress if additional capacity is not required. Please discuss applications with your local team if you feel further information may help them prioritise.

Southwest Multi-professional Modular Supervisor Course

Please see the structure of the course, and details of the modules here

The Multi-professional Modular Supervisor Course allows supervisors to train to supervise a range of learners in an efficient way. It also brings together a range of supervisors from different professional backgrounds to share expertise and provide breadth to the pool of primary care supervisors.

It is comprised of 2 generic (half day, on-line) modules that introduce the core aspects of supervising any learner. This is for all new supervisors who don’t have appropriate prior supervision qualifications.

There are then craft-specific modules that focus on the specifics of supervising different learners (e.g. GP trainee, First Contact Practitioner, Advanced Practitioner). Supervisors can undertake the modules they need to supervise the learners they are responsible for.

Entry Criteria for delegates can be found here 

Summary of modules required for supervision of different groups:

• GP Clinical Supervisor 1,2, 3a (each half day on-line)
• GP Educational Supervisor 1,2, 3a (on-line) 4, 5 (residential)
• First Contact Practitioner Supervisor 1,2, 3b (each half day on-line)
• Advanced Practitioner Supervisor 1,2, 3c (each half day on-line)

GP Supervisor Approval

Once a prospective supervisor has completed the appropriate course modules, they will be contacted by the local Programme team, to arrange an initial approval meeting.

The following evidence will need to be available on the day of the meeting:

• Current Equality, Diversity & Including certificate; this must be dated within the last 3 years.
• GMC number
• Date of entry to GP register
• Date started work in current organisation
• Modular Supervisors’ Course completion certificate
• Induction timetable
• DiT timetable
• Supervisor timetable

Please also have to hand your Prescribing Cost Centre Code and Practice Manager's email address.

In order to maintain ongoing approval, all supervisors are required to submit an online annual self-declaration and participate in 3-yearly peer reviews; these are managed by the local Programme teams in Peninsula and Severn

Maintaining Approval

As part of Stage 5 "Maintaining approval" Supervisors will need to demonstrate engagement with CPD on an annual basis, and as part of of the 3-yearly peer review.

The expectation is that all Clinical and Educational Supervisors undertake:

Relevant CPD (please refer to the Menu of Options below for an overview of examples of the range of CPD activities available which also includes, where relevant, further details of how to enquire about the various opportunities and support available to you)

Engage with the peer review process and be active members of a local trainer workshop as a community of practice.

To support this there is an expectation that Supervisors should have an agreement in their contracts for up to five days of professional study leave per year to support this role.

To engage with a trainer workshop in your patch, please contact your local programme manager / administrator.

Menu of options