A Formal Needs Assessment of GP Trainers in East Scotland Region

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A Formal Needs Assessment of GP Trainers in East
Scotland Region

• David Shackles
• Gordon McLeay

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• An awareness that formal Trainer support was
  lacking from the Postgraduate Team
• Been highlighted by the introduction of the new
  National (Scottish) Prospective Trainers Course

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• Difficulty in defining needs assessment, as
  individuals and groups have differing views of
  needs
• Bradshaws Typology of Need where the concept of
  need is divided into 4 types

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Bradshaws Typology of Need

• Normative Need what an expert group considers
  as need
• Felt Need need expressed by those asked about
  their need
• Expressed Need need expressed by users of
  service
• Comparative Need need identified by comparing 1
  group with another

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• Normative Need
• Monthly Postgraduate Team meeting
• Advisers, Associate Director and Director of
  Postgraduate GP Education
• Based on results of GPR Summative Assessment
  submissions, MRCGP exam results, knowledge of
  Prospective Trainers Course and information
  coming from the central organisation of NHS
  Education for Scotland
• The information from the Trainers and GPRs was
  not available prior to this discussion.

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• Felt Need
• The GP Trainers - needs assessment questionnaire
• Modified from work done by McKinstry, Dowd and
  Blaney in 2001
• Rate whether a competency was of high, medium or
  low importance and to self-rate their skills on a
  five point scale

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• Expressed Need
• GP Registrars complete a feedback form regarding
  their time in practice
• Asked to comment on what they thought their
  Trainers needs were using a modified form of the
  needs questionnaire sent to the Trainers
• The Registrars were assured that their responses
  would be anonymous

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• Comparative Need
• By examining the Trainer programmes provided by
  the other 4 regions in Scotland
• Obtained from the departmental web pages and from
  the contact person listed on these web pages

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Results
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• Normative Need
• Facilitated discussion
• 4 main areas which were felt particularly
  important
• These were-
• Audit and specifically its relation to
  Summative Assessment
• Theories of adult learning
• Recording the progress of a GPR through their
  training year
• The Trainer as an employer

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• Felt Need
• Return Rate 32/41 (78)
• Competencies where a large number of trainers
  felt their skills were Not Good or Poor were
  highlighted
• Note was also taken of high, medium or low
  importance to training
• Not all doctors completed every box on the form
  particularly in the importance rating column

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• The areas which were highlighted as important and
  where skills were rated as not good or poor were
• Ability to discuss theories of adult learning,
  experiential learning and learning cycles.
• Methods for self appraisal and professional
  development.
• Ability to use Cambridge Calgary or other
  systems to analyse videos.
• Assessing your own tutorial skills on video.
• How to structure and develop tutorials.
• Explain how to assess the quality of an article.
• Explain different types of study.
• Explain simple statistical concepts.

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• Be able to let a failing registrar know your
  concerns and devise a plan of action.
• Be able to advise on the different parts of the
  MRCGP.
• Be able to document training by an educational
  log.
• Ability to recommend appropriate MRCGP texts.
• Able to recommend general texts or other articles
  on common problems and ethical issues.
• Know regulations covering health safety and
  employment law.
• Know the regulations governing sick leave study
  leave and on call.

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• Free text boxes were provided for responders to
  indicate
• What areas do you feel you need to develop most?
• What would be the best way to develop these?
• What other teaching skills you wish to acquire
  not covered in the questionnaire?
• The commonest suggestions to run workshops and
  to encourage individual reading and learning.
• There were no skills suggested that were not
  included in the questionnaire.
• A number of trainers indicated the increasing
  need to get protected time for training the
  trainers and the inadequacy of the funding
  available.

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• Expressed Need (GPRs)
• Response Rate 18/22 (81.1)
• Asked to comment whether they felt that their
  Trainer required further training on certain
  aspects of postgraduate education
• Very few felt that any further training needed!
• Several areas highlighted

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• These included
• Theories of adult learning
• Methods for self appraisal and professional
  development
• Marking scheme for video component of MRCGP exam
• Structuring and developing tutorials
• Making use of different types of educational
  methods in tutorials
• Being able to advise on the different parts of
  the MRCGP
• Being able to recommend appropriate texts for the
  MRCGP

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• Comparative Need
• Region 1
• Specific workshops throughout the academic year
  including critical thinking, tutorial techniques,
  methods of teaching and learning, appraisal
  training and the GP Trainer as Employer

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• Comparative Need
• Region 2
• Emphasised the importance of the local Trainer
  workshops - formalised into meetings 4 times per
  year
• Specific pre-advertised topics including critical
  reading, assessment of consultation competence,
  the use of the internet, MRCGP support, managing
  change, appraisal training and the Trainer as an
  employer
• Annual Trainer workshop

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• Comparative Need
• Region 3
• Reconsidering their Trainers needs and were in
  the process of developing a programme of courses
  in addition to MRCGP video and Calgary Cambridge
  Consultation Skills workshops

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• Comparative Need
• Region 4
• two 2 day GP Trainer workshops during the course
  of the year

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• Comparative Need
• Region 5
• Trainer development has been supported by an
  Annual Conference run in conjunction with the
  Undergraduate Tutors and Research Development
• Annual Away Day for Trainers specifically
• Topics have usually been set by the organising
  group
• In addition - infrequent departmental afternoon
  workshops, some of which have been specifically
  organised for Trainers

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• The Outcome
• Results discussed at Postgraduate Team meeting
• Certain topics are common to each of the methods
  of needs assessment
• Information used to construct the programme for
  the Away Day and ? the departmental Annual
  Conference
• Has also given the Postgraduate group a focus for
  additional stand-alone workshops throughout the
  academic year

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Comments and Questions?