Workforce, training and education
East of England

NB: The current Aspiring Educator pathways will be coming to an end on 30 April 2024.

If you are currently undertaking this process, please make sure to complete it by April 2024. 
Details on the new pathway are available at the Tier 3 linked here.

What type of GP Educators are there?

Tier 2a - Out of Hours Supervisors - who can provide Clinical Supervision to GP Trainees in Out of Hours Settings

Tier 2b - Associate Trainers - who can provide Clinical Supervision to GP Trainees (up to ST2) and Foundation Doctors in GP practices. 

Tier 3 - GP Trainers - who can provide Clinical and Educational Supervision to all stages of GP Trainees and Foundation Doctors in GP practices. 

 

What is the first step to becoming a GP educator?

If you are interested in becoming an educator please first contact your local Training Programme Director who can help guide and support you through the process.

How do I get involved with teaching undergraduates?

At present, this is managed separately. 

If you would like to know more about teaching undergraduates at the University of Cambridge, please click here.

If you would like to know more about teaching undergraduates at the University of East Anglia, please contact the Head of Primary Care teaching, Dr Richard Young (wm091@uea.ac.uk) for more details or ring our placements team on 01603 591476.

Does it Matter which order I complete the stages of training?

In the longer run, it is preferable for delegates to complete eLFH, University Day, HEE Hub and GP School-specific material in that order. However, in the pandemic period we’re taking a pragmatic approach that delegates can do these elements in any order to fit around their other work. As long as you complete all those elements before attending the Webinar session, and as long as all elements are complete including the Webinar before submitting your application form, that will be accepted. We may revise this in future if the pandemic situation permits but not until April 2022 at least. We’re keen to provide people with certainty and flexibility to support our educators at this time.

 
I don’t have a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education, but I have done a Training Event. Will that exempt me from the University Day?

The University Day is there to provide scrutiny by an external academic body about the standard to which our GP Educators understand the theory of what they’re trying to do. We will consider alternatives, and you’re welcome to email communityschools.eoe@hee.nhs.uk to ask. However, we would require information about any course in sufficient detail to determine whether is meets a standard of the University Day and has scrutiny by an external academic body such as a University.

Ihave lots of experience teaching Foundation Doctors / Medical Students. Do I still need to do all of the components?

Yes. We greatly appreciate and benefit from the wealth of knowledge that people who have experience with learners bring with them. However, the GP School-specific Training videos are still required for this group because GP Trainees have their own specific needs which are not the same as other groups of learners.

I’m an Associate Trainer. Can I do a shortened course to become an Associate Trainer (Tier 2b Educator) or GP Trainer (Tier 3 Educator)?

If you trained as an Associate Trainer (Tier 2a) in the new HEE Tiered System from 2018 onwards, then you don’t need to complete the material you’ve already completed. You can complete a brief Refresher Pack and the Advanced Pack to become a GP Trainer (Tier 3). The Online Webinar will be unchanged, so you only need to attend the part of that morning that you haven’t already completed.

If you trained as an Associate Trainer before the new Tiered Educator system in 2018 was introduced, then you will need to complete all elements for the Tier of GP Educator you wish to become as if you were a new starter. This is because so many of the elements of training have fundamentally changed in that time and so have the challenges in supporting our trainees. The feedback that we’ve had from delegates so far is that they’ve found this additional learning valuable, and that any additional time taken is probably saved in knowing how to most efficiently and effectively help the group of learners that they’re trying to support.

I’m an Out of Hours Supervisor. Can I do a shortened course to become an Associate Trainer (Tier 2b Educator) or GP Trainer (Tier 3 Educator)?

If you trained as an Out Of Hours Supervisor (Tier 2a) in the new HEE Tiered System from 2018 onwards, then you do not need to complete the material you’ve already completed. You can complete Intermediate Packs to become an Associate Trainer (Tier 2b), or Intermediate and Advanced Packs to become a GP Trainer (Tier 3). The Online Webinar will be unchanged, so you only need to attend the part of that morning that you haven’t already completed.

If you trained as an Out of Hours Supervisor before the new Tiered Educator system in 2018 was introduced, then you will need to complete all elements for the Tier of GP Educator you wish to become as if you were a new starter. This is because so many of the elements of training have fundamentally changed in that time and so have the challenges in supporting our trainees. The feedback that we’ve had from delegates so far is that they’ve found this additional learning valuable, and that any additional time taken is probably saved in knowing how to most efficiently and effectively help the group of learners that they’re trying to support.

Has the course changed again recently?

Yes. The course changed in May 2021. 

Why are you changing the course?

Several changes have taken place in quick succession over the past couple of years, including a new system for accrediting educators in any specialty by HEE, a Covid 19-driven online version and the RCGP’s new ePortfolio and WBPA system. We’re now streamlining our offering so that it joins together more neatly, takes into account more recent developments of prominence such as the Recorded Case Assessment exam and our work on Differential Attainment, and people taking part will find the content avoids duplication in places.

But I am part way through. Help!

Don’t worry. The old version is running in parallel to the new version for 6 months (expiring on 19th November 2021). We’re very keen to support the group of learners who are part of the way through and give you plenty of time to complete the material you’ve started. Where there is additional material that might help you with post-August 2020 RCGP ePortfolio and WBPA changes, we will signpost you to additional (optional) resources you might find helpful. We’ve deliberately left a generous time for anyone undergoing this course to complete the old version, but in the unlikely event you might run out of time then please approach us directly on communityschools.eoe@hee.nhs.uk so that we can offer you direct support.

Has it all changed then?

No. Only the eLFH modules and Panopto videos are updated, but the other elements (HEE Hub material, University Day and Online Webinar) are unchanged. There are new elements and videos but we’ve removed some eLFH material to balance this out, so we anticipate the workload to be very similar in total, and probably less for most participants.

The process remains the same, it’s just that the eLFH and Panopto video content is updated.

How will I know which webinar to book onto?

The Webinar requires the same activity and preparation regardless of whether you’ve done the new or old version of this course. So, it doesn’t matter which version you’ve done, your experience of the Webinar element should be the same.

Wednesday, 19 May, 2021
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