The Educational Supervisor

The Educational Supervisor

Job description for West Midlands Deanery.

Definition:

Educational supervisors are responsible for the appraisal, assessment and support of postgraduate medical trainees in their NHS trust. The supervisor will maintain an overview of the learner’s performance and career progress.

The role of an educational supervisor is to provide:

·  professional and personal support for the learner

·  facilitation of education and training

·  supervision of the learner’s educational progress

·  support for and contribution to the formal educational programme

·  pastoral and careers counselling as required

·  ensure there is a clear job description / training prospectus for each post

What does a good educational supervisor do?

·  The same consultant may or may not be the trainee’s educational and clinical supervisor. Arrangements that separate these roles are acceptable, provided regular information about performance and progress is exchanged on a regular basis.

·  Meets with the learner early in the post and help with the hospital and department induction to the post.

·  Reviews the trainee’s training experience and progress to date, and agree aims and objectives for learning in the current post

·  Constructs the learning agreement with the learner

·  Agrees a time table for the midterm and end of placement appraisal

·  Gives constructive feedback on progress to the learner

·  Supports and advises trainees in achieving their career aims, directing them to further support as needed.

·  May or may not directly deliver formal education sessions, but should ensure that the trainee is able to attend, and that attendance at external courses is appropriate to the trainee’s learning objectives

·  Records, with the learner, at the end of each post, their achievement of learning objectives

·  Ensures that appraisal meetings, planned at the previous meeting, are private, documented and informed by any relevant source of achievements to date, including reports from current clinical supervisors.

·  Gives feedback, through the clinical tutor or programme director, to the teachers on the training posts and programmes

·  Acts as advocate for the trainee in any difficulties they may be having in meeting the expectations of the programme (eg attending training sessions)

·  Informs more senior staff as appropriate (School leads, clinical tutors, STC chairs) of significant problems being encountered by the trainee in the programme.

·  Engages in the internal quality control systems used in the programme, and in external (PMETB) quality assurance visits to the trust. (Such visits were formerly carried out by the Royal Colleges and the Deaneries.)

Appointment and qualifications of educational Supervisors:

With the advent of Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) and reformed specialist training programmes the educational supervisor will play a central role in ensuring high quality training and education of trainees which meets the needs of the modern NHS to deliver the best possible care to our patients. Educational supervision is an activity which underpins Direct Clinical Care offered by consultants and thus is a Supporting Professional Activity. The precise time required in job plans to discharge these roles will vary according to the number of trainees and the specialty for which the supervisor is responsible

Appointment to the role of educational supervisor in an NHS Trust should take place through the Trust clinical tutor (or director of medical education) and the relevant clinical director. Time must be identified within the consultant’s job plan for his/her work as educational supervisor, and annual consultant appraisal must take account of the performance and responsibilities of the consultant as an educational supervisor.

Therefore the educational supervisor must be able to demonstrate that he/she:

·  is an NHS consultant or general practitioner principal in active practice (essential)

·  has had working experience of sufficient depth and breadth to enable adequate supervision of others in the training environment (essential)

·  is of professional good standing with their Royal College (essential)

·  has a commitment to the principles of professionalism contained within the GMC publications “Good Medical Practice” and “Maintaining Good Medical Practice” (essential)

·  is self critical of his/her personal clinical work and reviews regularly his/her own performance through completed audit cycle activities and can provide written evidence of this (essential)

·  has attended an approved “training the trainer” course (essential)

·  has undergone accredited “equal opportunity and diversity” training during the last three years (essential)

·  has been trained in the relevant speciality assessment tools (essential)

·  has a clear understanding of the relevant college or national curriculum (essential)

·  has a working understanding of the training portfolio used in the programme, including electronic versions (essential)

·  has a sound knowledge of, and commitment to, local and national initiatives relating to clinical governance (desirable)

References

1-  Department of Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education South and West ( 1997)

Educational Supervision: A handbook for hospital-based Educational support.

2-  Chambers R , Wall D (2000) Teaching Made Easy, a manual for health

Professionals, Radcliffe Medical Press, Oxon

3- http://www.londondeanery.ac.uk/general-practice/files/vocational-training/trainers- guide/theeducationalsupervisor.pdf.