We read the article ‘Near peer teaching in general practice’ with great interest.1 As medical students, we would like to share our learning experiences from GP trainees to further this discussion and recommend ways to increase opportunities for teaching.
We believe increasing teaching sessions delivered by GP trainees will not only have academic benefits, but will also provide additional opportunities for students to be exposed to and learn more about general practice as a specialty. This is especially important because of the limited time in the curriculum dedicated to general practice, the current demand to recruit GPs, and the association shown between the quantity of GP teaching in medical school and subsequent entry to GP training.2
In primary care settings, we have had very little teaching by GP trainees. We feel this is a missed opportunity as shadowing trainees exposes us to different consultation styles and allows us to recognise and make comparisons with techniques used by senior GPs. Furthermore, trainees often have more time allocated for each appointment, enabling them to explore a patient’s history, concerns, and beliefs in greater depth. Observing these detailed consultations can be valuable for our learning.
We would like to suggest the following changes. First, the medical schools could ask GP tutors in advance to specifically schedule teaching sessions and shadowing opportunities with trainees. This may eliminate factors such as having little prior notice or time to prepare, which are essential in providing high-quality teaching.3 Second, at the beginning of our placements the supervising GP could introduce us to the trainees as we find this encourages us to be more proactive in organising teaching. Third, to ensure there is sufficient time for the sessions, consultation slots in the GP trainees’ schedule could be blocked to create a protected time to provide teaching. Making changes to support learning opportunities will be in keeping with the RCGPs’ recommendation of providing students with general practice teaching by a range of GPs.4
- © British Journal of General Practice 2019