Rethinking role models in general practice

WHAT ARE ROLE MODELS AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF GENERAL PRACTICE?

Role models have traditionally been seen as more senior professionals who are perceived as exemplary and worthy of imitation. They influence and teach by example and are an aspect of our culture that we easily take for granted. They are timeless, and healthy societies throughout history have depended on them. Osler adopted role models from an early age, under whose influence he developed a passion for natural history and a discipline of scrupulous observation. The General Medical Council states: ‘Doctors who train other doctors are critical to developing and improving standards of care — they help shape the next generation of doctors and are important role models for medical students and doctors in training.’¹

This process of observation, emulation, experimentation, and assimilation is vital for the development of generalist expertise. However, role models have received less attention than the other two essential elements of effective medical education: organised teaching and structured experiences.

Role models are of great importance in all education and complement the explicit mentorship relationship GP trainers have with their trainee when they ask questions and give advice.² The trainer–trainee relationship is probably the most important single variable affecting a trainee’s progress. Observation allows the trainee to ask, ‘What would X do?’ This holds true for important areas of practice such as prescribing. Albert Bandura, an influential professor of psychology at Stanford wrote: ‘Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others one forms an …