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General practice tasters for foundation doctors
Author(s) -
Sales Bryony,
Masding Mike,
Scallan Samantha
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the clinical teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.354
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1743-498X
pISSN - 1743-4971
DOI - 10.1111/tct.12783
Subject(s) - mindset , specialty , context (archaeology) , medical education , foundation (evidence) , general practice , shadow (psychology) , psychology , perspective (graphical) , medicine , family medicine , political science , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , computer science , law , psychotherapist , paleontology , biology
Summary Background General practice ( GP ) is currently not viewed positively as a career choice, compared with other specialties, with GP training programmes struggling to fill posts. Opportunities to change this mindset in the early years of training are limited. Trainees may find themselves applying for entry into GP specialty training just 3–4 months after completing Foundation Year 1 ( FY 1), yet there are few GP attachments during FY 1 that can provide experience of primary care and positively inform career choice. Context To help ameliorate the current crisis in GP , recruitment and retention initiatives are needed to provide relevant experience of GP early in medical careers so that more doctors can make an informed decision to choose GP as a career. Innovation FY 1 doctors have been given the opportunity to shadow final‐year GP specialty trainees ( GPST 3) in clinical practice (for between 3 and 5 days). The voluntary scheme has run successfully since 2014. This paper describes the taster programme and its evaluation. The programme has been positively received by both FY 1s and GPST 3 mentors. The GPST 3s are enthusiastic about GP , which appeared to ‘rub off’ on the FY 1s. FY 1s find it helpful to have a trainee's perspective, gaining an overview of what to expect, including the opportunities available to them. General practice is currently not viewed positively as a career choiceImplications Using GPST 3 trainees as mentors for FY 1 doctors is educational for both groups and can have a positive impact on GP recruitment. The taster demonstrated how varied GP is, and challenged some negative perceptions of primary care. GPST 3s gained confidence in their knowledge about GP and greater insight into educational roles.