GP trainers and trainees - trait and gender differences in personality: implications for GP training

Professional identity formation in becoming a GP trainer: barriers and enablers

BACKGROUND

Policy promotes students and doctors becoming GPs, yet there exists little focus on GP trainers' recruitment and retention.

AIM

To explore barriers and enablers facilitating the professional identity formation of a GP becoming a GP trainer.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A qualitative case study within one training programme of the Scottish Deanery.

METHOD

Data were collected between January and November 2018 via semi-structured interviews with 16 GP trainers and 79 regulatory and policy documents. Thematic analysis was applied whilst a reflexive stance as a previous GP trainer was maintained.

RESULTS

Findings indicate GPs become GP trainers through experiences and events across three predominant identities: 'Becoming a Doctor', 'Becoming a GP' and 'Becoming a GP Trainer'. Impediment at any of these stages acts as a barrier. The GP trainer role suggests tendencies for clinicians to be understated in their achievements and abilities. GP trainers dually enact and role model that of clinician and teacher; time acts as a significant barrier. The Scottish Prospective Educational Supervisor Course (SPESC), or previous iterations, is a significant enabler. Royal College of GP's contributions towards GP trainers is absent. GP trainer associations with out-of-hours services have changed over time. GP trainer/trainee relationships are essential enablers to a continued GP trainer professional identity.

CONCLUSION

The role of the GP trainer as a teacher needs highlighting. Processes that protect and maximise this role may enhance the positive contributions of being a teacher. Understanding these themes may enhance recruitment and retention of GP trainers.

The impact of role modelling on the future general practitioner workforce: a systematic review

Role modelling has been identified as an important phenomenon in medical education. Key reports have highlighted the ability of role modelling to support medical students towards careers in family medicine although the literature of specific relevance to role modelling in speciality has not been systematically explored. This systematic review aimed to fill this evidence gap by assimilating the worldwide literature on the impact of role modelling on the future general practitioner (GP) workforce. A systematic search was conducted in Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, ERIC and CINAHL, and all authors were involved in the article screening process. A review protocol determined those articles selected for inclusion, which were then quality assessed, coded and thematically analysed. Forty-six articles were included which generated four broad themes: the identity of role models in general practice, role modelling and becoming a doctor, the impact of role modelling on attitudes towards the speciality, and the subsequent influence on behaviours/career choice. Our systematic review confirmed that role modelling in both primary and secondary care has a crucial impact on the future GP workforce, with the potential to shape perceptions, to attract and deter individuals from the career, and to support their development as professionals. Role modelling must be consciously employed and supported as an educational strategy to facilitate the training of future GPs.