General professional training: consultant supervision of trainees

Abstract

‘Educational supervisor’ is the term now used by the General Medical Council for a consultant who has junior doctors working with him/her, whether employed by the National Health Service or a university. This paper represents our views of the role of the educational supervisor, rather than official College policy.

What trainees and trainers think about supervision

“…This was devised from literature regarding the purpose and content of supervision (Herriot et al, 1994;Robertson & Dean, 1997;Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1998;Cottrell, 1999). The questionnaire was piloted and amended as necessary.…”

Public sector physiotherapists believe that staff supervision should be broad ranging, individualised, structured, and based on needs and goals: a qualitative study

“…In other disciplines, such as psychiatry, supervision addresses clinical activity, teaching, research, management, administration, pastoral care, interpersonal skills and personal development. 22,23 Hall and colleagues contended that clinical supervision does not include line management or performance appraisal. 21 We contend that performance appraisal is inherent to effective supervision, without which an individual's learning and development needs cannot be thoroughly assessed and addressed.…”

Trainee views on active problems and issues in UK psychiatry

“…The Royal College of Psychiatrists and individual educational supervisors have a responsibility to ensure the quality of teaching experiences for all trainees. Log books (Cox, 1997), accreditation visits, guidance for educational supervisors (Robertson & Dean, 1997) and improving the quality of teaching/supervision are recent developments aimed to achieve higher standards of training.…”