Volume 7

LEADING ARTICLES

Developing vocational training for British general practice: a system for the future  Jacky Hayden, William McN Styles, Janet Grant and Brenda Mountford

The place of higher professional eduction in individual recertification  John Pitts, Stephen Vincent and David Percy

Should we really abandon the lecture? Blair H Smith

Higher professional education for general practice  Bob Berrington,
Arthur Hibble and Paul Sackin

Regional advisers in general practice: do we still need them?  Jamie Bahrami

The practice library  Roger Neighbour

ARTICLES

Skills training in medical education: what skills and when should they be introduced?  Dianne Barrington and Christopher Silagy
A group of doctors agreed a list of core clinical skills. Most of these should be taught at undergradute level.

Do general practitioners have appropriate confidence in their knowledge base?  Brian Matthews and Julia Oxenbury
GPs are not good at knowing what they know or what they do not know. They should be offered help with finding out.

Individual educational plans for GPs Rober Hedley
Developing learning plans with the help of a mentor really does seem to improve GPs performance.

Teaching and learning consulting skills with simulated patients: a pilot study for GP registrars  Hasmukh Joshi, Douglas Dare, Gareth Buffett and Chris John
Video recorded consultations with simulated patients can provide excellent teaching material for the day release course.

GPs attitudes towards increased medical education in the community Brian Fine and Mary Seabrook
Inner city GPs are willing to play a major part in undergraduate teaching. A lot needs to be done to convert this enthusiasm into action.

Educational value of a short audit of deaths in general practice  John Holden
GPs can improve care in a whole variety of areas by learning from the circumstances of their patients death.

An evaluation of visiting clinical teachers in general practice training Richard Hays and Lawrence Peterson
Brief teaching visits by an outside trainer are popular but do not reach their full potential.

Simulated surgery using standardized patients to assess the clinical competence of GP registrars a potential clinical component for the MRCGP examination  Liz Bingham, Peter Burrows, Rob Caird, Gareth Holsgrove and Neil Jackson
A simulated surgery needs to have 16 patients to be sufficiently reliable for the MRCGP. Difficult to organize, maybe, but worth it for the range of clinical skills it can test.

Mentoring in general practice  Rosslynne Freeman
Mentoring is flavour of the month. Is this justified and what is the best way of promoting it for GPs?

Pathologies of one-to-one teaching John Pitts
As with consultations, analysis and feedback can lead to huge improvements in tutorial teaching.

Is Balint training really necessary?  Peter Graham and Adrienne Saunderson
A small dose of Balint can have far reaching effects but skilled group leaders are essential.

PGEA non claimants in the inner city: fact and fiction  David Tovey, Mary Seabrook and Clare Vaughan
Those not claiming the PGEA may be just as involved in continuing education as those who are.

What do students want to do during a general practice attachment?  Jillian Morrison and T Stuart Murray
Students welcome a more active role than has traditionally been offered on general practice attachments.

Educational feedback in the management of type 2 diabetes in general practice  Alison Ward, Max Kamien, Frank Mansfield and Barry Fatovich
Personal feedback by an outside doctor or nurse seemed effective in introducing change following an audit of diabetes care.

Registrar training for general practice: a pilot of 18 months of hospital posts and 18 months in general practice Richard Savage, Emma Kiernan and L Alan Ruben
A longer period of training in general practice really is valuable and it allows for better use of hospital training.

Changes in teaching behaviour one year after a general practice trainers course: implications for course planning  John Pitts and Colin Coles
Skills learnt on an intensive course were still being used one year later.

Can a day make a difference? A novel way of teaching general practice  Sanjiv Shah, Sheila Knowlden, John Frith, Robert Fisher, C Dimity Pond and Mark Harris
A workshop for undergraduates between their two GP attachments helped to consolidate their learning.

Evaluating innovation in general practice: an economic framework Anthony Scott
Theres no such thing as a free lunch. But which developments in your practice are the most cost effective.

The training needs of hospital GP registrars in SEThames  Rebecca Torry
Vocational training for general practice in the UK has been mandatory for 18 years. One might have hoped that hospital SHO posts would by now be adequate for training.

Summative assessment of general practice registrarsÕ projects: deciding on criteria and developing a marking schedule  Alison Evans, Carol Singleton, Philip Nolan and William Hall
Here is a useful working schedule for one of the more subjective areas of summative assessment Ð and it can be used to help learning.

Learning by reflection in general practice: a study report  Ali Al-Shehri
Keeping a journal of daily experience helps GPs to learn. Feedback needs to be challenging but supportive.

Portfolio-based learning pilot scheme for general practitioner principals in south east Scotland  Wilfrid Treasure
Volunteer members can greatly help colleagues to build up a portfolio of learning. Mutual learning
and support among GPs looks here to stay.

The Calgary/Cambridge approach to communication skills teaching 1: Agenda-led outcome-based analysis of the consultation  Jonathan Silverman, Juliet Draper and Suzanne M Kurtz
Communication skills for the next century Ð a refreshing new approach to consultation analysis.

Personal learning in general practice Peter Burrows and Lesley Millard
Mentors are a great help in learning. Some training is needed to be a mentor but any enthusiastic GP could do it.

Shouldn't you read more?  Paul Lewis
Here are details of interesting books on subjects ranging from alcohol to sex and from music to medicine. There is much to learn from all of them.

Teaching medical students about long term illness  Anne Stephenson
A short, well structured course can be of great value in an area where students get little clinical experience.

Undergraduate medical students reflections on clerkship in general practice: a qualitative study Mats Foldevi
Relationships between tutors and students are as important as those between doctors and patients.

The role of the associate adviser in England: a survey  David Percy and John Pitts
Associate advisers have different roles in different regions. Diversity is healthy but there is scope for greater planning.

The provision of continuing medical education for GPs the influence of market forces  Agnes McKnight and Terry Bradley
PGEA meetings are good on quantity but doubtful on quality.