The GP Academy. Using medical Education to train and retain GPs

Problem

There is a recruitment crisis in primary care with multiple stakeholders (HEI's, HEE, NHSE) working independently to encourage more doctors to "choose GP", starting at medical school (Waas Report), through foundation, into speciality training choices. "The GP academy" aims to bridge the gap between the stakeholders by using medical education to "train and retain" GPs throughout the East Midlands, whilst simultaneously inspiring medical students, through near peer teaching (GP trainees).We aim to 1.Expose every undergraduate medical student to near peer teaching, building on our own evidence which proved medical students were more likely to choose a career in general practice after being exposed to innovative paired careers tutorials as part of their primary care attachment. The GP academy uses GP speciality trainees rather than GP academics in the original study.2.To inspire young GPs to begin a portfolio career in medical education ensuring we increase the number of GP placements in the community at the same time as inspiring the GP trainees to stay working locally post qualification.

Approach

GP speciality trainees(n=12), attended a 2-day "teaching the teachers course" and then taught innovative paired careers tutorials to medical students(n=120), under supervision of an experienced GP tutor(n=12). Pre, mid and post teaching course qualitative data was collected and a post course focus group held for quantitative data collection (with thematic analysis), to enable a mixed methods study to be performed. Medical students filled in a pre and post "paired tutorial" Likert scale to show how likely they were to choose General Practice as a career, to determine if their choice had changed following exposure to the near peers.

Findings

Innovative paired careers tutorials by near peers increases the number of students who would consider a career in GPTeaching the teachers course increases the confidence of GP trainees in "how to teach" the number who would consider becoming a community tutor for medical students Being part of the "GP academy" encouraged GP registrars to stay locally in the area and to continue to develop a portfolio career in medical education once qualified.

Consequences

We have now received funding from NHSE to roll the project out across the Midlands and East with the aim of training 500 GPs over the next 4 years and to create a large workforce planning database for the first time in the region subject to ethical approval. We aim to create a community of GPs with an interest in medical education to increase support, build resilience and sustain the workforce at a time when numbers of GPs are falling, despite government pledges to increase them