GP ASSISTANTSHIP STUDENT HANDBOOK 2020 - 21: LEARNING NEEDS

LEARNING NEEDS

This handbook is a guide to the course. You will learn most from the direct experience of Primary Care. Try to discuss with the GP Tutor you personal learning needs early in the attachment. A lot of the time will be spent in one to one learning with the General Practitioners or other Health Workers. This teaching will to some extent be opportunistic since it will depend in a large part on the particular patients who consult during your placement. This can be very enjoyable provided that you take every opportunity to learn by questioning and by doing.

You should use the specific learning outcomes in the student guide and other core documents from Year 5, including the practical procedures log book, to guide learning. If you have not already done so, you may find it useful to read the document “Outcomes for Graduates.”¹

INTRODUCTORY TUTORIAL CHECKLIST

You may find the following check-list helpful for use during the Induction session with your GP Tutor:

House Keeping - important practical details about working in the Practice, things to do and not to do, how you can contact the Practice and Tutor if you are delayed or ill (such as mobile numbers or bypass phone lines)
Learning Agreement & Learning Needs Assessment: ensure both you and your GP Tutor have discussed responsibilities
Timetable - an outline of the schedule during the placement. Including ‘We must talk about covid’ session
‘We must talk about Covid’ Discussion with GP Tutors about impact of Covid on their clinical work. Expectation setting. Discussion about placements during Covid – PPE, Social distancing, what to do if you become unwell.
Assessments - what your are expected to complete, and when this should be done.
Learning opportunities at the Practice - this may include GPs with Special Interests, Protected Practice Learning times or teaching sessions, special Community Clinics, and Nursing Home ward rounds amongst others.
Log Book of Practical Procedures and Clinical Skills - go through this with your GP Tutor and agree the best approach to covering the relevant procedures and skills in Primary Care.
Specific Learning Needs and Outcomes - discuss your learning needs and consider the learning outcomes specific to this placement. This will help inform Tutorials and Self-Directed Learning time.

1.General Medical Council. Tomorrow’s doctors. Outcomes and standards for undergraduate medical education. London: General Medical Council; 2009. Available from: http://www.gmc-uk.org/education/undergraduate/tomorrows_doctors_2009.asp