Registrars have a responsibility to teach and guide junior doctors. Learning the skills of effective teaching takes some thoughtful preparation, knowledge and practice.

What makes a good supervisor?

Examples:
Attentive, easy to approach, provided constructive feedback, provided opportunities to practice procedural skills – kept me feeling realistic about what I could and couldn’t do. Always put the patient first. A good listener.

The quality of how you supervise makes a real difference to the quality of patient care and to the growth and performance of the interns in ED.

It does take time, BUT if its done well it saves time by reducing errors and creating more competent interns.

By actively supervising and monitoring what they are doing and keeping an eye on their level of stress and ability to cope, you will help keep them safe.

The intern may have already received the formal department orientation by the consultant, but if you are with them on their first day or shift, remember they will need reminders about where to find things and their responsibilities .

Get to know the interns on your shift.
Ask background information, where are they from, where did they do their training, and special interests.

What do they hope to learn during the rotation?
What parts of medicine do they find confusing?
What skills do they want to practice?

If you are aware of the types of procedures they are keen to undertake – then you can make sure they are present if a patient presents.

Do they have any concerns, are there things they would like assistance with, or not sure of?

Find out about their interests hobbies, sport, what they do for exercise.

Make sure they know that they can come to you for advice, help or to debrief if there is an event that has been particularly confronting – patient dying, angry patient, abusive relative.

Discuss the interns responsibility and your expectations.

IF they are unaware of what is expected then it is unfair to judge them after the event.

Encourage them to ask questions

Understand their goals for the rotation and support them in achieving these

Giving honest and helpful feedback can be challenging, however, of all the techniques a teacher can use, feedback has the greatest effect on learning

Time feedback as close to a performance as possible so that you and your learner can still remember the details of what happened. Give feedback that is actionable.

•Listen to self-evaluation first (use this self-evaluation to customize your feedback)
•Discuss and validate what was done right and they should continue doing
•Discuss what needs starting, stopping or improving
•Decide what to do next time – a ‘recognizable action’
•Provide clear instructions and support for improvement – teach ‘pearls’ and ‘general rules’
•Ask the learner to summarize the feedback and plan

Source: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/teaching-on-shift/

With all feedback, remember take into consideration whats going on at the time – if it’s the end of a busy shift and everyone is frazzled ...reconsider.

If you have any issues or questions please contact the Medical Education Unit

If you have any issues or questions please contact the Medical Education Unit

Acknowledgement:
Adapted from:
Helman, A, Mattu, A, Penciner, R. Teaching on Shift. Emergency Medicine Cases. July, 2017. https://emergencymedicinecases.com/episode-99-highlights-emu-2017/. Accessed 29/01/2019