Evaluate your teaching
Evaluation of the supervision and teaching delivered by you and your supervisory team involves reflecting and then developing a plan to respond to issues you identify. Evaluation helps to improve not only performance, but also the learning environment in your practice.
Registrars can be reluctant to provide honest feedback to training sites and supervisors, particularly if they feel that it may impact on their training and career progression. Obtaining honest feedback from your registrar about the supervision and teaching provided is possible if you have shown that you are willing to receive and act on feedback. You are more likely to receive useful feedback if you ask specific questions about the delivery of teaching. For example, you may ask the registrar about the timing of teaching sessions or the availability of supervisors when called. Obtaining and acting on feedback also demonstrates an open culture of learning within the practice.
Supervisory team meetings can be used for evaluation. The team can be asked to reflect on the development of the registrar and any feedback received. If a ‘no fault’ culture is encouraged in the team, much can be learnt from discussing any critical incidents that have occurred or times when the registrar couldn’t access appropriate supervision immediately.
Registrar assessment of placement
The exchange of feedback is an important part of education. Throughout each placement, we encourage you to engage in discussions with your registrar, sharing reflections on what is going well and what could be improved. We encourage you to be open to registrar feedback and implementing improvements in the learning environment based on their insights.
As part of training, registrars must complete an assessment of placement by the end of each training semester. This assessment is integrated into the TMS and prompts feedback on various aspects of their placement, including supervision, teaching, patient demographics, facilities, etc.
Medical educators thoroughly review all assessments of placement, addressing any concerns directly with registrars when necessary. Access to feedback is granted to supervisors once medical educators have considered the responses. We encourage you to consider the feedback received, assessing your training environment and identify any potential opportunities for improvement. When considering the feedback, please reflect on your training environment. Is it safe? Does it meet your registrar’s needs? Are there any opportunities to improve the learning environment?
The collated registrar feedback serves a crucial role in the training site and supervisor reaccreditation process. During reaccreditation, practices are prompted to reflect on and detail improvements made as a result of registrar feedback. This process not only aids in maintaining accreditation but contributes to the ongoing enhancement of the learning environment.
Additionally, the feedback provided by registrars is used by medical educators to assess the suitability of the training environment for specific registrar needs. De-identified data from these assessments are also used by the RACGP to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the training program.
It is important to emphasize the assessment process is viewed as an opportunity for quality improvement rather than a punitive measure. The aim is to benefit registrars, supervisors, training sites, and the RACGP by fostering continuous improvement in the training experience.