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General information
Educational supervisors
Start Using NHS Medical Careers
Career Planning introduction
Tips for helping trainees
Sample Scenarios
Specialist Careers Advice
Guidelines for MBTI Assessors
The South West Peninsular Deanery & AGCAS DVD Notes
Interactive Medical Careers Map
Sci59
Generation Y
Training in providing careers advice
Group workshop plans
Research papers
Tips for establishing an undergraduate careers service
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Website evaluation 2010
Website evaluation 2012
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Educational supervisors

Introduction

Educational supervisors are typically the first tier of careers support for trainee doctors, as you are most likely to be able to take a more informed and constructive role about a particular trainee doctors strengths and weaknesses. It is not expected that you will be an expert across the whole range of medical careers, instead you will be expected to be able to direct trainee doctors to appropriate resources, so that they can begin to access the information that they need in order to decide whether that particular option might suit them.

Helping your trainee

As an educational supervisor you should familiarise yourself with the four stage model of career planning. You might also want to register and try out some of the exercises on this website yourself, so that you will be in a better position to discuss them with your trainee doctors.

Key points for a 1:1 meeting with your trainee doctor:

Spend some time discussing your trainee doctors career plans at each educational supervision meeting and if necessary arrange an extra meeting devoted to career planning
Ask your trainee doctor to bring their learning portfolio and their career-planning folder to all 1:1 meetings
Encourage them to use the learning portfolio (and any other relevant data) to enhance their understanding of how they have been progressing
Encourage your trainee doctor not to leave career planning to the last minute
In your first session, review the overall four-stage career-planning model
Help your trainee doctor to lay the groundwork by spending sufficient time on Stages 1 and 2
Listening is key. Remember! We have two ears and one mouth – to be used in that proportion
If you are concerned that the trainee doctor is being unrealistic, focus on challenging questions rather than directive advice
If necessary suggest that they talk through their career plans with a colleague. Before this meeting, provide your colleague with a brief report that outlines your concerns
At the end of each meeting, ask your trainee doctor to specify which career-planning tasks they will carry out, and within which specified time-scale.

You can read our case studies in our sample scenario page.

E-learning module on careers support

Dr Caroline Elton, Head of Careers Advice and Planning, at the London Deanery has produced an excellent e-learning module for educational supervisors wishing to study more about providing careers support to their trainees. The e-learning module is freely available and can be downloaded from the London Deanery website.

Coaching

You may wish to find out more about coaching. Dr Maire Shelly, Associate Postgraduate Dean, North Western Deanery has written a very useful guide, Career Coaching for Doctors which accompanies her video presentation.

Attending a workshop

If you would like to learn more about giving careers support to your trainee/s,
most deaneries hold regular ‘Career Support Training Workshops’ run specifically for Educational Supervisors who are providing guidance to trainee docotors. These sessions are run by careers professionals and will provide an opportunity to share experiences and gain an understanding of how to provide effective careers support to trainee doctors.

When to refer a case

The following cases are the most difficult to deal with:

• Trainee doctors who are contemplating leaving medicine
• Trainee doctors whose career plans may be unrealistic
• The chronically indecisive

In these cases it may be that you feel the trainee doctor should be referred to a careers adviser. See our guide to specialist careers advice.

Resources

Below are links to the three major reviews of MMC and the foundation programme:

Collins, J.P. (2010) Foundation for Excellence: An Evaluation of the Foundation Programme, Medical Education England. There is a section on careers (P73 - 77)

Darzi, A. (2008) High quality care for all: Next Stage Review final report, Department of Health

Tooke, J. (2007) Aspiring to excellence: final report of the independent inquiryinto Modernising Medical Careers. MMC Inquiry

Resources for medical students and trainee doctors:

In the Resources pages you will find other sources of information and advice that will help trainee doctors in their decision making about their future career. These resources will provide you with further details about career planning, choosing a specialty and postgraduate medical training. They include links to the medical royal colleges, regulatory authorities and deaneries as well as a list of books you may find helpful.