The RCGP Diary Project 2008 – an important feedback to
the Curriculum
C. Tulinius, Medical Director of Curriculum, RCGP
This is a short summary of the Diary Project 2008, to feedback
to the contributors to the Project. An article describing the
results in detail is underway. These results have also been
presented at the UKCEA conference in Cambridge, June 2008.
Background
The project was started with the wish for user feedback on the
Curriculum and with a dream of building a contemporary history of
GP training in the UK. It is inspired by diary projects run in the
UK e.g. by ‘The Mass Observation Archive; University of Sussex, and
in other European countries.
Data collection
Experiences from a pilot study in one deanery were incorporated
into the invitation and the technical data collection.
The invitation was sent out
- To trainees via AiT network mail
- To trainers via Deanery networks
- To all trainers and trainees via the e-portfolio log in web
page
The submission form was to be found on the internet. It was
linked to information about the project.
Short summary of findings and
interpretations
We received 143 (150 in total) diaries (74 from trainees/69 from
trainers). Seven entries were blank, probably pages submitted by
error. For the Diary Project 2009 we are working on changing the
form to give a possibility to edit the page before submission to
avoid submitting problems.
The diaries described how the Curriculum has been implemented
and how the different educational tools are working; the
challenges, the benefits and what it meant to be training within
the Curriculum on a specific day in March 2008.
It has been no secret that the Curriculum has been perceived as
a very big document by trainers and trainees, and that there can be
a tension between the priority given to training and assessment.
However, the diaries gave us everyday life examples of these
perceptions, making it much easier to understand how changes can
support the training in the future.
Apart from this, the diaries described the different contents of
training days as seen by trainers and trainees; Busy days,
impacting the private lives of both trainees and trainers, but with
a huge engagement to grow with the challenges of their working and
training days. The diaries gave many examples of the cooperation
between the trainees and the different kinds of GP educators and
clinical supervisors; the perceptions of where the responsibility
for learning and teaching lie and the flexibility that is needed to
succeed in training in the different learning environments. They
described the ways trainers work together in professional fora,
what they wish for the trainees to gain from the training, the
different teaching methods applied in the training of their
trainees, but also how they worry about their own further education
as trainers. The diaries also gave examples of the support as well
as the practical and technical problems experienced with the
learning tools; primarily the ePortfolio, ‘The condensed curriculum
guide ‘and the websites.
Impact on the development of the Curriculum
In all educational reforms there is an implementation period; a
time to get acquainted with the new structure of the training and
the new educational tools. However, getting feedback from all
trainers and trainees who contributed with a day’s diary in March
2008 has meant that the College groups working with the development
of the Curriculum and its assessments have had an instant
opportunity to understand where changes are necessary.
From an educational perspective it is also very important to
document how the implementation of an educational reform takes
place in the training community. We are therefore very grateful for
all the contributions you sent in 2008, helping us to document and
understand the process of the implementation of the Curriculum.
By implementing the knowledge gained from the diaries and the
other feedback the College has received, we have now been able to
submit the second version of the Curriculum for PMETB’s approval,
and we have set up a strategy for the Curriculum development work
in 2009 to support the training within the Curriculum for all.