How trainee doctors and dentists in Wales are shaping their own education
[Dr Rachel Lee (pictured left), obstetrics and gynaecology trainee at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and Dr Holly Morgan (pictured right) cardiology trainee at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board]
The idea behind Health Education and Improvement Wales’ (HEIW) Trainee Think Tank is to empower those who are impacted by the medical and dental training programmes in Wales to influence the training agenda.
Ensuring medical and dental trainees have a voice in their own education is an important element of Wales’ offer as an outstanding location for healthcare professionals to train, work and live.
The Trainee Think Tank consists of 12 - 15 medical and dental trainees who represent a number of different specialties, are at various stages of their training journeys and are based across the breadth of Wales. Together, they can therefore provide a very unique perspective from within medical and dental training in Wales.
The Think Tank was founded in 2017 by the then Wales Deanery, which is now part of HEIW, under the leadership of the Interim Postgraduate Dean, Professor Peter Donnelly.
Dr Rachel Lee, obstetrics and gynaecology trainee at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and current Vice-Chair of the think tank, said: “After the launch of the BEST Trainee Awards in 2017, the Deanery realised that among the nominated trainees they had a group who were passionate about training with a good skillset, and they thought - we should try and harness that enthusiasm somehow - and this is why they set up the think tank.”
The Think Tank meets on a monthly basis and is currently working on two projects that will improve the trainee experience. Alongside this, the Chair of the think tank, currently cardiology trainee at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board Dr Holly Morgan, was a member of the Wales Deanery Senior Management Team.
Holly said, “I think the Trainee Think Tank is a great idea because loads of trainees have opinions and problems, but day-to-day they don’t tell anybody or know where to voice them. I guess it’s these little issues that you think probably aren’t big enough to raise, unless you’re asked what could be better or asked for your ideas, and we actively ask for trainees’ ideas.”
The first project the Think Tank embarked on was the expansion of HEIW’s Professional Support Unit (PSU), which provides a range of support services to trainees to help improve their well-being and performance.
Rachel said: “Leona Walsh, PSU Manager, was looking for some direction in how to expand the PSU. We decided to focus on a project looking at why trainees don’t access the PSU, what barriers are stopping them from accessing it, what kind of people would like to access it but don’t, and how could it be improved for those who are accessing it.”
The Think Tank’s next project will revolve around ‘Less than full time training’ (LTFT). The issues associated with completing less than full time training were identified as a common theme among members of the think tank and at the Wales Deanery’s Trainee Engagement Forum that took place in March 2018.
Negative attitudes towards LTFT and difficulty in getting it approved are some of the barriers facing trainees. This next project will look into ways in which trainees completing LTFT can be better supported to overcome these obstacles.
By sitting on the Think Tank, a number of trainees have the opportunity to understand how the training programme is managed within HEIW. They’re able to contribute their ideas on ways to improve training to create an innovative, supportive and inclusive programme.
As Rachel said: “We’re a unique group of people on the Think Tank. We all come from different backgrounds, have different interests and different things to bring to the table.
“The leadership team at HEIW are keen to hear our thoughts and perspective and they respect us, so we have the potential to really shape medical education in Wales.
“The Think Tank is very young and there’s loads of scope for where we could go and how we could improve our training programmes. It has the potential to really empower trainees who are enthusiastic about leadership and, as the think tank progresses, I think we have the potential to be even more influential than we currently are.”
If you would like to get in touch with the Trainee Think Tank, please email: HEIW.TraineeThinkTank@wales.nhs.uk
You can also visit our website to find out more about the current members of the Trainee Think Tank.