University of East Anglia and FutureLearn team up to support clinical supervisors

A series of new courses from UEA is launching to support and guide those holding supervisory responsibility for medical trainees.

FutureLearn, the social learning platform, is announcing the launch of the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) courses in clinical supervision. The first course in the series, ‘Clinical Supervision: Teaching and Facilitating Learning’ is available for enrolment now, and starts on 25th September. The second course within the series: ‘Clinical Supervision: Assessing and Providing Feedback’ starts on 2nd October, while the final course: ‘Clinical Supervision: Planning your Professional Development’ starts on 23rd October this year.

The first course: ‘Clinical Supervision: Teaching and Facilitating Learning’, explores ways in which clinical supervisors can create a conducive learning environment for their trainees to learn effectively. The course is aimed at post-registration doctors and healthcare professionals, particularly those holding supervisory responsibility for pre-registration health professional students and postgraduate medical trainees in hospital or community settings.

Prof Veena Rodrigues, Norwich Medical School, UEA at UEA and lead educator on the course said: “Following the success of our previous online training, we are delighted to offer a set of three courses targeted at clinical health professionals. Participants will cover the full range of clinical knowledge and skills to effectively supervise learners and trainees in their workplace. The online courses are perfect for busy healthcare professionals, who don’t always have time to take out of their hectic schedules. We also offer a variety of tools to facilitate learning, including a strong social element, which encourages knowledge sharing with peers.”

Helen Fuller, Healthcare Portfolio Lead at FutureLearn, commented: “Continuing professional development (CPD) is an important area for healthcare professionals, yet it can be challenging to find the time and money to attend high-quality face to face events.  We’re thrilled that UEA are aligned with our online approach, enabling practitioners and clinical supervisors to benefit from the expertise of one of our leading medical schools, and learn at their own convenience, in bite-sized chunks. We hope they’ll also be able to benefit from other professionals in the field, by gaining insight from their experiences.”

During the course, learners will explore:

• The importance of the learning environment
• The value of interprofessional education in clinical settings
• The ways in which supervisors can identify a trainee’s learning needs, as well as identify gaps in their knowledge and skillset
• Ways in which supervisors can guide their trainees to create personal development plans and encourage self-directed learning
• The essentials of lesson planning and be introduced to educational theories, looking at which methods to use and when.

In the latter courses within the series, learners will go on to explore the importance of assessing competence and progression among students and trainees, as well as identify their own learning needs as a clinical supervisor, and create a personal development plan to address those needs.

Courses within the clinical supervision series are £69, and once learners have completed the course and passed the tests, they will receive a Certificate of Achievement to demonstrate their continuing professional development.