Dr Richard Darnton discusses his latest research, published in Medical Teacher, January 2023. UK medical students spend much of their training based in primary care centres undertaking consultations with patients under the watchful eye of a supervising doctor. The advent of COVID-19 triggered a huge increase in the proportion of doctor-patient consultations occurring remotely (via […]
Shortage of premises space in primary care threatens GP capacity to teach medical students
GPs say shortage of space in their premises threatens their ability to teach medical students. Medical student placements in general practice are vital for the future of the primary care workforce but pressure on premises space in GP surgeries is affecting GP teaching capacity, according to research on the scale of the challenges facing GPs […]
Dr Richard Darnton awarded Principal Fellow status at the Higher Education Academy
Dr Richard Darnton, Director of GP Education at the University of Cambridge, has been awarded Principal Fellow status at the Higher Education Academy (now at Advance HE). This is the Academy’s highest level of recognition, awarded to recognise the impact of education leaders who are improving teaching and strengthening the higher education environment. Richard Darnton took […]
Exploring the emotional burden of clinical supervision
What’s it like to be a clinical supervisor – responsible for doctors in training – who gradually comes to the realisation that one of your trainees needs to be failed? How would you feel? Would the system support you? In a newly published commentary in Medical Education, University of Cambridge researchers Riikka Hofmann and Richard Darnton […]
Medical education: making the most of remote consulting in primary care
The rapid expansion of remote consulting in primary care, after the pandemic struck in the UK in 2020, changed the experience of medical education, both for the GP tutors and for medical students in primary care placements. What can be done to protect and enhance the educational value of primary care placements in the post-COVID […]
Medical students think GP careers mean favourable work hours but not academic opportunities
First year medical students associate GP careers with favourable working hours and flexibility but not with academic or research opportunities, according to a University of Cambridge study of 483 students at three medical schools, published in BJGP Open. The study was an electronic survey of students beginning their six year courses at three East Anglian […]