An evaluation of community placements for GP registrars in Yorkshire and the Humber: ‘a home visit… not to a patient but to the community’

Lang, Jennifer; Graffy, Hilary; Reeve, Joanne

Abstract

Background: GP registrars are required to demonstrate capabilities in ‘community orientation’, reflecting skills in developing and working with services that respond to community needs. These skills have sometimes been seen as vague and difficult to obtain. In the Yorkshire and the Humber Deanery of Health Education England we developed a novel programme of community placements to overcome this. Registrars spent two half-days with a community organisation of their choosing, working in their practice area. Aim: To evaluate if and how community placements enabled registrars to develop capabilities in community orientation. Methods: All registrars completing placements were invited to participate in the evaluation; 13 (7%) accepted. Semi-structured, face-to-face and telephone interviews explored registrars’ perceptions and experiences of the programme. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results: The majority of participants reported that placements enabled them to attain a range of capabilities in community orientation. Registrars described an improved understanding of their practice community and the social determinants of health. Placements impacted their clinical practice by stimulating a holistic approach to the assessment and management of health needs. Our analysis described five key mechanisms for this learning: building confidence, building communities and networks of practice, gaining novel perspectives, generating a hunger for general practice and experiential learning. Conclusion: Community placements enabled GP registrars to attain capabilities in community orientation. Further research is required to determine the transferability of our findings and further evaluate mechanisms of learning through placements outside of training and their role in the development of professional practice.

Citation

Lang, J., Graffy, H., & Reeve, J. (in press). An evaluation of community placements for GP registrars in Yorkshire and the Humber: ‘a home visit… not to a patient but to the community’. Education for Primary Care, https://doi.org/10.1080/14739879.2022.2027274

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 20, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jan 30, 2022
• Deposit Date: Mar 6, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 31, 2023
• Journal: Education for Primary Care
• Print ISSN: 1473-9879
• Electronic ISSN: 1475-990X
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14739879.2022.2027274
• Keywords: General practice; Medical education (graduate); Community medicine; Social accountability; Social determinants of health
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3919491
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=tepc20; Received: 2021-07-06; Revised: 2021-12-18; Accepted: 2021-12-20; Published: 2022-01-30