Collecting your supporting information

To support trainers in collecting appropriate evidence, the GMC have adopted the Academy of Medical Educators’ Framework for Supervisors which details seven competency areas:

1. Ensure Safe & effective patient care through training
2. Establish and maintain an environment for learning
3. Teaching & facilitating learning
4. Enhancing learning through assessment
5. Supporting & monitoring educational progress
6. Guiding personal & professional development
7. Continuing professional development as an educator

Named Clinical Supervisors will be expected to provide evidence in areas 1-4 and 7. All other named trainers will be expected to provide evidence across all seven areas.

Minimum standards

For guidance, the EOs have defined a set of minimum standards for both initial and ongoing recognition. These minimum standards aim to ensure that all trainers have the appropriate knowledge and skills for their educational role

Initial recognition

For initial recognition, you will need to collect evidence that shows you have the appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding to perform a teaching or training role.

There are three routes to initial recognition:

• Completion of an accredited course or qualification in medical education, or a basic training programme mapped against the GMC's framework (including the completion of any other mandatory training elements).
• Award of full membership or fellowship of the Academy of Medical Educators or fellowship of the Higher Education Academy or professional recognition via a similar scheme supported by your Medical School or Royal College. 
• For experienced trainers, submission of a range of supporting information uploaded into the SOAR document store and mapped to all relevant Framework areas. Trainers who are not appraised through SOAR will be provided with information about how to collate information and self-declare by their EO (usually a Medical School)

Your supporting information might include certificates of attendance at training but could also include reflections or a wide range of other elements. You will need to provide documentation mapped to all relevant framework areas to satisfy the EO that you are ready for initial recognition but as this is a baseline measure it does not need to be from the current appraisal cycle.

Ongoing recognition

To maintain your ‘recognised trainer’ status you will need to evidence your ongoing professional development as a trainer. You do not have to provide supporting information in all Framework areas every year but you will be expected to cover all relevant areas within your five-year recognition cycle, or your revalidation cycle - whichever comes first.

 At your appraisal meeting, you and your appraiser will be able to see which of the self-declaration statements you have completed, along with the supporting information you have provided. For re-recognition, which will tie in with your revalidation, this should cover all relevant framework competency areas. Provided there are no gaps in these areas, the trainer recognition element of your appraisal discussion should focus on the quality of your supporting information.

Ideally, your supporting documentation will include information about:

• what you do (timetables, rotas, teaching plans, Measurement of Teaching (MoT) data etc.)
• why you do it in that particular way (best practice identified from literature, attendance at training, discussions with colleagues, journal clubs, reflective notes etc.)
• how well you do it (student or trainee feedback, multi-source feedback, peer observation etc.)

Your appraiser should help you reflect on whether the supporting information you have selected adequately demonstrates your ability to perform the role(s) you wish to be recognised for and identify any gaps. You will self-determine your readiness for re-recognition as a component aspect of your appraisal discussion, and your self-declaration will be sent to the relevant EO(s) who will make the final decision about whether you can be re-recognised as a 'named trainer' or not.

The discussion between you and your appraiser will remain confidential and will not be shared with the EO in any form. Your supporting documents will not routinely be made available to EOs but they may contact you to request them as part of their decision making and/or quality management processes. 

*** Changes to the ongoing recognition process in 2021 / 2022 ***

RoT reviews were impacted by COVID, with existing trainers’ capacity to meet the requirements for ongoing recognition, prompting a NES meeting with Directors of Medical Education.  

Following discussion and with the agreement of the Medical Directorate Executive Team, a decision was taken to postpone RoT reviews during 2022 for recognised trainers.  This supportive action will allow this group of trainers’ additional time to gather appropriate evidence for their ongoing recognition however, they will re-engage with the review process at their 2023 appraisal.  

This page was last updated on: 02.03.2022 at 16.43