This month we will be unashamedly self-promotional and mention three important projects that GPSA are involved in with the aim of raising the profile of GP Supervisors in the media, grey and hard literature.

In our National GP Supervisor Satisfaction Survey, recognition of GP Supervisors was one of your top three issues that you want GPSA to advocate about. And one in four of you nominated raising the profile of GP Supervisors through published research as one way of doing that.

So here you go!

1. The Supervisory Relationship Measure (SRM)

Partners: GPTT and Monash University

The SRM project aimed to adapt and validate an instrument that was originally developed for use in clinical psychology in the UK.

A group of experienced GP Supervisors from GPTT then reviewed and adapted the survey for use in general practice and the AGPT program.

A different group of GP Supervisors then piloted the instrument, gave it the green light and we launched it on all of you – our wonderful GP Supervisor members.

Aiming for a response of 300 we were grateful and delighted when 365 of you responded – thank you all!

Results were then analysed by the team at Monash University and whilst we found no differences between urban and rural; age, gender of supervisor or registrar; and a range of other demographic variables; what did emerge was an extremely reliable, valid and robust survey that can be used in general practice to capture YOUR view on your supervisory relationship with your registrar.

Our expert supervisors also thought the survey might have potential for your CPD planning, for detecting GP supervisors at risk of burn-out and for reflection.

Here’s what some respondents said about the survey:

“It is good to reflect on the negative responses I have given and look at what I can work on”

 “Interesting reflection, does make you think..”

 “I find having registrars encourages me to continue my educational pathway. They can often bring alternative, innovative and current clinical practices to my workplace”

Our focus is now turned on whether we can reduce the survey down from its current 50 items, because we know a survey that size would be impractical not to mention extremely unpopular (it takes about 10 mins to complete).

We also think that this work might be a world first! So we are looking to publish hopefully before the end of the year.

Watch this space!

2. The Short Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SSRQ)

Partners: GPEx, GPTT and Monash University

The SSRQ is an instrument developed for clinical psychology trainees in the UK to capture the trainee perspective on the supervisory relationship.

Some of the same authors that developed the SRM developed this instrument so we thought it was worth a look to see if it too could be adapted for the general practice sector and the AGPT Program.

This instrument was already reduced from 67 to 18 items and we will be taking the same approach and adapting it for general practice and running the main survey next year.

Watch this space!

3. Supervision – who does and doesn’t participate and why?

Partners: GPTT and Monash University

This project tries to capture and understand the reasons why some people go into GP supervision and others don’t and what their demographic characteristics are.

In conjunction with partners GPTT and Monash University, we hope that the results will be useful for encouraging and enticing more GPs into supervision and to help rural workforce agencies understand how to attract more supervisors.

Watch this space!