eMITTEN
East Midlands Paediatric Trainees Website
How to organise a Training Day
Organising a registrar training day is something every trainee in the region will be asked to do, and it can seem a daunting task. However, if you go about things in an organised manner, organising the day should be quite straightforward. It's also worth remembering that as an NHS consultant, you will require management skills which organising a training day will give you an opportunity to practice!
The Timetable (which you can download using the link in the blue box on this page) makes things quite clear, and you are strongly advised to follow this!
Speakers
Plan well ahead. You need to ask speakers at least six months before the date. Some people you ask initially will not be available, some may take time to get back to you.
Invite a range of speakers - some locally, and some from outside the region. This ensures we learn about topics in a balanced way - not just how things are done in our region. Why not look for any landmark papers published recently relating to your training day topic, and ask the leading author to come and present their work? Outside speakers will need clear directions, and expenses. There are plenty of funds available for this purpose however, it would be sensible to discuss any plans you may have for outside speakers with your training Day 'mentor'.
Be specific. Before inviting speakers, decide exactly what you want them to cover. Specify the topic, the way you want it covered (lecture, interactive cases, small group discussion etc,) and how long their slot is. Tell them who the audience are and how many will be in the audience.
It is very important that core competencies (as defined by the RCPCH) are the focus of our Training Days. It may therefore be helpful to send your speakers the relevant extracts from the RCPCH syllabus. This will help clarify to your speaker what needs to be covered, whilst allowing a little scope for broadening the topic. In the past, various problems have occurred: Eminent speakers have talked about the wrong topic, for the wrong length of time or pitched their material inappropriately.
Make sure you know a little about your speakers, so you can introduce them appropriately on the day. It is important to be able to say something nice about the speaker in your introduction!
Venue
The venue will usually be the Post Graduate Education Centre at Queen's Medical Centre. This will have already been booked, but you will need to contact PGEC staff to discuss how many rooms you need throughout the day - if small groups are to be held, multiple small rooms will need to be booked in addition to the standard single large room.
If you are organising a training day in a district general hospital, remember to publicise logistical details such as parking facilities, as many trainees will not be familiar with some of our DGHs.
Content
The content of the day remains at the discretion of the two organising registrars. When preparing, use the RCPCH syllabus. It is helpful to make the Aims and Objectives for your training day (printed on the certificate) similar to knowledge or competencies in the RCPCH syllabus. Focus on the core competencies as defined by the RCPCH.
Aim for a ratio of didactic to interactive teaching of 1:1. Examples of didactic teaching would be a lecture on a specific topic by an 'expert', the watching of a video, etc. Interactive teaching examples include: Workshops, debate, discussion of 'homework', OSCEs, plenary sessions, role play and question/answer sessions.
Other things to think about..
Rehearse the day in your mind - best to anticipate problems rather than discover them on the day! Print out enough feedback forms and certificates. Make sure a sign-in attendance list is available. Some biscuits during the coffee breaks go down well, as does a small thank-you present for each of your speakers. Make sure the program for the day is posted on eMitten early. And remember - a 'mentor' (a member of the Education & Training Committee) is assigned to each training day, so it would be sensible to discuss your plans with them as these are developed.
And lastly... Remember to get to the post-grad centre early, to reserve parking spaces for your speakers. It is embarrassing all round if they arrive late because they had to park miles away and walk in!
