Does experience in general practice influence the clinical thinking of foundation trainees?

The aim of this exploratory study was to capture and identify changes in clinical thinking amongst foundation trainees after a four-month attachment in general practice, and to develop a means of analysing the data collected to inform understanding about how clinical thinking develops and changes for a trainee - the learner - in the context of clinical experience. We use the term 'clinical thinking' consistently throughout our paper to refer to the trainees' general thinking about a case, and do so in the same way as other academics. Through the innovative use of Mind Maps, we have sought to demonstrate whether there was a significant change in the themes and key features contained in maps drawn by foundation year 2 trainees before and after an attachment in general practice, and to locate the nature of the change if present. Being able to identify such change is potentially valuable as it can assist in revealing a trainee's learning needs and shape future learning.

The Foundation Programme in general practice: the value added of the attachment - a Wessex experience.

The general practice (GP) educational arena offers a range of learning opportunities for junior doctors in the Foundation Programme (FP). In this study we explored what might be the value added of the experience in GP for current FP trainees in their second year of training (F2s) in Wessex. This is particularly important in view of the changes introduced by the new form of training which include a competence-based curriculum, new assessment forms, and shorter length of training than previously experienced by GP trainers in Wessex (four months). The aim of our study was therefore to explore what might be the contribution of the GP attachment to the formation of FP doctors in Wessex. We collected data from trainers and trainees on their perspectives of the GP attachment using two distinct qualitative questionnaires. We show that trainees in Wessex benefit from the experience in a variety of ways. Variations on the learning opportunities offered in GP may depend on the location of the practice, social environment, cases reviewed, teaching styles, perceptions on the new curriculum and assessment, and the general management of the practice.