Frequently Asked Questions
1. Teaching
What are the benefits of becoming a tutor / teaching practice?
There is a huge array of benefits to teaching in your practice including but not limited to: inspiring the next generation of medical students, maintaining up-to-date clinical knowledge and practice, becoming part of our teaching community, preventing burnout, improving morale amongst your practice staff and financial remuneration.
As one of our GP tutors phrased it ‘The opportunities are to enthuse and inspire students and show them what an amazing career they can have in general practice – how we work closely with multidisciplinary teams and the beauty of knowing your patients and how rewarding that is’.
What qualifications do I need to become a GP tutor?
Requirements for new tutors/practices
What does teaching a GP placement involve?
There are a number of different placements that vary in their time and student commitments so you can choose one to suit you. Please see our Teaching Opportunities for GPs website for more information
What training do you offer?
We provide educational days for our GP tutors three times per year with each academic term. We encourage you to attend at least one and ideally all three! See our website for details of the next training event
QMUL also offers a number of formal courses in medical education. These include a two day Introduction to Teaching in Primary Care (ITTPC), a one year part-time Certificate in Learning and Teaching (CILT), and a three year part-time Masters in Education for Clinical Contexts
My practice is outside of London, can we still teach?
Yes, in year 5 students can choose to be placed at an outer London practice for their 6 week placement (or half of their placement time). Depending on your practice location, we may also be able to allocate year 3 students. In the third year a number of students will be placed at ‘outer’ Trusts with accommodation provided at the Trust site. We place these students in practices located near these sites.
How do I / how does my practice, apply to teach?
If you are interesting in becoming an Undergraduate teaching practice, please contact our CBME Manager Lynne Magorrian – l.c.magorrian@qmul.ac.uk / 0207 882 2521 or Deputy Manager Kate Scurr – k.j.scurr@qmul.ac.uk / 0207 882 2523
What does the practice need to do to prepare for student placements
Please see our Requirements for New Tutors/Practices
I am a locum/salaried GP, can I still teach?
Yes. If you are a sessional GP who would like to become involved in teaching, for example if you work in several different practices, or your practice does not want to become a teaching practice you can become a sessional GP Tutor. This route is open to all sessional GPs whether you are a locum or a salaried GP. This scheme matches sessional GPs (SGPs) with established teaching practices (host practices) and a host practice mentor. The host practice provides the space and suitable patients, and the SGP organises the teaching. More information can be found in our Sessional GP handbook. Please contact our CBME manager Lynne Magorrian for more information – l.c.magorrian@qmul.ac.uk / 0207 882 2521
You can also become involved with clinical skills teaching based at the medical school campus at Barts or become an OSCE examiner. Please contact CBME deputy manager Kate Scurr for more information – k.j.scurr@qmul.ac.uk / 0207 882 2523
Can students self-organise their Year 5 Community Care placement at my practice?
If you are a contracted teaching practice then students cannot self-organise at your practice.
Who do I contact if I would like to become an OSCE examiner?
If you are interested in volunteering to be an examiner then please contact the Assessment Unit at ihse-osce-examiners@qmul.ac.uk
How do I complete the student assessments?
You will be asked by the relevant Unit Administrator to complete an online assessment and professionalism form for each student. Further information on assessment and grading criteria can be found in the tutor guides
What should I do if a student is absent/missing?
As part of the online assessment and professionalism form, you will be also asked to log which days your students were present/absent.
If a student does not attend on the first day of the placement please let us know as soon as possible so that we can follow this up. Please also let us know if there are any ongoing attendance problems or unexplained absences. It is important to notify us of any attendance issues, so that the School can follow this up as part of our duty of care to the students. Further details can be found in the
What should I do if I have a concern regarding a student?
In the first instance, please contact the relevant Unit Administrator or Unit Convenor. It is better to contact us as early as you identify concerns so that we can address issues through student support before they escalate. This document gives you information about how student support works and what they can offer.
How do I know what to teach the students?
Each unit has its own tutor guide which should help you to plan your student placements. We also recommend that you have a look at our Continued Professional Development and Educational Resources section on our website if you are stuck for inspiration. Please also see the medical school curriculum for guidance.
