by Dr Flik Lalloo and Dr Nicky Hawkins
OOPE
[pronounced ooo-pee]
noun.
‘You’re on an OOPE? What’s that?’ Frequently asked this question over the past 12 months by colleagues, students, family and friends, occasionally it has been all too easy for us to fall back on the automated response – ‘we’re taking a year out of GP training to work in medical education’, and leave it at that. In reality, the insights gained and lessons learned over this past year have formed a significant part of our postgraduate training in themselves. Here we expand and reflect on our Out Of Programme Experience (OOPE); a year-long full-time post as Medical Education Fellows within the Undergraduate Primary Care Education Team at Imperial College London.
Generally granted for a period of up to 12 months, an OOPE does not count towards the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) but provides a valuable opportunity for postgraduate trainees to gain experience in areas outside the curriculum of their chosen specialty. In 2019, as GP-trainees fast approaching CCT, we were keen to build on previous extra-curricular teaching and learning experience and further develop skills that could be applied to our future careers; with primary care a prime environment from which to facilitate authentic undergraduate learning experiences, there is a demand for community clinicians that are willing and able to actively engage in medical education. Despite this, little (if any) formal training exists within the postgraduate GP curriculum. We therefore sought to temporarily pause our GP training and apply for this post, enabling us to pursue these interests further.
Fully immersed within the Primary Care department, we have been involved in a wide range of educational activities (Figure 1). Alongside the regular delivery of departmental teaching sessions across all years of the MBBS, we have engaged in assessment and feedback practice, course evaluation, curriculum development and medical education research, simultaneously undertaking postgraduate qualifications in teaching and learning ourselves.
We feel lucky to have been supported by a dynamic team that is passionate about general practice, continually striving to deliver meaningful undergraduate learning experiences. Beyond developing practical skills in teaching and learning, we have gained insight into the value of true collaborative working – between students, faculty and the community and across different courses and institutions both nationally and internationally. Building on this, it has been exciting to be part of innovative departmental projects that are underpinned by socially accountable values and evidence-based practice; amongst others, specific examples include two pilot Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (Year 5 Longitudinal Community Clerkship and Year 6 F-Zero), the Widening Access to Careers in Community Healthcare scheme, and the Year 3 Community Action Project response to COVID-19.
Taking a step back from the demands of clinical work and focussing on medical education in this way, we have gained valuable perspective on the symbiotic relationship that exists between the two areas of practice – core knowledge and skills acquired from each one enhancing everyday practice in the other. As we prepare to return to our final year of GP training, we feel empowered to actively seek and maintain a balance between the two fields in our future careers. The OOPE year has been invaluable in our development as general practitioners, looking to guide and inspire the next generation of tomorrow’s doctors. To all of you that have guided and inspired us over the past 12 months – thank you.