Priority 4: Supporting the development and wellbeing of educators

Ensuring that educators feel valued, are supported to look after their health and wellbeing, and are supported to develop in high quality learning environments is not only vital to keeping educators well and reducing absence, but also to empowering educators to innovate and improve both training and services for patients.

Our educator communities report feeling that there is pressure on them to put service needs before education and training. Recognising that we do not have a future workforce without educators, and that educators’ prime responsibility is to manage education and training rather than service management, we need to enable and protect our educator communities to support and champion education and training, and the resultant patient safety benefits. A culture change is needed to recognise education and training as essential elements of service, not as something to be sacrificed.

According to the General Medical Council (GMC) National Training Survey 2022, completed by over 18,000 educators, 52% of trainers are at a moderate or high risk of burnout. Despite these workload pressures, trainers from all regions and specialties continue to be very positive about their educator role, with 90% of doctors saying that they enjoy their educator role. All professions need educator development opportunities and local strategies need to reflect this. Where specific educator skills are required for smaller professions, these resources should be deployed most efficiently across a region or even nationally.

Initiatives will be established which provide coordinated educator support and development and emphasise the importance of educator wellbeing.