Useful resources for trainers

This page brings together a range of RCOG and non-RCOG resources that will support trainers in O&G.

Training courses

Like any professional skill, teaching and facilitating medical education requires development. We encourage Educational Supervisors to seek training in educational theory and practice.

The RCOG runs the following courses for those undertaking educational roles – you can search for and book courses from our events listings:

• Training the Trainers (‘T3’)
• How to be a College Tutor
• College Tutors’ Meeting
• Annual Professional Development Conference

Those who wish to extend themselves further may decide to take a course leading to a diploma or masters qualification, such as:

• Certificate/diploma/MEd in medical education (available at Dundee University)
• MEd in higher education (available at most universities)
• Accreditation via experience (available at Institute of Learning and Teaching)

RCOG eLearning

In addition to the eLearning packages for for trainees, RCOG eLearning provides the following resources for trainers:

• The teaching resources section provide case studies, discussion points and tasks for use in teaching sessions
• The workplace videos demonstrate best practice in specialty training, including workplace-based assessments and how to give effective feedback in training
• The core training tutorials in RCOG eLearning include information on teaching, assessment, appraisal and mentoring
• The train the trainers: ultrasound tutorial provides information on the requirements of the RCOG ultrasound programme, including the workplace-based assessment tools used

Recommended reading

The following books provide a useful bibliography for medical education:

• Abbatt F, McMahin R, Pridmore P, Harman P. Teaching health-care workers: a practical guide. 2nd edition. Oxford: Macmillan Education; 1993.
• Harden R, Dent J. A practical guide for medical teachers. London: Churchill Livingstone; 2001.
• Keighley DB, Murray TS. Guide to postgraduate medical education. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell; 1996.
• McAllister L, Lincoln M, Mcleod S, Maloney D. Facilitating learning in clinical settings. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes; 1997.
• Newble D, Cannon R. A handbook for medical teachers. 3rd edition. Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 1994.
• Ramsden R. Learning to teach in higher education. 2nd edition. Oxford: Routledge; 2003.

Useful websites

Evidence-based medicine

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
• NICE Evidence Services – national electronic library for health, providing an introduction to the principles of evidence-based medicine
• Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
• US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
• Centre for Evidence-based Medicine (CEBM)
• Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD)
• Current Controlled Trials – database of controlled trials (password required)
• Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme
• Discern – instructs on assessment of health information, funded by the NHS Executive Research and Development Programme

Medico-legal services and ethics

• General Medical Council (GMC) – has information on consent, ethics and good practice
• British Medical Association (BMA) – has sections on ethics

Medical guidelines and patient information sheets

• RCOG guidelines
• RCOG patient information
• National Guideline Clearinghouse – US government guidelines
• NHS Choices – NHS site for patients

Online indexed databases (with search capability)

• RCOG library database access
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Health Information – US government health site with access to Medline and biomedical databses, clinical trials database, consumer groups, etc.

Government and international organisations

• Department of Health (DH) 
• National Health Service (NHS) 
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) 
• World Health Organization (WHO) 
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
• Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) reports to 2011 – MBRRACE-UK has now taken on this programme of work

Contact us

If you have any questions, or need more information, please see the list of contacts in the education and training team at the RCOG, or the A–Z of all useful contacts at the College.