How we encourage faculty development

Most clinicians enjoy teaching medical students, but many have had little training as clinical teachers. The General Medical Council (GMC) in 'Good Medical Practice' states 'if you are involved in teaching you must develop the skills, attitudes and practices of a competent teacher' (GMC 2006). Mclean et al.'s (2008) AMEE guide on faculty development outlines practice points for those responsible for developing their faculty's educational skills. In this article, we look at one health region, Tayside in East Scotland, where the University of Dundee, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and NHS Tayside are collaborating to implement these practice points. This combined approach has proved to be effective in progressing staff development and recruiting additional clinical colleagues to develop their teaching role.