Instructor physicians provide systematic support for the training of specializing physicians in their respective specialties and departments.
At the beginning of 2021, we introduced the instructor physician scheme that is used at all university hospitals in Finland. In this scheme, each department is to appoint at least one instructor physician who will be in charge of specialist training in their department. At least one instructor physician has been appointed in each department of the Helsinki University Hospital Area and of Regional Clinical Services.
Aiming at uniform practices across HUS
The instructor physicians meet once every two months. At these networking meetings, they report on their duties and their activities. The aim here is to establish uniform specialist training practices for all departments. As an example, instructor physicians across HUS have introduced regular evaluation discussions with specializing physicians. The purpose of these discussions is to explore whether the specializing physicians have attained the goals set for their training.
Both the specializing physicians and the instructor physicians have been happy with the new scheme. Instructor physicians are rapidly becoming established as a vital component of the practical training provided at the various hospital departments. The challenge in the new scheme is that instructor physicians are feeling time constraints due to the workload caused by their new duties. The University of Helsinki is partnering HUS in delivering the instructor physician scheme, for instance by providing pedagogical supplementary training for the instructor physicians.
For more, read this article in Husari: Laatua erikoistumiskoulutukseen (available only in Finnish)