Mentoring for Exam Success (DT26-139)

AvailabilityPlaces available  Remove from basket
SubjectCPD
DescriptionSupporting a doctor through postgraduate exams is one of the most important things a supervisor can do, and one of the least supported. You want to help. But good intentions are not a method. Without a structured approach, supervision around exam preparation often defaults to encouragement, signposting, and hoping the trainee figures it out. That is not enough, and most supervisors know it. This workshop, designed for doctors by doctors, gives supervisors the practical tools to have genuinely useful coaching conversations with trainees who are preparing for postgraduate exams. Drawing on the science of learning, performance psychology, and brain health, participants explore what actually gets in the way of exam success for busy clinicians, and how to address it. Through facilitated reflection, small group discussion, and applied skills practice, you will leave with a concrete coaching framework you can use in your next supervision meeting.
Additional information
  • Understand why capable, hardworking doctors underperform in exams, and recognise the specific barriers your trainees are most likely facing.
  • Explore the three foundations of effective exam preparation and how to use them as a coaching framework in supervision conversations.
  • Develop the skills to ask the right questions rather than give the right answers, moving from advice-giver to performance coach.
  • Apply evidence-based learning strategies including retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and interleaving in your guidance, so your trainees are studying smarter, not just harder.
  • Support trainees in building realistic preparation plans that account for rota demands, energy patterns, and the inevitable disruption of clinical life.
  • Help trainees understand what postgraduate exams are actually assessing, so their effort is directed where it genuinely counts.
  • Recognise when a trainee needs a different kind of conversation, whether that is about confidence, anxiety, meaning, or the decision to continue at all.
  • Leave with a practical supervision framework and a set of clear commitments for how you will approach exam support going forward.
Venuevia MS Teams or Zoom, - - Virtual  View details
Date & timeWednesday 20 January 2027, 09:20 to 12:30
LecturerJames Brunning
Target audience

Mandatory: Associate Dean Primary Care, or Associate Dean Secondary Care, or Associate DME, or Dental Educational/Clinical Supervisor, or Deputy Dean, or DME, or Educational/Clinical Supervisor Primary Care , or Educational/Clinical Supervisor Secondary Care, or Head of School - Primary Care, or Head of School - Secondary Care, or Postgraduate Dean, or SAS Doctor, or SAS Tutor, or TPD Primary Care, or TPD Secondary Care

Course styleWorkshop
CateringN/A
CPD points3.000
CostNo charge