Working with Neurodivergence: Executive Functioning Toolkit for Busy Doctors and Dentists (FD14OCT26)

This session introduces executive functioning and explores how it influences the ability to manage workload, prioritise tasks, maintain focus and meet expectations within medical training. We will consider how differences in executive functioning can affect performance, confidence and progression, particularly for neurodivergent doctors and dentists.

The session will focus on how educators can recognise executive functioning challenges and support effective working through practical, proportionate adjustments and strategies. This includes structuring work, supporting prioritisation, and reducing unnecessary cognitive load.

The session is interactive and practical in style, using a combination of brief teaching, discussion and application exercises. It is suitable for all educators, including those supporting doctors and dentists in training and those who identify as neurodivergent themselves.

Booking courses

Please ensure that you check your availability before booking a place and add the booking to your diary / calendar. Please ensure that you also book the relevant study leave in advance with your employer.

Please refrain from booking multiple instances of the same course or course type to ensure that places are available to your colleagues. If a course is full, please add yourself to the waiting list and you will receive a notification if a place becomes available.

Joining Instructions

This is a virtual course, the joining instructions for the virtual meeting will be added to the documents section (above) before the course. Please ensure that you are able to access this before the course so that you are ready to join on the day.

Booking cancellation

Participants must make every effort to attend courses they have booked. If your availability changes after booking, please cancel your place through Maxcourse as soon as possible. This will release the place for colleagues on the waiting list.

If you need to cancel within 1 week of the course or the course has started and you are not able to attend, please email england.lsfdcourses.yh@nhs.net to give your apologies.

This course is only available to Educational Supervisors, Education Leads, Training Programme Directors and Senior Faculty within Yorkshire and the Humber.

Mandatory: Dentist, or Doctor, or Public Health Professional

To support educators to understand executive functioning in medical training and develop practical strategies to recognise and support effective working across different cognitive styles.

This course will:

• Introduce the concept of executive functioning and its key components.
• Explore how executive functioning impacts performance and day-to-day work in medical training. 
• Examine common challenges with organisation, prioritisation, attention and task initiation.
• Explore how educators can recognise and respond to executive functioning differences.
• Introduce practical strategies to support effective working, including structuring tasks and reducing cognitive load.
• Provide opportunities for reflection on individual and observed working patterns.

After this course, delegates will be able to:

• Understand the concept of executive functioning and its relevance in medical training. 
• Recognise how executive functioning differences may present in the workplace. 
• Understand the impact of executive functioning on performance, confidence and workload management. 
• Reflect on their own working patterns and/or those they support (if applicable). 
• Apply practical strategies to support organisation, prioritisation and effective working in educational and clinical contexts.