Mind Matters: Executive Functioning Toolkit for Busy Doctors and Dentists (PSK14OCT26b)

This session explores executive functioning and its role in managing the cognitive demands of medical training. We will consider how challenges with planning, prioritisation, task initiation and attention can impact day-to-day work, particularly in high-pressure and fast-paced environments.

The session will introduce a range of practical, low-burden strategies to support organisation, time management and cognitive load. These will include approaches to structuring tasks, managing interruptions and working with (rather than against) individual thinking styles.

The session is interactive and practical in style, using a combination of brief teaching, discussion and application exercises. It is suitable for all doctors and dentists in training and does not require prior knowledge of neurodiversity.

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 General Practice and Higher Specialty trainees, and SAS Doctors within Yorkshire and the Humber.

Mandatory: Dentist, or Doctor, or Public Health Professional

To support doctors and dentists in training to understand executive functioning and develop practical strategies to manage workload, organisation and cognitive demands more effectively.

This course will: 

• Introduce the concept of executive functioning and its key components. 
• Explore how executive functioning impacts day-to-day work in medical training. 
• Examine common challenges with organisation, prioritisation, task initiation and attention. 
• Provide opportunities to reflect on individual working patterns and challenges (optional). 
• Introduce practical strategies to support organisation, time management and cognitive load. 
• Explore how to adapt strategies to different working styles, including neurodivergent profiles.

After this course, delegates will be able to: 

• Understand the concept of executive functioning and its relevance in medical training.
• Recognise common executive functioning challenges in themselves and others. 
• Understand how executive functioning impacts organisation, prioritisation and task management. 
• Reflect on their own working patterns and identify areas for change (if applicable). 
• Apply practical strategies to support organisation, focus and workload management.