Primary care education is more important than ever as we teach and inspire the future workforce. It is a core component of undergraduate education and essential for the students as they learn the importance of healthcare in the community. It teaches students about health and illness within the context of individuals, families and society, along with the integral role that primary care plays within healthcare delivery, and it’s interface with secondary care.
The Primary Care department at SGUL is responsible for all General Practice teaching throughout the MBBS curriculum, from tutorials to small group teaching sessions, clinical placements and practice assistantships. We are hugely grateful to all our community GP tutors who, along with our administrators and academic team, enable us to continue to deliver excellent teaching and training for all our students year on year.
We would love to hear from you if you or your practice are interested in teaching our fabulous St George’s students. Please see below for further information about getting involved.
Getting Involved – Tutor Recruitment
Most of our teaching opportunities involve hosting and teaching medical students in practice. Please see our Primary Care Education page for more information about the placements we run. Primary Care Education (sgul.ac.uk)
As an introduction to teaching, we run the George’s Academic Teaching Essentials (GATE) course, which is mandatory for all new community GP tutors who have not completed an introduction to teaching course previously. We also provide educational training and CPD sessions to support the ongoing development and teaching skills of all our tutors. Please see below for further information and upcoming courses and CPD.
If you are interested in teaching for St George’s please email PrimaryCareEduc@sgul.ac.uk and we will contact you with details of the teaching requirements and remuneration.
Tutor Training and CPD
This is a teaching essentials course developed by the primary care team for all our community GP tutors. It is free for those who teach, or intend to teach, St George’s medical students. It is mandatory for all new community GP tutors who have not completed an introduction to teaching course previously.
The course will cover What is learning?, Learning Needs Analysis, Teaching Styles, Lesson Planning, and Giving Feedback. It links educational theory to practical development of teaching skills and will provide opportunities for small group microteach practice.
Certificates of attendance, with CPD accreditation, will be sent following completion of the course.
Book your place here.
Clinical Teachers’ Day is designed to support clinical teachers and those involved in the teaching and supervision of St. George’s medical students, across the whole MBBS course.
This year's programme will run across two consecutive afternoons - Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 September - with a programme designed specifically to assist clinical teachers in their teaching, supervision and support of St. George's medical students and featuring a mix of both online/virtual workshops and in-person sessions with plenaries, presentations and networking opportunities on-site at St. George’s.
The event is free of charge and open to teachers of St. George’s medical students. Attendance is accredited for a maximum of 8 (external) RCP CPD credits (4 points per day attended).
Info: Clinical Teachers' Day (sgul.ac.uk)
Programme: Clinical Teachers' Day 2024 - Programme (sgul.ac.uk)
Book a place: Clinical Teachers' Day 2024 registration (jisc.ac.uk)
This 90-minute interactive online course is designed to explore some of the challenges you may face as a clinical teacher during a busy GP clinic and provide practical guidance based on educational theory to help you deliver meaningful educational experiences for your students.
The course is free to attend and open to all GPs teaching in a community or primary care setting. The course will be delivered by Faculty Development Lead Dr Emma Metters and members of the Primary Care Education teaching team at St George’s University of London.
Certificates of attendance will be sent after the course. These can be used as CPD for your annual appraisal.
Further information and joining links will be sent prior to the event.
Book your place here.
"I’ve been a GP tutor on the SGUL MBBS Programme for several years now, hosting both first and second year students at the practice. It’s something I have thoroughly enjoyed, and hope to continue to do for the rest of my career.
Seeing the enthusiasm and enjoyment the first years have during their first encounters with patients is really lovely, and the placements are something I wish I’d had during my early years full of lectures and dissection! It’s also exceptionally rewarding watching the students develop their communication skills throughout their sessions, and build rapport and relationships with patients so early on in their training.
Initially I struggled with patient recruitment for the students’ visits, but now I find some of my ‘regulars’ asking when the students are coming back to the practice and whether they can get involved again!
I’d highly recommend the GP Tutor role to any GP interested in teaching, looking to add some variety to their working week. SGUL are able to offer some flexibility with the frequency and number of students the practice agrees to host, which has been really useful when planning workforce arrangements in the ever-busy General Practice world! "
Dr Oliver Mumby, The Greyswood Practice
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience of being an early years GP tutor over the last two years. I have had the pleasure of teaching M4 Year 1 and M5 Years 1 & 2 students and found it to be both rewarding and fulfilling! As well as being able to shape the next generation of doctors, I have learnt plenty from them along the journey. St George’s University teaching department have always been supportive and easily accessible if you have any queries. They provide thorough teaching materials to make the whole process seamless and less time consuming for us as GPs who are juggling multiple commitments! I look forward to continuing to teach their students."
Dr Nikita Shah, Wandsworth Medical Centre
Dr Adrian Brown and Dr Nicola Buxton describe teaching opportunities in the Early Years and Final Year of the MBBS programme
The delivery and quality assurance of clinical placements provided by our primary care partners is governed by the NHS Education Funding Agreement 2024-27.
Any teaching offered in primary care is governed by our Standard Terms and Conditions Agreement. Read Terms and Conditions for Primary Care Education Providers. City St George's, University of London (PDF) which forms the basis of the contract for teaching.
MBBS Quality Standards for Clinical Placements
The MBBS Quality Standards for Clinical Placements outline the standards of clinical teaching expected of our teaching partners, affiliated hospital trusts and general practices. We aim to foster high standards and excellence in clinical teaching for all our students. The document details the essential core requirements to be delivered on each placement and which can be monitored as part of a robust quality assurance process. In addition, the MBBS Quality Standards for Clinical Placements outlines Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are monitored closely through student end of placement feedback. The MBBS Quality Standards for Clinical Placements are reviewed biennially or upon major changes to the curriculum.