Being a trainer is a huge privilege and remains one of the most rewarding parts of my job as a GP. I had developed an interest in training during my ST3 year when I began to realise how much I enjoyed analysing consultations with my trainer. The enormous complexity and possibility of superficially straight forward interactions began to allow me to cope with some of the uncertainties of the job I was learning to do. I developed a curiosity about what other people did in their consultations and was impressed by the mentorship and support offered by trainers to their trainees. I was subsequently determined to become a GP trainer. This interest guided my early career decisions, but I was conscious that I would need to wait 3 years before applying to be a trainer. I set out, in the meantime, to make connections with my local vocational training scheme. I offered to run sessions for trainees on consultations skills in order to build my confidence and understand more about the day-to-day running of a training programme. As a 'prospective trainer' I was then invited to attend our training scheme trainer workshops and discovered their enormous value.
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