What Has Been The Impact Of Covid-19 Redeployment On Dermatology Trainees' Professional Identity? An Interpretative Phenomenological Study

DT01 Barriers to and facilitators of implementation of the dermatology curriculum across UK medical schools: results of a national survey and recommendations M. Sharma, R. Murphy and G. Doody University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK and University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK Health Education England, NHS Improvement and NHS England are working together to increase capacity, particularly in general practice (GP) and cancer services. Dermatology outpatient services align well with the training needs of the future workforce. There is lack of consistency of dermatology undergraduate (UG) curriculum implementation across UK medical schools. With > 13 million skin-related consultations presenting to primary care annually, GP is a workforce with little UG dermatology training. To understand the barriers and facilitators for dermatology UG curriculum implementation, an online questionnaire survey aimed at UK dermatology UG teaching leads was conducted. Data were collected anonymously using mixed methodologies. The study was approved by the Nottingham Medical School Ethics committee. Seventyone per cent (n = 30/42) of UK medical schools responded to the survey. Twenty-nine responders reported to have an UG lead for dermatology at their medical school, although 11 of 30 had no formal teaching qualifications. Dermatology was a compulsory placement at 26 schools. The length of placement varied from < 5 days (eight schools) to 5 weeks (two schools). One school had no dermatology placement. Clinical teaching occurred most frequently in secondary care consultant outpatient clinics (n = 26; 87%), specialty trainee clinics (n = 19; 63%) and specialty nurse clinics (n = 15; 50%). Twenty-six respondents (87%) were aware of the British Association of Dermatologists’ national UG curriculum, but only 13 (43%) were aware if dermatology at their school was mapped to national recommendations. Over half (n = 17) the respondents did not feel confident in undertaking a curriculum mapping exercise. Half (n = 15) were unsure if dermatology assessments were blueprinted to school curricula. Over half (n = 16; 53%) were unaware of the upcoming Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) being introduced by the General Medical Council (GMC) across UK medical schools in 2024. Perceived barriers to curriculum implementation included demanding National Health Service commitments, dermatology not being deemed a priority in school curricula and difficulty influencing changes at medical school level. Perceived facilitators included workforce planning with support from teaching fellows and interprofessional educators. This study has shown that UG leads need time to develop and train to understand the changes in medical education such as curriculum mapping, blueprinting assessments, the role of the GMC and planned MLA. The survey suggests four broad categories to support the delivery of the dermatology curriculum nationally: (i) adequate staffing and training for UG dermatology teachers; (ii) understanding barriers to curriculum delivery at medical school level; (iii) funding/recognition of UG leadership; and (iv) addressing competing clinical pressures.