RCSEd Mentor Development Programme

Overview

The RCSEd Mentor Development Course is a practical online course designed to equip participants with essential mentoring skills for leadership and clinical settings. It focuses on working effectively with trainees, colleagues, and patients while preparing participants to become mentors on the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) Surgical Mentoring Scheme.

Key Benefits:

Fully Funded Training: Participants who commit to mentoring in the scheme for at least two years will have their training costs fully funded by RCSEd.
Flexible Mentorship Cycles: Mentorship cycles last between 6–12 months, with a maximum of two mentees at any given time.
Proven Framework: The course is underpinned by Egan’s model, the most widely used mentoring framework in medicine.
Expert Guidance: Receive feedback from experienced facilitators and engage in skills practice to refine your mentoring abilities.
Ongoing Mentor Support: Participants will join a community of practice offering ongoing support and development Participants will also explore practical and professional issues related to coaching and mentoring in the workplace, with support to integrate these skills into their professional roles.

The programme works through the three stages of Egan’s model, the most widely used framework underpinning mentoring in medicine highlighting the skills that are required for effective practice. Feedback from experienced facilitators during skills practice sessions supports participants to develop mentoring skills. Practical and professional issues arising from coaching and mentoring in the workplace are discussed and participants are encouraged to plan how they will take forward mentoring at work in their leadership and clinical roles.

Suitability

This course is open to consultant or SAS surgeons who are RCSEd Members or Fellows in the UK. As the scheme grows, the eligibility criteria will expand to include a wider range of RCSEd Members and Fellows.

Course Format

The course is structured into three separate elements, spaced out to allow participants to practice and reflect on their skills.

Key Features:

Self-Paced Learning (8 hours): Build foundational knowledge using a learning log with embedded lectures and activities.
Two Interactive Virtual Sessions (3 hours each): Participate in skills practice in trios (mentor, mentee, observer) with real issues brought by participants—no role-playing involved.
Mentoring Practice: Conduct one or two mentoring sessions between course dates and reflect on your experiences with peers.

Course Aims

The course aims to support the RCSEd mentoring scheme that:

Prepare surgeons to mentor surgeons.
Establish an effective, engaging, sustainable, accessible and affordable way of training future mentors.
To promote key messages:

Mentoring is for learning and development for everyone not just for people with problems.
Mentoring is most valuable at times of career transitions.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of mentor training, participants will be able to:

Define the role of the mentor in the context of the RCSEd initiative.
Link mentoring and learning principles.
Establish individual development priorities with mentees.
Schedule structured mentoring conversations.
Plan development conversations around an established framework.
Establish a clear development plan with the mentee at the end of the conversation.
Integrate reflective conversations with other mentors into the professional schedule.
Maximise their profile on the website.

CPD

Participants will receive a certificate of completion for CPD and Revalidation, earning 18 CPD Points. The course aligns with GMC Domain 1 (Knowledge, skills, and performance) and Domain 3 (Communication, partnership, and teamwork).

Course Director

Emma Stapleton

Cancellation Policy

Please ensure you read our cancellation policy before booking. For our full terms and conditions regarding our cancellation policy, please view our Cancellation Policy which is available on the tab above.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is RCSEd’s course cancellation policy?

What happens if RCSEd cancels a course I am booked on?
On occasion, RCSEd may need to cancel a course, for example if we are affected by an event out with our control or if it is not financially viable for us to deliver the course. If we do need to cancel, we will let you know as soon as possible and provide you with a full refund of course fees paid.

RCSEd shall incur no further liability (eg. travel or accommodation costs). You may wish to consider taking out appropriate travel insurance for any non-refundable costs you may incur when arranging to attend the course.

What happens if I need to cancel my place on a course I am booked?
If you cancel your place more than four weeks before the event date, you will incur an administration fee of 10% (or £50, whichever is greater) of the total course fee. NB: For course fees £250 and under, the cancellation fee is £30)

If you cancel your place less than four weeks before the course date, once the course has started, or you do not notify us, the total course fee will be charged, and no refund will be given.

Please also note that you cannot transfer your place on a Course to someone else. This is because many of our courses have a waiting list, and we have an obligation to honour this.

Can I cancel a course booking online?
NO, cancellations must be made directly with the education team by email (education@rcsed.ac.uk).
Can I transfer to another date for the same course?
YES, you can transfer to another date by contacting the Education section directly (education@rcsed.ac.uk). Please note that you can transfer only once and transfers can only be made if more than 4 weeks prior to the start of the course, without incurring additional costs. Should you cancel again, no refund shall be given.

Should you have any further questions, the Education Team can be contacted on 0131 527 1600 or by email to education@rcsed.ac.uk.

How do I book a place on an RCSEd course?

You can book a place for all our courses by visiting the RCSEd website, and selecting the course you wish to book. Please note that you will need to register with the website in order to book.

For some regional and international courses you will need to book directly with the centre. Please check individual courses for details.

You can also contact the Education Section by phone to book (0131 527 1600).

What payment methods do RCSEd accept?

Visa and MasterCard are accepted on the RCSEd website.

All course bookings will receive a booking confirmation email: this email acts as your receipt.

Request an Invoice: If your course fees will be paid by a third party (eg trust, hospital, charitable fund) and they wish to be invoiced then they must provide us with an official purchase order. We are unable to process applications without this.

The purchase order should be submitted with the application form and can be emailed to education@rcsed.ac.uk. Please note that we can only invoice organisations and not individuals. Please check with your hospital or trust, as some may require you to pay yourself and then claim the money back.

Associated Documents

2024 rcsed_course_cancellation_policy.pdf

RCSEd Mentor Development Programme

Key Facts