Standards for Surgical Training

About the Standards

Surgical training is one of the most important things a surgeon does. The quality of that training shapes the next generation of the profession and, ultimately, the safety and quality of care that future patients receive. Yet for much of surgery's history, there has been no formal definition of what good surgical training looks like. No agreed standard, no recognised framework, and no structured support for the surgeons who take on the training role.

The Faculty of Surgical Trainers has addressed that gap. Our Standards for Surgical Trainers define the behaviours, activities and commitments that characterise an excellent surgical trainer. Written specifically for the surgical context, they provide a practical framework that trainers can use to reflect on their practice, evidence their contribution and develop as educators.

The Seven Domains

The Standards are organised around seven domains, adapted from the Academy of Medical Educators framework to reflect the realities of surgical training:

1. Ensuring safe and effective patient care through training
2. Establishing and maintaining an environment for learning
3. Teaching and facilitating learning
4. Enhancing learning through assessment
5. Supporting and monitoring educational progress
6. Guiding personal and professional development
7. Continuing professional development as an educator

Each domain includes specific descriptors and sources of evidence drawn from real surgical training practice, making the Standards a practical tool rather than an abstract set of principles.

Supporting GMC Trainer Approval

The Standards are mapped to the GMC's trainer approval framework, supporting surgical trainers in demonstrating that they meet the requirements of the approval process. For each domain, the Standards identify the kinds of evidence that trainers can draw on, reducing the burden of the process and helping trainers articulate the work they are already doing

Development of the Standards

The Standards were developed by the Faculty through a rigorous process of analysis and adaptation, drawing on the existing AoME framework and rewriting it with the surgical trainer firmly in mind. Input was sought from across the surgical training community to ensure that the resulting standards accurately reflect what effective surgical trainers do in practice. The Standards have been presented to the Joint Committee on Surgical Training and are recognised as the UK standard for surgical trainers.