Medical students’ and GP tutors’ experiences of near peer teaching in primary care: a qualitative study

Background There exists a significant body of literature on the benefits of Peer Assisted Learning (PAL). Near-peer (NP) teaching can be defined as teaching delivered by senior students to younger year students. There are numerous examples in the literature of PAL projects in a non-clinical setting but little research in a clinical setting and even less in primary care. Postgraduate literature suggests that potential benefits include promotion of general practice as a career as well as increasing teaching capacity. A successful pilot led to the development of a new undergraduate NP teaching Student Selected Component (SSC) in a primary care setting. Aim To explore the experiences of medical students and GP tutors who participated in this SSC. Method Semi-structured interviews were carried out with year 5 NP student teachers, GP tutors, and year 3 students. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data generated. Results As well as increasing teaching capacity and consolidating their own knowledge, the findings suggest an impact on the professional identity formation of NP student teachers helping them to prepare to be future doctors. The NP teaching fostered an environment of psychological safety for all students, although there was an additional element of risk management and supervision when teaching with patients. Conclusion Undergraduate NP teaching has advantages for student learners, NP student teachers, GP tutors, and practices. The increased teaching capacity has implications for recruitment of practices for teaching and may promote general practice as a future career.