Explore the vast range of titles available.

Why did you do this work?To assess the effectiveness of simulation-based management training for trainees acting as ‘Trust Representatives’.What did you do?Trust Representatives are paediatric trainees that advocate on behalf of colleagues, chair regular ‘Junior-Junior’ and ‘Junior-Senior’ meetings and liaise with the Trainee Committee. A Trust Rep Training Day was devised for all Trust Representatives in London to prepare them for the role. 21 delegates attended a day of training on leadership and management techniques.This project focusses on the implementation and evaluation of a session based around simulated ‘Junior-Junior’ meetings, which were chaired by the delegates. Scenarios included common complaints, such as rota, staffing, teaching and supervision. There was a focus on managing challenging situations, such as disruptors and excessive negativity, whilst maintaining a productive, solution-focussed meeting.Online questionnaires were completed by delegates before and after this session. Respondents rated, using a Likert scale from 1 to 5, how confident they felt to chair junior-junior meetings and how confident they felt to keep them productive. The pre-session questionnaire also included a question on whether they had previously received management training and the post-session questionnaire asked for wider feedback on the session.What did you find?17/21 delegates completed the pre- and 16/21 delegates completed the post-session questionnaire.76.5% of delegates had never previously received training in leadership or management.The confidence of the delegates in chairing ‘Junior-Junior’ meetings increased from a mean of 3.4 to 4.3. The extent to which they felt able to keep meetings productive also increased, from a mean of 3.1 to 4.3. The average score in response to a question about the usefulness of the session was 4.6/5.Examples of qualitative feedback for the session included:‘Enjoyed participation and role play’; ‘Was good to trial techniques and find new ones’; ‘Fun!’‘Sim helped to navigate what you would do in a session and how you would feel, especially with disruptors’What does it mean?Management activities form a significant part of the consultant paediatrician workload. Despite this, the majority of paediatric trainees surveyed had never received any leadership or management training.The results of the questionnaires show that simulation-based management training can increase confidence and perceived effectiveness when starting a management or leadership role.These results suggest that simulation-based management training may have wider applications. Based on this experience, a similar session has been delivered to St. George’s University Medical Students undertaking a leadership based ‘specially selected component’.