Teaching Experience Survey

We are improving the HPB teaching programme and want to understand your experience of it as it currently stands. This survey takes 5 minutes and is completely anonymous. There are no right or wrong answers — honest responses, including critical ones, are the most useful. The same survey will be repeated at 3 and 6 months so we can measure what actually changed.

About You

Role and involvement

1What is your role in this programme?

Surgical trainee (ST1–ST8) Junior clinical fellow Senior clinical fellow CNS Consultant surgeon Consultant — other specialty Foundation or core surgical trainee Other

2How long have you been involved in this teaching programme?

Less than 3 months 3–6 months 6–12 months 1–2 years More than 2 years

3Roughly what proportion of scheduled teaching sessions do you attend?

Less than a quarter About half Most of them Nearly all of them I have only just joined

Awareness and Access

How information reaches you

4Right now, without asking anyone, could you tell me what topic is being covered at the next teaching session?

Think about this moment, right now. Don't look anything up.

Yes, immediately — I know where to find this Probably — I would have to check something Only if someone has messaged the group recently No — I would have to ask someone I didn't know sessions were planned in advance

5If a session was cancelled or rescheduled at short notice, how would you expect to find out?

A WhatsApp message from the coordinator An email My calendar would update automatically Word of mouth — someone would tell me I probably wouldn't find out until I arrived

6If you wanted to look up what was taught at a session you missed three months ago — what would you do?

This is about past sessions, not upcoming ones.

Check a central archive or platform — I know where this is Search my email or WhatsApp history Ask the coordinator or a colleague I wouldn't know where to start I've never needed to do this

7Do the teaching sessions appear automatically in your work calendar?

Yes — they are always there without me doing anything Sometimes — if someone sends a calendar invite No — I add them myself if I want them No — I don't have them in any calendar I don't use a digital calendar for work

8How much mental effort does it currently take to stay informed about the teaching programme?

No effort at all — it just happens

1 2 3 4 5

Significant effort — I have to actively seek information

Teaching Quality and Learning

What you get from it

9Before a session begins, how would you rate your knowledge of the topic being covered?

Think about a typical session, not a specific one.

I know almost nothing about it

1 2 3 4 5

I know it very well already

10After a session ends, how much do you feel your understanding of the topic has moved?

It hasn't moved — I already knew it or learned nothing

1 2 3 4 5

It has moved substantially — I learned something I will use

11Over the past year, how well has the programme covered the clinical topics that matter most to your practice?

Very poorly — major gaps

1 2 3 4 5

Comprehensively — all the important areas

12How would you rate the quality of the presentations themselves — structure, clarity, clinical relevance?

Generally poor

1 2 3 4 5

Consistently excellent

13Do you feel that who presents at teaching sessions is decided fairly?

Yes — it seems equitable across the team Mostly — with some variation No — the same people present repeatedly I've never thought about this Not applicable to my role

14Has the teaching programme ever directly changed how you managed a patient or made a clinical decision?

Yes, more than once Yes, at least once Not that I can recall I don't attend enough sessions to say

Participation and Engagement

How easy it is to take part

15After a teaching session ends, what do you typically do?

Select all that apply.

Leave immediately — I have clinical duties Stay to talk to the speaker or colleagues briefly Give feedback if there is a way to do so Take a note of something I want to follow up Nothing in particular

16If there were a way to give feedback on a session that took under 30 seconds and required no login, how often would you use it?

Every time Most of the time Sometimes Rarely Never — I don't see the point of feedback

17Have you ever wanted to share something with the group after a session — a paper, a thought, a follow-up question — but had no easy way to do so?

Yes, regularly Yes, occasionally No — I use WhatsApp for this No — I wouldn't think to do this

18When you have been due to present, did you receive adequate notice of your presentation date?

Yes — I had plenty of time to prepare Yes — but it was later than I would have liked No — I found out too late to prepare properly I have not yet presented I don't recall being formally notified

19When you have been due to present, were you told who would be supervising your session?

Yes — well in advance Yes — but only shortly before the session No — I found out on the day or not at all I have not yet presented

20Have you ever suggested a topic for a future teaching session?

Yes — and it was included in the programme Yes — but I don't know if it was considered No — I didn't know this was possible No — I didn't think it would make a difference No — I haven't wanted to suggest anything

21If you have suggested a topic, how easy was that process?

Very easy — there was a clear way to do it I suggested it informally via WhatsApp or in person It was unclear how to do it so I didn't bother Not applicable — I have never suggested a topic

22How far in advance would you want to know you are due to present?

At least 4 weeks 2–3 weeks 1–2 weeks A few days is fine I have no preference

23Would knowing your presentation date well in advance make you more likely to engage positively with presenting?

Yes definitely — advance notice makes a significant difference Probably — it would help with preparation It wouldn't change anything for me I am already happy to present whenever asked I am unlikely to present regardless of notice given

24Would knowing that presentation duties are allocated fairly across the team make you more willing to present?

Yes — fairness is important to me Somewhat — but it is not my main concern No — I present regardless of how others are allocated No — I am unlikely to present in any case I have never thought about whether allocation is fair

25How much does your engagement with the teaching programme depend on the individual who coordinates it?

Think about what would happen if the coordinator left tomorrow.

Not at all — the programme runs independently

1 2 3 4 5

Completely — without the coordinator it would not function

26If you presented at a session, how easy was it to share your slides with people who wanted them afterwards?

Very easy — there was a clear process I shared them via WhatsApp or email informally I didn't share them — no obvious way to do so I haven't presented Nobody asked for my slides

Your Personal Record

Evidence of your learning

27If your educational supervisor asked you tomorrow how many teaching sessions you had attended this year, what would you say?

I could tell them precisely — I keep a record I could give a rough estimate I genuinely don't know I would have to ask the coordinator

28Do you have any formal evidence of your teaching attendance that you could include in your portfolio or present at appraisal?

Yes — I have certificates or official records Partially — I have informal records No — I have no formal evidence I didn't know formal evidence was possible

29How important is it to you to have a verifiable record of sessions you have attended — one you could give to a supervisor or upload to your portfolio?

Think about appraisal, ARCP, revalidation, or job applications.

Not important at all

1 2 3 4 5

Extremely important — I need this

30After a session, how long before you have forgotten most of the specific content covered?

I retain most of it long-term A few weeks A few days By the time I get back to the ward I don't take notes so it fades quickly

31Have you ever wanted to revisit a topic from a past session — to look at slides, find the paper discussed, or recall what was concluded — and been unable to?

Yes, frequently Yes, occasionally No — I have always been able to find what I needed No — I have never tried to go back to a past session

The Programme as an Institution

How robust and lasting

32If the current coordinator left the unit tomorrow, what do you think would happen to the teaching programme?

It would continue exactly as before — it runs itself It would continue but with some disruption It would struggle significantly for a while It would probably stop until someone took over I'm not sure

33If you had to describe the teaching programme to a new trainee joining the unit, what would you say?

No right or wrong answer — just what you'd actually say.

34How confident are you that the programme's quality is being monitored and will improve over time?

Think about whether anyone is measuring what is working and what isn't.

Not at all confident

1 2 3 4 5

Very confident — there is a clear process

35Does the teaching programme feel like part of the unit's institutional identity — something that would outlast any individual — or more like a personal project that depends on one person's effort?

It feels like a core part of the unit — it would always exist It feels reasonably established It depends heavily on the current coordinator It feels fragile — one person leaving could end it

Your View

Open questions

36Complete this sentence: "The teaching programme would be significantly better if..."

37What is the one moment in the teaching programme — before, during, or after a session — where things most often go wrong or feel unnecessarily difficult?

38Imagine the ideal version of this teaching programme — perfectly organised, always useful, zero friction. What is the single biggest difference from what we have today?

HPB Teaching Programme