Ad hoc supervisory encounters between GP-supervisors and GP-registrars: Enhancing quality and effectiveness.

The focus of this report is what happens during ad hoc encounters between GP-supervisors and GP-registrars. These encounters typically result from a registrar’s immediate learning and practice need, which arises during a consultation with a patient and requires a timely and appropriate response from the supervisor. These ad hoc encounters are understood as an important means for how registrars learn to be general practitioners. As well as learning by ‘doing’ (i.e. consulting with a patient), ad hoc encounters give registrars the opportunity to interact with their supervisor, forming a triadic relationship between supervisor, registrar and patient. Often these encounters give registrars the opportunity to observe the practice of their supervisors.