The Generic Instructor Course (GIC) is a standardised train the trainer programme designed by the Resuscitation Council UK and the Advanced Life Support Group (ALSG) to teach healthcare professionals the core principles of adult education, simulation facilitation and performance assessment. It focuses on understanding adult learning theories, running skill stations, leading realistic cardiac arrest simulations, and delivering constructive feedback. To our way of thinking, it is one of the best short instructor training courses that there is – and it travels well.
All UK based volunteers with NICHE are fully trained GIC instructors and are all actively involved in training life support course instructors in the UK. It is an intensive 2-day course and each instructor was in touch with their allocated small group of candidates prior to travelling to Uganda, to ensure that they all knew what was expected of them on the course. It is hugely satisfying to share one’s skills and to see how people progress as teachers during the 2 days. It is also humbling and a privilege to train alongside such skilled instructors.
There is an educator on every GIC course, an individual with postgraduate qualifications in medical or nursing education, whose role is to provide direction, specialist educational knowledge, leadership and quality control to the candidates on the course and also the members of the teaching faculty, ensuring that the faculty’s own teaching methods stay up to date. Remy is an active educator in the UK and we are delighted to welcome him to the NICHE team for the first time in Uganda.