Table 2 Overview of the themes and sub-themes from the focus group
Theme | Sub-themes |
|---|---|
Clinical training lacked structure and support | Academic: well-supported, would benefit from being more bespoke. |
Clinical: variable, placement issues, lack of formal structure for supervision | |
Lack of coherence between academic and clinical settings | |
Clinical supervision and line management | |
Existing knowledge and experience appeared to act as both an enabler and inhibitor for ACPs, with implications for confidence | Pattern recognition, learning backwards |
Identifying own knowledge/learning gaps | |
Competence and confidence | |
The ACP role and associated responsibilities are poorly understood by ACPs and the wider medical profession | Variability across organisations |
Lack of awareness and skill utilisation | |
Struggle to fit in and identify/explain the role | |
The ACP role is important, but changes are required to provide security to the role in the future | Clinical career progression |
Barriers to development of role in the future | |
Accreditation |