A survey of educator needs to support the implementation of the intrinsic ANZCA Roles in Practice

The 'Roles in Practice' framework was introduced into the revised ANZCA curriculum in 2013. We conducted an online survey of Supervisors of Training in Australia and New Zealand to assess understanding of this framework, and teaching and perceived value of the non-scholar intrinsic roles within the framework. One hundred and forty-three survey responses were received (response rate 60.8%). The majority of respondents (52.1%) reported only a fair understanding of the framework. Formal teaching of all the roles was consistently reported as infrequent, with most teaching occurring through the informal curriculum. The Communicator, Collaborator and Professional Roles were rated as better taught and more important to teach than the roles of Health Advocate and Manager. The Communicator Role was perceived as being the role for which the development of resources would be most valuable. Respondents overwhelmingly nominated small group teaching as the preferred medium for resource development of all intrinsic roles. Our survey indicates that there is a need to increase both the understanding of the Roles in Practice framework and the teaching resources available in the ANZCA Supervisor of Training community.