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More about Public Patient Involvement (PPI)

“Having patients observing selection interviews at Green Templeton College was very useful. It kept us focused on the applicant’s potential to develop the professional and communication skills which are essential to modern medical practice.” James Bradley-Watson, Tutor, Green Templeton College

Benefits of PPI

Research shows that Patient Public Involvement (PPI) in medical education benefits students, medical schools and patients.

Students are more likely to understand the reality of ill-health, develop empathy, and hold patients at the centre of their practice, if patients share their experience in learning situations. Medical schools are more likely to be accountable to patients when they are effectively ‘in the room’ for decision making and planning. Lay people often like to ‘give something back’ and the public benefit from better trained doctors.

GMC requirements

But PPI is not just a ‘nice to have’ it is a requirement of the General Medical Council – set out in Promoting Excellence: Standards for Medical Education and Training (2016) and Outcomes for Graduates (2018) – that all medical schools include PPI in their activities, and report on this in their annual self-assessment.

The GMC outlines five key areas for PPI input:

  • Teaching
  • Selection
  • Assessment and student feedback
  • Governance
  • Curriculum development

PPI at Oxford

Oxford has developed its PPI programme over the last decade. Currently, two specialisms run ‘expert patient’ programmes with patients directly teaching students in lectures and workshops, whilst several others bring in patients for particular sessions. A central PPI team also supports a panel of over 40 Patient Experience Partners (PEPs) who input to teaching, assessment, student selection, and governance across the curriculum.

PPI in Practice - Patient representatives Committees

This year the Year 4/Graduate Entry 2 and Year 6/Graduate Entry 4 committee, which oversees much of the 'clinical' course, included patient representatives in its Terms of Reference for the first time. The PPI team invited expressions of interest from the Patient Experience Partner panel. Three PEPs with relevant experience were then invited to join the Committee to cover for absences, after a training session with the PPI Co-leads and a briefing from the Committee Chair. The PEPs attended their first meeting in May 2025. A debrief with the Committee indicated that they felt Patient reps had added value to the discussion whilst the PPI team fed back that the Committee had been open and welcoming to the PEPs. We look forward to developing our PPI contribution to the Committee over time.

 

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