You can organise it any way you like, provided you are ready with a presentation on the day!   But don’t be afraid to ask the Programme Directors, your GP Trainer or other educators for advice.    Remember, they’ve done a few and may have some good suggestions for you especially if all of this is new to you.  Think of presentations you’ve found enjoyable/informative/lively and try to emulate some of those methods.

Ram’s ACME method for planning ANY educational session

1. The Aims and Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs): 
   The most important thing to do is get your hook right.     Figure out what it is you are trying to do.   Think about what will whet the appetites of your audience.    Think about directly asking them – what do they struggle with.   Focus on the struggles rather than the areas everyone finds easy.  
2. The Content:
   Once you have figured out what it is that you are trying to do, then work on the content.  This should be pretty easy once you have properly defined your Aims and ILOs.   For example, if in a Sexual Health session trainees say they find it difficult and embarrassing to take a good sexual history from a person they have not met before, then focus on this: the sexual history.
3. The Method:
   Now that you have your content, how do you plan to deliver this?   What methods will you use.   Always try and use more than one method as different learners are suited to different methods.  Some like hearing, some like visuals and some like doing.  Mix up your methods to make it exciting and choose methods with help the learners learn efficiently.  For example, for the sexual health session above, I break the larger group into groups of 6 and ask them to map out on a flip chart what are the components of a good sexual history.  Then I would ask each group to present what they have put down to generate a comprehensive collaborative list.      Then I would set them a scenario with patient briefing instructions.  Again in groups, they could play out these scenarios and practise doing a sexual history to further embed the components of a good sexual history BUT ALSO help overcome their fear or embarrassment of asking such sensitive questions.   No doubt this will build their communication skills. 
   Other methods include:  OSCE style stations, ISCEEs, quizzes, interactive lectures, video diaries/interviews, small group work like working on cases
4. Evaluation:
   And finally, evaluate your session.  Ask them what they liked and didn’t like about your session.  This will help you to build your presentation skills further.  
5. Use a Presentation/Teaching Lesson Plan to help you with all of this.   Click this link to read more…
   Here are some for you to look at:
   1. • presentation plan template — example.doc
        
      • presentation plan template detailed.doc
        
      • presentation plan template simple.doc
        

Some Other Thoughts

1. You can use as much or as little technology as you like. Beware of PowerPoint mania. Try to use as many different teaching techniques as possible.  
2.  
3. If you use slides or overheads, it is important not to put too much information on them; overheads full of text are very boring, especially if the presenter then simply reads them out.
4. Consider getting the audience to do some of the work. This approach adds dynamism to the session and engages your audience (stops them from falling asleep).
5.  
6. Thinking of doing a handout?  Well, keep it small.  Don’t just print off the PowerPoint slides.   Try and bear in mind that the majority of handouts never get read. This is even more likely if your handout is longer two sides of A4. It might be better to email the handout to try and save a few trees.
7. Over estimate your time than underestimate.   So, if you think you will finish by 4.30pm, say 5pm.   People love it when they finish earlier than expected.  But they tend not to forgive if you over run!
8.  
9. Leave some time at the end to evaluate your session. You can only improve the next time if you know how things went this time and what bits the audience felt could have been done differently.