An NHS trainer who has delivered his acclaimed course to thousands of health staff plans to expand it further over the coming months.
John Blenkinsopp, a clinical effectiveness advisor at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, has been leading national training for dozens of organisations over the last 20 years.
John regularly runs introductory critical appraisal training – something all healthcare professionals need to have.
Over that time, he has expanded the course from something known to organisations locally to ones across the country.
The one-day workshop gives an intensive overview of the skills needed and resources available for critical appraisal and how these can be in the workplace.
The session includes a mixture of teaching, workshops and discussion around post course support and future plans.
Course is for every specialty
John explained: “The course is something I have delivered to healthcare workers across the country since 1998.
“It has grown, mainly through word of mouth, since that time. I want to make sure it is known about by as many healthcare workers as possible.
“I also run other courses in critical appraisal, including advanced courses, facilitating courses and revision courses.
“This is across every specialty, the course is relevant to all staff involved in patient care.
“There is a huge demand for critical appraisal as there are only two or three courses available nationally.”
The session covers being able to:
- Understand critical appraisal, bias, internal validity and external validity
- Distinguish between different types of study designs and their strengths and limitations
- assess methods used to conduct a randomised controlled trial, systematic review, diagnostic study and qualitative study
- interpret commonly reported results found in clinical papers
- identify different types of critical appraisal tools and their strengths and limitations
Upcoming dates
All training days run from 9am until 5pm on Microsoft Teams:
- Friday 6 December 2024
- Tuesday 11 January 2025
- Wednesday 2 April 2025
- Thursday 19 June 2025
- Friday 19 September 2025
- Tuesday 11 November 2025
How to book
To find out more and to book, contact [email protected]
For more information about training at our Trust, visit our training page.
What organisations have said
“I found John’s training very helpful. Analysing examples using a framework then discussing our thoughts was a very effective way of learning. John has lots of enthusiasm for the subject and explained concepts clearly. I would recommend this training to anyone who would like to understand evidence-based medicine better.”
Abigail Davis, Section Editor, The British Medical Journal
“The Critical Appraisal course gave a methodical way to look at research and consider how trustworthy it is. John is an engaging teacher.”
Amy Matthews, Marie Curie Content Manager
“John is a well-respected teacher who is popular with the trainee doctors for his calm, approachable manner as well as an innate skill to demystify statistics and critical appraisal that only a few can manage.”
David Anderson, Training Programme Director for Durham and Tees Valley GP Training Programme
“John clearly knows his subject inside out and is also an excellent facilitator, using his approachable style to ensure the critical appraisal sessions are inclusive for all.”
Helen Swales, Leeds Community Healthcare Manager