This Review Covers the 3 Elements of Our Activity

Meeting 09-06-17

Review

This review covers the 3 elements of our activity:

1.  training commissions;

2.  generic learning and CPD; and

3.  quality monitoring of postgraduate training departments.

1 Training commissions

In 2016 we were supporting 75 Clinical Scientist trainees in their various stages of development and we made 42 Postgraduate Scientist Awards. In addition, we carried 8 Clinical Technologist from the previous year. No Physiologist practitioners (NHS undergraduate) were recruited that year.

Actual recruitment in 2016 was 17 CS trainees (of which 1 was service funded). Within this cohort 12 entered STPs format training. The restriction in 2016 intake was owing to liabilities for an overrun in the previous year’s Clinical Technologist trainee cohort.

This year (2017) recruitment stands at: 21 Clinical Scientist trainees (1 is service funded), which includes 7 destined for STP format training. A few disciplines this year have opted for equivalence-based approach to training rather than STP owing to cost and availability of suitable STP programmes.

Demand is outstripping available training posts. Since 2006 the range of disciplines supported will have grown from 4 national schemes to potentially 18 by 2018 (Slide). Over the last few years we have asked service to express interest in supernumerary clinical scientist via our HCS Notice Board Autumn bulletin. The challenge is a balance between national (established) schemes versus local departmental interest and the development of new HCPC registerable groups with approved training programmes (STP or equivalence).

Advice sought

How could we decide on disciplines to support in future? Should we reserve a fixed number for departmental bids excluding the disciplines in national schemes?

This year (2017) we have received 57 applications for postgraduate support. We continue to use our Common Core List as a basic framework for postgraduate scientist trainees. 2017 Candidates have already been advised of the probability of restricted contributions from NES should they be successful. The balance is - do we help more folk with a reduced contribution or help fewer with a fuller award. We have offered 31 awards, compared to 42 in 2016. Average award in both years was £1800. Unfortunately, there is evidence of shared narrative in a few 2017 applications (still) and of some candidates not appearing to follow application guidance. There is also intelligence of Boards not allowing staff time to train once awards are made.

Advice sought

How could we reframe postgraduate bursary support? Should we require a minimum period of NHS service before accepting and application?

Should numbers supported be reduced?

How do we enlist Board support of trainees?

Physiology Practitioner support: 2017 is the intact year for the GCU practitioner programme. In 2017 we have offered service some support for Clinical Physiology, year 1 support, covering audiology / neurophysiology / cardiac physiology / and respiratory physiology. 17 lines of support mainly to GCU entrants have been offered. Demand for NES support appears to exceed our resource available.

A challenge we have is the risk of low uptake in some specialties. We are currently faced with a module charge for an undersubscribed specialty commenced in 2015. The position should be clearer in late summer, but indications for the 2017 intake are positive.

At the end of 2016, GCU achieved recognition of its physiology programme with the Academy for Healthcare Science and National School of Healthcare Science as a Practitioner Training Programme (PTP) equivalent course. Graduates from the 2015 intake may now join the AHCS accredited register as an HCS Practitioner. Of important note is the Professional Standards Authority statement (2nd May 2017…Link) regarding use of PSA accredited registers as the preferred best option in the absence of statutory regulation.

2 Generic learning and CPD

In September 2016, we recommenced our face-to-face of CPD opportunities to staff around Scotland comprising the Early Career Programme, Refreshing Leadership, and Train-the-Trainer and Trainees-in-Difficulty. So far, 99 staff have participated in these courses, representing about an 80% fill-rate across all events for the year. Our suite of programmes was established in response to an ambition to unify the HCS community locally, foster cross-discipline ideas and address training needs for the group. Some Clinical Scientist trainees are using Early Career as part of their portfolio evidence for their registration applications.

Broadly, courses and programmes are well-received, but recently two one-day events were cancelled owing to low uptake (Dundee and Inverness). The Autumn 2017 dates will be released shortly. All our courses for Healthcare Science are available on the NES Portal, and we have also promoted generic NES offers to the group including Human Factors and Educating for Patient Safety.

Measuring the impact / wider utility of all our courses is of interest to NES. Face-to-face learning is one solution to imparting information; some of the course materials lends themselves to digital learning, but by no means all.

Events:

June 15th 2017 HCS National event, COSLA, Haymarket Edinburgh

February 2nd 2018 Postgraduate trainees and supervisor’s COSLA, Haymarket Edinburgh

Advice sought

Measuring impact…. What parameters could we use to demonstrate the usefulness of HCS face-to-face courses to individuals, service and patients. Any thoughts on the merits and demerits of a digital approach?

Quality monitoring of postgraduate training departments

The purpose of our quality monitoring of training centres is to assure that standards of postgraduate scientist training are consistent across the various disciplines and type of healthcare science, and meets the standards required by the Health and Care Professions Council. We have used the process adopted for STP trainees as a benchmark for all others in our postgraduate community. It involves independent chair and lay reps as part of the scrutiny process.

This new work commenced in 2014 and has developed with the appointment of the Specialty Leads team. The programme of work involved departmental self-assessment, evidence checking and a formal panel review. The reviews are a sample of the state of training and cover the major areas that we support. There is follow-up of recommendations from the review. We estimate about 120 training departments and units with and 85% return rate of our self-assessment (60% of 100 in 2016).

We anticipate moving to a system of checking progression for trainees with national training numbers. At this stage, we had anticipated the TURAS system being available for our postgraduate trainees and hope this will be the case later in the year. Currently, national training number holders are in receipt of NES support; a few have voluntarily taken national training numbers where there is no support from NES. Such individuals value inclusion in the postgraduate scientist community in terms of inclusion in our annual event, survey and possible future funding opportunities.

We set a condition for this year’s postgraduate bursary support in so far as centres need to have complete the self-assessment. There we no real issues arising from this move.

Finally, we have in preparation a simple guide to postgraduate training that we would like some comment on from the advisory group. We have delayed its issues pending the TURAS system being available.

Principal documentation and information about this work is on the Knowledge Network at LINK

Advice sought

What criteria should be set for folk wanting a national training number, but not in receipt of direct NES support?

Do people gave any views about the direction we have taken with postgraduate quality monitoring?

Communication: Our occasional HTML bulletins outline the state of play. http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-discipline/healthcare-science/all-healthcare-science/publications.aspx