Midterm review of progression (MRP) for STP trainees

The School is introducing a review of progression for trainees on the Scientist Training Programme.

The midterm review of progression (MRP) will be conducted once, approximately half way through the programme during year two. The MRP will ensure that there is a formal evaluation of the trainees progression embedded in the programme and will give trainees and training officers the opportunity to raise and address, with appropriate strategies and support from the School, any concerns, issues or barriers to progression.

Current year 2 trainees (2015 cohort) and their training officers will be asked to participate in a trial of the MRP in late April/early May this year. The trial is for learning and evaluation purposes only and we will be asking trainees and training officers to complete and submit a short online form. The form will ask for thoughts on progression to date and should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You will have at least 3 weeks to complete and submit your form.  The evidence collated on the forms will be evaluated together with the trainee’s OLAT completion. Currently there are no minimum requirements for OLAT but trainees should be mindful that regular completion of assessments and competencies is expected.

A detailed outline of the trial process and summary timeline will be sent to you together with advance notice of the exact date of launch of the trial.

Current year 1 trainees (2016 cohort) will be required to complete the MRP in April/May 2018. Please note that at this point the MRP will be for summative purposes, meaning that the evidence will be used to identify trainees in need of additional support, or at risk of not meeting the programme requirements.  As such, as well as the online forms and evidence on OLAT*, other sources to inform the review and outcome will include:

• A report from the university provider where there may be concerns regarding progression on the MSc.
• A review of the results of the trainee’s first multisource feedback exercise where appropriate.

* By the time of the MRP in 2018, trainees will be required to have completed on OLAT all assessments and competencies associated with the year 1 rotations (with exceptions for programmes with a different schedule regarding the rotations).

Current year 3 trainees (2014 cohort) will not participate in any formal scheduled review process and will continue to be supported as usual through the rest of their training.

The aims and scope of the MRP process have been agreed by the Healthcare Science Implementation Network Group on which the healthcare science themes, the HEE local offices and the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) are represented.

You will be informed when detailed guidance is published. For any immediate questions or queries please email the Education and Assessment Team: nshcs.assessment@hee.nhs.uk and ensure that you keep the School informed of any changes to your contact and other details (e.g. maternity/paternity leave, change in training officer etc) to enable appropriate communication.