Positions will be recruited at a local level by the employing Trust/organisation. The National School of Healthcare Science website will detail posts by region but we anticipate specific adverts will be advertised on the NHS jobs websites e.g. NHS Jobs and Trac. Interested applicants are advised to register on the NHS Jobs website and create an alert to inform them when the posts are open for applications. The National School of Healthcare Science is unable to confirm exact dates of when posts will be available.
No, as you already hold a postgraduate qualification in Echocardiography then you are unable to apply to the ETP.
NHS England funds all trainees on the programme (both direct entry and in-service) to allow them to be supernumary, meaning that they will be released from other duties for the entire time on the programme. Trainees should be under supervision at all times. This can be indirect or distance supervision as they become more experienced. They should not be taken out of their training to provide routine services or to do on-call sessions.
Trainees should attend other services/diagnostics/clinics where it forms part of their training on the programme. In-service trainees can take part in sessions in related areas (eg Catheter Laboratory sessions) to maintain competencies and to provide a broader training remit and understanding of context, but trainees should not be expected to provide service provision where it detracts from their training. The 18 month timeline to successful BSE Accreditation is ambitious but achievable, provided trainees have sufficient practical experience, work-place training and support.
There are 3 universities who supply the academic portion of the Echocardiography Training Programme (ETP). Trainees will be allocated a place at university based on the region in which they are employed. Details of the universities and their regions are available.
For study leave we recommend that trainees are allocated 1 day per week throughout the programme to concentrate on their academic work. This can be flexible so that when there are deadlines for academic work such as examinations or assignments, trainees and training officers might want to allocate extra days, with less need for these at other times so that trainees can concentrate on their work-based learning. It is likely that trainees will concentrate on their academic learning in the 1st year. The last 6 months is likely to be focussed on finishing their OneFile training activities and collecting logbook and digital cases for the BSE practical exam. Further guidance is available here.
Whilst completion of the ETP does not confer eligibility to register as a Clinical Scientist with the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) and more experience will be required, it can be used as valuable evidence as part of a portfolio of evidence towards STP equivalence via the Academy for Healthcare Science’s (AHCS) Equivalence process. Many completing trainees will have already joined or be eligible for the AHCS voluntary register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. Please visit the AHCS website for further information and support towards registration. If you have any queries please email registration@ahcs.ac.uk.
No, deferrals can only be considered for statutory reasons such as maternity.