Message from Lisa Ayers, HSST Training Programme Director
Welcome to the December edition of the HSST Monthly Memo and the last edition of 2020. It really has been a tough year for all those working in healthcare and the NSHCS would like to say a huge thank you to all of you for the incredible work you do every day. I hope you are able to take some break over the holiday season and that 2021 brings some good news with the roll out of the vaccine.
For those in the final year of the Physical, Physiological and Bioinformatics HSST pathways, please note the dates for the IAPS assessments in 2021 have now been released. Please get in touch if you have any questions regarding the IAPS and when to apply.
Independent Assessment of Professional Skills (IAPS) dates for 2021 have been released
Physical, Physiological and BioInformatics HSSTs in your final year, please note the IAPS dates for 2021 have been released. They will take place:
- week commencing 10th May 2021
- week commencing 6th Dec 2021
To be able to sit the IAPS assessment you will need to submit a showcase of your OneFile evidence, therefore all Standards of Proficiency must have been signed off by your Workplace Supervisor three months prior to the assessment. If you are considering siting the IAPS in May 2021, you will need to have full sign off on OneFile by 10th Feb 2021. Please meet with your workplace supervisor to discuss with them the most appropriate time to undertake the IAPS and plan accordingly.
Please also note that you can now submit your showcase and apply for IAPS prior to submission of your Research Project thesis to allow for extra flexibility in the process.
Click here to find out more about the IAPS in 2021
Our HSST curriculum has moved to a new website
The HSST curriculum content has moved to our new curriculum library website.
The URLs for the HSST content will still work until the end of the year. We strongly advise you start updating any links you have saved and check out the new location.
Applications for interruption
In light of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on training we are offering an opportunity to request a formal, approved interruption to your training, that will then extend your completion date.
We appreciate that, as many HSST trainees work in senior roles and are likely to be called upon to support clinical services or may be redeployed to provide support elsewhere, this may mean there is limited or no time to train. We want to try and support all of our learners as far as possible and to reassure you that the School is working hard with your education providers to ensure that we take account of the impact the pandemic is having on everyone.
We also appreciate that there will be significant variability across the cohorts and different specialist areas and so some trainees may feel that an interruption is not required. We are happy to try and support all trainees to continue to train and complete their programmes as planned where it is safe and possible to do so.
Click here to find out how to apply for an interruption (Expired link)
STP core curriculum review coming next month
We’re about to enter the last phase of curriculum review and that means we’ll need your help. Starting in the new year and throughout January, we’ll be asking for your feedback on the drafts of the new curriculum content. First up will be the core curriculum, followed by the specialty curricula.
We’ll be asking stakeholders to take a look at the curriculum and provide feedback through a survey. This should take around 30-45 minutes. Feedback will inform the final curricula and will help to shape the future of the Scientist Training Programme.
Curriculum review has been a been a huge undertaking and a fascinating opportunity to delve deeper into all the STP specialties. We’d like to take this opportunity thank everyone who’s contributed to the process so far. All of our Curriculum Review Groups have worked hard to draft the content required to train the next generation of Clinical Scientists.
All the information you need to take part in the review will be on our Curriculum Tracker, so please do check in the new year.
Click here to view the Curriculum Tracker
Annual monitoring extension
We have extended the annual monitoring for HSST training departments deadline to Friday 18th December. The form takes five minutes to fill in and is a requirement of your accreditation.
If you have not received an email about annual monitoring please email the accreditation team on nshcs.accreditation@hee.nhs.uk