Message from your STP Training Programme Directors
Namir Al Hasso, Dr EMma Bowers, Dr Jo Horne, Jane Lynch and Aarti Makan
This month’s message is from Namir Al Hasso.
Welcome to the May edition of the Monthly Memo. The word May comes from the Latin Maius, and this most likely refers to the goddess Maia, the Greek goddess of growth. The Anglo-Saxon name for May was the Three-Milkings Month!.
It is another busy month for the National School of Healthcare Science. For trainees in their final year of the training, we look forward to you graduating this year and continuing your professional development into a career as a clinical scientist in the NHS. All third-year trainees and their training officers will be receiving the completion 2022 reminder communication. We encourage you and your training officer to review the completion routes and be familiar with your chosen route and the key dates for completion in 2022.
For trainees in the second year and following the information gathered from the Mid Term Review of Progression MRP, we are conducting support calls with some trainees and training officers as part of this supportive process. Importantly, we are also finalising your completion criteria for 2023, and we will communicate the outcome to you as soon as possible.
For our first-year trainees, I hope you are enjoying your first year of training and growing your knowledge and skills every day to become the future clinical scientists in the NHS.
Our Train The Trainer sessions have been taking place this month for new training officers and as a refresher training for others. The training will be concluded this week with a final session on training support. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new training officers to this monthly memo.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further advice or support.
Information for third year trainees
Guidance on IACC 2022
The final assessment for the Scientist Training Programme is designed to assess your readiness to practice which is defined by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as having the “skill, knowledge, character and health they need to practice their profession safely and effectively.”
The IACC assesses your readiness to practice as a newly qualified, threshold entry Clinical Scientist as defined by the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for a Clinical Scientist (2014).
In this assessment you will need to demonstrate your:
- Ability to work safely and effectively at the level of a newly qualified clinical scientist in your specialty.
- Ability to ensure appropriate standards and patient safety are maintained at all times.
- Recognition of the scope of your own competence and readiness to practise as an autonomous professional, and explaining how you will self-regulate to maintain professional standards including patient safety.
Click here to view our essential information, documents and guidance on the IACC 2022
Reflective workshops and guidance
We have produced guidance and held several trainee workshop webinars to help final year trainees prepare for the reflective writing part of their final assessment.
Click here to view our guidance on the reflective practice for the IACC
Guidance on STP completion 2022
You should be at the latter stages of your training plan, be submitting or have already submitted your MSc research project, be preparing for your IACC and have outlined how you will achieve the completion of your e-portfolio.
For those of you who have experienced disruption to your training due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are routes to completion of your e-portfolio that will provide some flexibility.
The key dates for completion of the STP are:
- IACC critical reflection submission deadline – 12pm 16th June 2022
- IACC Interviews – 4th to 14th July 2022
- Raise concerns/queries regarding sign off of the e-portfolio to the School – May – August 2022
- Last date to submit an EEC application – 29th August 2022
- Complete the Data Audit – August to September 2022
- STP completion deadline (excluding those with approved extensions) – 5pm 19th September 2022
All the information and guidance on completing can be found on our website.
Click here to read the information on completing the Scientist Training Programme in 2022
Information for all trainees
Supporting and supervising neurodiverse trainees – call for trainers, trainees and graduates to support development of educational resources
The School is working with The Professional Development Team, Health Education England (HEE) London who are producing video resources for trainers who are supporting neurodivergent trainees, in particular trainees with dyslexia, ASD and ADHD. This is part of a broader piece of work within HEE to develop educational resources for both learners and trainers to support this emerging and very important need.
We would like to hear from any trainers who are currently supporting trainees with any of the above and who would like to talk on video about the following:
- Your experience of supervising a neurodivergent trainee?
- What worked well / helped in your approach to ensure that you got the best out of your trainee?
- What was less useful? Challenges?
- Tips/advice for other trainers
- Resources and other agencies you turned to.
We would also like to hear from any trainees current or alumni who would like to share their experience of what it is like to live and work with a neurodiverse condition. In particular we would like to explore:
- What makes you neurodiverse? Explain briefly about the condition and how it affects you.
- Have you ever felt embarrassed or unsafe about declaring your ND? What would make you feel more comfortable?
- What has been your experience and how has it impacted your training (both positively and negatively)?
- What helped? What other strategies/adjustments etc could have helped?
- How does your supervisor support you?
How would the filming work on the day? The filming would take place via MS Teams and we would require approx. 45 minutes of your time. Where will the video be published? The video will be placed on the National HEE website and will be freely available on the internet. Should you prefer to remain anonymous it will be possible to do an audio recording only and/or use an actor’s voice – and your details will not be revealed.
If you have any questions and would like to talk in advance, please do not hesitate to contact Louise Ayers, Head of Programme Support, or Katherine Bayley at nshcs@hee.nhs.uk
Big Bang Fair outreach opportunity
We are attending The Big Bang Fair (STEM exhibition event for 11-14 year olds) in June and there is opportunity for a healthcare scientist to be a virtual panellist on the ‘Meet the Future You’ panel.
We are looking for an engaging NHS staff member to be on a virtual panel between 22-24 June to answer questions from the host and live audience.
You need to be available for training on 1 June at 12:30pm via a video call – it shouldn’t take more than an hour. And then again at some point during 22-24 June.
For further details or to volunteer please email us at nshcs@hee.nhs.uk
Changes in your training – please make sure the School is aware
It is important the School be made aware of any changes to your training which may impact on your ongoing progression, participation or completion of the programme. The School will co-ordinate with commissioning teams and universities to make sure all organisations involved in your training are aware of the latest position to ensure you receive appropriate advice and support so that your training programme can be managed effectively. This applies to all trainees in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Examples of circumstances in which you or your training officer must notify the School:
- Statutory leave – we will need to know the dates of intended leave (maternity, paternity, parental, adoption leave) and any flexible arrangements requested on return so that your programme and training plan can be reviewed and your revised completion timeline confirmed.
- Long-term sickness absence – any period of sickness over 6 weeks or more should be confirmed with the School or if there are multiple short-term absences that trigger local employer policies. It is an opportunity to seek advice about processes that can support your training, such as the Exceptional Extenuating Circumstances policy, and to seek support from the training support team in the School to discuss matters with you and your supervisor in more detail. Click here to find the Exceptional Extenuating Circumstances policy.
- Changes to your training officer/supervisor – this needs to be updated in OneFile but the School also needs to know for accreditation purposes and to ensure that we are communicating with the right people at the right time about your training. Click here to find the change notification form.
- Decision to leave the programme – it is important that you get in touch with the School if you are considering leaving the programme, particularly if this is as a result of issues with your training. Try to speak to us early to get advice and support so that you can determine if leaving is the right choice for you. We will always support your decision to leave but if we can help with any issues that are influencing that decision then we would like to know to see if we can resolve them with you.
- Transfer of training or early employment – there is a policy for this so please review and submit an application as soon as you receive the offer, or earlier if possible, so the School can review and confirm if your training can continue to be supported in your new department. Click here to find the transfer of training policy.
Any changes of the above nature should be communicated to nshcs@hee.nhs.uk and the relevant team in the School will advise you.
Information for training officers
Training Plan for the 2022 Curriculum
A reminder from the Accreditation Team for departments who have been contacted for a training plan for the 2022 Curriculum. If your training plan for the new STP curriculum is due on 27th May 2022, this reminder is for you.
The training plan tells us how you plan to deliver training over the three years. We need to see the training plan is properly prepared so the trainee understands the programme, what needs to be achieved and how this will be done. Click here for further information. There is not a ‘one size’ fits all when it comes to training plans. Everyone will want to plan the training differently, adhering to the curriculum. You can also take a look at our guidance on good training planning for STP trainees. Click here to view our guidance on good training planning.
For accreditation purposes, the key details that your training plan should include are:
- You have training in place to deliver the specialty curriculum including a plan for the rotations demonstrating when and where the trainee will be going and who will be responsible for them prior to the trainee starting.
- Roles and responsibilities of the various individuals responsible for delivering the training.
- Time for 1:2:1 progress review meetings and feedback to STP trainees.
- The university component – attendance and assessments
20% protected time allocated for the duration of the training programme. - Time for the online portfolio and the workplace assessments.
- Public and patient involvement opportunities.
- End point assessment for the programme.
If you have any queries relating to the training plans, then contact us at nshcs.accreditation@hee.nhs.uk
Train the Trainer events
Are you interested in attending a series of Train the Trainer events?
If you have recently added your details to our waiting list there is no need for you to register. Everyone from the waiting list will be invited to one of the sessions taking place.
Click here to register your interest in attending
Planning for the new curriculum: drop-in sessions
We are hosting more drop-in sessions for anyone who will be involved in hosting a trainee on the new STP curriculum in September 2022. The drop-in sessions will be an open Q&A forum.
Our next sessions are:
- Thursday 26th May 12:30pm to 1:30pm
- Thursday 30th June 12pm to 1pm
- Thursday 28th July 12pm to 1pm
- Thursday 25th August 12pm to 1pm
Click here to find the drop-in session joining links
Planning for the new curriculum: lunchtime learning sessions
To help for you plan for a new trainee starting in September 2022 we now have a number of recordings of recent half-hour lunchtime learning sessions on the website.
Each update focuses on an area which has changed in the new curriculum:
- the new curriculum and the accreditation process
- competencies and work-based assessments, followed by an open drop-in session
- rotations
- core modules
These sessions will be supported by guidance on working with the curriculum and the accreditation process.
Click here to find recordings of the planning for the new STP 2022 curriculum sessions
Missed a previous edition of the STP Monthly Memo?
We’ve published copies of the Monthly Memo for STP trainees and training officers on our website.
Click here to view previous editions of the STP Monthly Memo