Arrangements to embed patient and public involvement in the training
This can be provided as a stand-alone document.
Please provide an engagement plan for trainees showing how opportunities will be provided for interaction with patients (including patient representative groups) and the wider public.
This is another area which we most frequently ask the department for further development. Elements of public and patient involvement are set by the curriculum and should be included in training. Each module has a number of defined clinical experiences that training centres should be providing for trainees, they include many of activities with patients and service users.
We would normally expect to see a plan for STP trainees detailing the sort of contact they could have with patients and the public outside the day-to-day clinical setting. The aim would be for the trainee to understand the whole patient experience and to be able to explain to patients how clinical science contributes to their treatment.
The sort of activities we would envisage here are:
- talks to disease-specific patient and carer groups
- STEM ambassador activities
- participation in ward rounds
- clinics
- visits to primary care
- open days and science fairs
You should also show when and how these opportunities will be available to the trainee on the training plan.
Details about your trust or organisation
New departments need to send all Trust Policy documents as detailed below. Where a trust has received accreditation status by the School in another scientific speciality, then Trust Policy documents do not need to be provided, if this is the case, please annotate your application form with the details. If any policy has been updated since the last accreditation date, please send us the updated version of the following Trust/Organisation Policies:
- Training
- Health and Safety
- Trust Induction
- Conduct and capability policy or raising concerns policy
- Local Induction
- Trust Mandatory Training
- Trust Bullying and Harassment
- Trusts Whistleblowing
- Recruitment and Selection Process which covers the Policy DN584 (Disclosure and Barring Services Checks)
- Trust Patient and Public Involvement
- Trust Safeguarding / Protection of Vulnerable Patients
If you do not already know whether other departments in your organisation have already been accredited, take a look at our list of accredited STP work-based training departments.
Consortium arrangements
The consortia idea is to work with departments in another trust or organisation to help you deliver parts of a curriculum you are unable to deliver.
- a group of departments in different trusts training in the same scientific disciplines, can elect to be accredited as a consortium
- each consortium must have a training coordinator, who works as the main point of contact for the group
- governance arrangements must show clear roles and responsibilities, and how the training is quality assured
- all participating departments must maintain the required standards and aim to be accredited or endorsed by the School
- it should be clear to each trainee where their base is, as this might not be in their employed department
- a clearly defined training plan so the trainee knows what they are doing, where they are going and when they will be doing it
- there must be transparency so all parties involved, and the School are clear with what everyone’s roles will be
Why be in a trainee consortium?
- sharing the delivery of rotations or specialist training
- niche areas of the curriculum that can only be covered by departments with expertise and specialist equipment
- broadens the trainees experience as it is useful for trainees to see how different departments can work
- creates support networks for trainees and training officers who can share good practice and gain advice and support
- trainees and training officers use the consortium to share resources and to organise training days for both training officers and trainees
- the opportunity for more collaboration and increased training capacity
These are just some examples of what you can do, there are many other benefits to working collaboratively in a consortium.
UKAS Service accreditation
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) provides accreditation for diagnostic scientific services in a number of disciplines. The School recognises UKAS accreditation as a rigorous quality assurance scheme. If you have UKAS accreditation, there are some exemptions from providing some of the items of evidence, these items are clearly marked in the application form.