Before commissioning a post for a trainee on the Echocardiography Training Programme (ETP), you should ensure that you understand the training requirements and are able to deliver the programme in full. If you are unsure, please contact the school. You should also contact your Human Resources department as soon as you receive confirmation of a trainee to ensure you are aware of any processes you need to follow.
These may include:
- vacancy approval processes
- organisation-wide induction procedures, for example mandatory training sessions that will need to be booked well in advance
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and reference approvals
- preparation of any honorary contracts that may be required
Even if the trainee is an in-service trainee (that is, an existing member of staff who has secured a place on the ETP), there will be Human Resources implications. These may include recruiting backfill, rearranging clinical work, or preparing honorary contracts for rotations outside the employing organisation.
If you have not already obtained accreditation from the school as a training centre for the STP, please contact our Accreditation team for further information about the specific requirements for hosting an ETP trainee. You can email the team at nshcs.accreditation@nhs.net
Familiarise training staff with the Echocardiography curriculum
The Echocardiography Training Programme curriculum modules are essential reading for staff involved in training. There are 2 modules:
- E-CS-S1 – Foundations of Echocardiography Practice
- E-CS-S2 – Imaging (Echocardiography) for Echocardiography Practitioners
The BSE Adult Transthoracic Accreditation pack can be found on the BSE website.
These modules are the blueprints for the training period, setting out the learning outcomes and training activities to be achieved and the assessments to be performed. They include generic professional training activities and echocardiography-specific scientific training activities. Trainers will need to know these well and should be able to brief other colleagues. They should be the basis of the trainee’s training plan. All training staff should also be familiar with the assessments the trainee will complete.
Analyse the curriculum for training you cannot provide
Even within the specialist learning outcomes, there may be some that your department is unable to provide because you do not undertake that particular type of work or use the relevant equipment or processes. Consider well in advance how any such gaps can be addressed through periods of training in other departments.
If this highlights an area in which your department has particular expertise or uses specialist approaches, you might also consider offering opportunities for ETP trainees from other organisations to benefit from short visits, workshops, or demonstrations.