The training plan tells us how you intend to deliver training over the 3 year programme. We need to see that the training plan has been carefully prepared so that the trainee understands the programme, what they need to achieve, and how this will be accomplished.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing a training plan. Training plans will vary depending on how each department chooses to organise training while ensuring the curriculum requirements are met. Click below to view an example training plan, together with a checklist to help you organise STP training. You can also explore our resources on effective training planning and best practice.
publicationsFor accreditation purposes, the key details that your training plan should include are:
- A plan to deliver the specialty curriculum, including arrangements for rotations that demonstrate when and where the trainee will be placed and who will be responsible for them before the trainee starts.
- The roles and responsibilities of the various individuals involved in delivering the training.
- Time allocated for one-to-one progress review meetings and feedback with STP trainees.
- The academic component, including attendance requirements and assessments.
- 20% protected time allocated for the duration of the training programme.
- Time allocated for the online portfolio and workplace assessments.
- Opportunities for public and patient involvement (PPI).
- The end-point assessment for the programme.
Elements of public and patient involvement are defined within the curriculum and should be incorporated into training. Each module includes a number of specified clinical experiences that training centres should provide for trainees; these include many activities involving patients and service users.
We would normally expect to see a plan for STP trainees that details the type of contact they could have with patients and the public outside of their day-to-day clinical setting. The aim is for trainees to understand the complete patient experience and be able to explain how clinical science contributes to patient care.
Examples of activities we would envisage include:
- talks to disease-specific patient and carer groups
- STEM ambassador activities
- participation in ward rounds
- attendance at clinics
- visits to primary care settings
The report Pathways to Embed Patient and Public Involvement in Healthcare Scientist Training Programmes, developed in collaboration with a range of stakeholders, provides useful guidance on how PPI can be supported, developed, and embedded within STP workplace training. Some information, such as references to OLAT and learning guides, is now out of date, so please refer to the Curriculum Library for current requirements.
It is your responsibility, rather than the trainee’s, to arrange the rotations. All rotations should be confirmed before the trainee starts, including dates, supervision arrangements, contact details, and an indication of the learning that will be delivered.
For physiological sciences, pay particular attention to the rotation Clinical Assessment and Investigation. This rotation involves many people and requires careful planning.
Your plan should be flexible enough to allow adaptation. It should demonstrate how you intend to deliver the programme over the 3 years, how specialist training will be provided, how key learning outcomes will be achieved, and who will deliver and assess the training. The training plan should include milestones to enable you to evaluate progress. This includes ensuring that progress review meetings are built into the plan and scheduled in the diaries of both the Training Officer and trainee. These meetings can be conducted virtually, where appropriate, in line with social distancing measures and other departmental guidelines.
The training plan should also include arrangements for supervision of the master’s-level research project. You may not know all the details in advance, as supervision arrangements will depend on the chosen research topic. However, we need to be assured that you will be able to identify a suitably qualified and experienced research supervisor.
The training plan is the document we most frequently query during an application. If the required level of detail is not included, we will ask you to develop the plan further before accreditation can be confirmed. Giving the plan careful attention at the outset will help make the accreditation process as efficient as possible.