UKFPO Bulletin: 12 July 2022
Bulletin
Introduction
The curse of interesting times is certainly upon us. Even as we emerge from the pandemic and become used to dealing with Covid as an endemic we find ourselves warned about Monkeypox and even polio; the UK is receiving refugees, many of whom will present their own healthcare needs; and an economic crisis looms which will certainly affect the health of the poorest and most vulnerable in society. And, while dealing with all this, we as health professionals are trying to return our nations’ healthcare provision to something near normal. In my own specialty of paediatrics, we are experiencing an unprecedented demand for healthcare with emergency department attendances well in excess of our pre-pandemic numbers while trying to deal with ‘104 week waiters’. In my opinion, no child should wait two years to receive treatment, but this is part of the crisis we face.
Many of you reading this will be aware of all of these issues, you have been facing some of them on a daily basis and watching others develop for the last one or two years; even longer, probably, if you are a supervisor. Those who have been around in healthcare for a while will know that ‘change is the only constant’.
These days, as the scope of medicine expands, we are all forced to learn new things and, for those on the front line, to engage in ‘just in time learning’. However, in order to care for our patients we must have the necessary skills to implement this new information into our scope of practice and the confidence to deliver the right care for our patients compassionately and capably.
The notion of change in medical practice and the constant new challenges facing healthcare professionals was one of the guiding principles when designing the new curriculum that was implemented this year. We wanted to develop doctors equipped to meet the current and future needs of our population and I believe that aspiration has been put to the test this year. I hope those completing their first year as a doctor and those about to move from FP into training or other posts will find they have learned a range of skills that will help them deal with the constantly varying challenges of modern healthcare and to care for themselves and each other as they practice into the future.
With this in mind the AoMRC Foundation Programme Committee which is responsible for the curriculum would like to encourage all FDs and supervisors to complete this survey to allow us to assess the changes made to the curriculum and to continue to develop it in line with ongoing healthcare requirements.
Survey for foundation school directors and foundation training programme directors
Survey for educational and clinical supervisors
It remains only to wish all those completing FP the very best for their future careers and to thank those who have guided them for their dedicated work.
Best wishes
Tony Choules, Operational Advisor to the UKFPO
Opportunity to contribute to research
Medical Education Researchers based at the University of Nottingham, with support from the GMC and ASME, are investigating the cause and impact of post-Foundation Training Programme training breaks (sometimes referred to informally as ‘F3’ years) on subsequent career progression.
If you would like to volunteer to be a participant, please email mcrn@nottingham.ac.uk and the research team will then contact you to provide the Participant Information Sheet and Consent form for the appropriate research work stream. If you have any questions about the study, please email mcrn@nottingham.ac.uk
Oral Health Knowledge of Medical Professionals
A short survey has been developed to gain an understanding of oral health knowledge of recent UK Medical graduates. It should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete.
The aim of Mini Mouth Care Matters is to ‘put the mouth back in the body’ and develop mouth care for children and young people. The organisation want to bridge the gap between medicine and dentistry and support medical professionals in understanding common oral problems their patients may face.
Please answer these questions based on your current knowledge as these answers will help formulate recommendations for undergraduate training and learning resources for medical graduates. If you completed a dental degree prior to medicine please do not complete the survey.
Links and information
Foundation elearning programme update July 2022
Welcome to your July 2022 update about the Foundation elearning programme.
The Foundation elearning programme has been developed specifically for Foundation doctors by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in partnership with Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh) and is approved by the UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO).
Supervised learning events (SLEs) are an essential part of your learning in your foundation years. Even if you think you know how to get the best out of them, you may still get more by doing the SLE sessions now.
Available in the elfh Foundation Programme (2021 curriculum), relevant elearning sessions cover areas in your curriculum on FPC 10: Teaching the teacher and FPC 12: Continuing Professional Development:
- Supervised Learning Events in the Foundation Programme: An Introduction https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/706193
- Principles of Assessment https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/706189
- Making the Best Use of Multi-Source Feedback: A Trainee Guide https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/706197
- Getting the Most from Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/706201
- Getting the Most from a Case Based Discussion (CBD) https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/706205
- Getting the Most from a Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/706209
- Getting the Most Out of Supervised Learning Events: Feedback and Reflection https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/706213
- Getting the Most Out of Supervised Learning Events: Reflection After Feedback https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/706217
Check the programme to see other sessions that might help you.
You can sign on to the elearning with your login supplied by elfh at any time during your foundation training: https://www.elfh.org.uk/programmes/foundation-programme/
Horus and Turas have deep links to elfh sessions from the Foundation Curriculum and are therefore accessible to all trainees, making it quicker and easier to access the appropriate session linked to the curriculum.
Improve medicines safety, visit the SCRIPT Safety programme
The SCRIPT Safety programme aims to develop your knowledge and skills in prescribing practice, therapeutics and provides guidance on medicines management. The programme covers a range of topics and supports the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Patient Safety Challenge ‘Medication Without Harm’.
Each module in the SCRIPT Safety programme takes approximately 60 minutes to complete. All course materials have been authored by a team of expert healthcare professionals and are regularly reviewed and updated. You can learn more about this elearning programme by visiting the SCRIPT website.
New online learning: stopping the over-medication of people with a learning disability and autistic people (STOMP) online learning
HEE is pleased to launch, with NHSEI, MindEd and Experts by Experience, new online learning to help stop the over-medication of people with a learning disability and autistic people (STOMP).
There are 6 online learning sessions available for health and care professionals, carers, and family members. They explain the meaning of STOMP, discuss opportunities to speak up if they feel someone in their care is receiving inappropriate medication and highlight how they can access reliable information about medicines. Each session can be completed at an individual’s own pace taking approximately 30 minutes to complete. You may also find the stakeholder communication toolkit useful.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more, please email learning.disability@hee.nhs.uk.
Foundation Doctors Masterclass in Dermatology
Saturday 24th September 2022, Virtual Meeting: 09:00 13:00
Following 2019’s successful pilot, the British Association of Dermatologists will be once again running a half day workshop virtually for your foundation doctors. It is on a weekend, so they do not need to ask for study leave.
It focuses very specifically on what they wish to learn on the topic in order to deliver care in general practice and acute environments following a fact finding project undertaking in the Northwest Foundation School. The learning outcomes for the event align with the Foundation programme curriculum using interactive case based learning. Places are limited to 40 attendees per workshop to ensure a rich experience.
We would be grateful if you would circulate the email below to highlight this opportunity to all your Foundation Doctors (FY1 and FY2) should they wish to attend. The programme can be viewed via the links below.
Programme: Foundation Doctors Masterclass in Dermatology 2022
This half day course provides dermatology education tailored to the needs of foundation doctors irrespective of future specialisation, preparing you to manage patients with skin disease safely and effectively, supporting you for both hospital and community rotations.
Registration via: https://www.eventsforce.net/bad/387/home
Local Ambassador Recruitment for STASHH – deadline 15th July 2022
STASHH (Student and Trainee Association for Sexual Health and HIV) is the new sister society to BASHH (British Association for Sexual Health and HIV). The society aims to help aspiring sexual health and HIV trainees foster their interests and develop their careers.
Key objectives are to:
1) Provide educational opportunities relating to Sexual Health and HIV medicine, including revision sessions and specialty workshops.
2) Support career development through mentoring, careers fairs and creating a forum for networking.
3) Promote and facilitate opportunities for collaborative audits, research and quality improvement projects led by medical students and junior doctors across the UK. Facilitate opportunities for presentation of projects at local and national conferences.
The society are in the process of recruiting local ambassadors to help promote events to fellow pre specialty doctors (FY1-IMT3) in their deanery.
The deadline for applications is 15th July 2022. For more information, please click here or visit the Twitter page.
Free CST Interview Course Webinar
The Annual CST Interview Course are delighted to be hosting a FREE WEBINAR for those applying to the CST Interview Course. It will be taking place on Wednesday 12th October 2022, 19:00 – 20:00 on Zoom.
It will be chaired by previous candidates of our course who scored 100% in the interview last year. We will be going over the interview process as well as tips and structures that helped our highest scoring applicants. We hope to help you secure your first-choice job in surgery!
For more information and how to register, please visit www.cstinterview.co.uk.