UKFPO Bulletin

International Midwives Day – 5 May 

Mental Health Awareness Week 13-19 May 

Other national campaigns this month 

Introduction

Welcome to the May bulletin!

ARCPs are approaching. All FDs on standard rotations should be completing their portfolios and organising meetings with their clinical and educational supervisors this month. If your ARCP is due in June (which is most of you), please ensure you have completed your TAB, logged 60 hours of teaching, linked evidence to your curriculum and explained this through your summary narrative. You’ll also need to complete your probity declaration (Form R or SOAR).  

Full details of the requirements can be found at: https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/curriculum/arcp/

This year, FDs may have missed training time because of industrial action. It has been agreed that days of training lost due to industrial action will be counted alongside other statutory absences (such as sick leave, compassionate leave and carers’ leave) when applying the ’20 day rule’. If a FD exceeds 20 days of absence (other than annual leave), their training will need to be carefully reviewed to ensure that all curricular outcomes have been achieved and necessary experience obtained. If you think you have exceeded 20 days absence, please discuss this early with your educational supervisor and/or FPTD.  

Supervisors should be reviewing portfolios and contacting their FDs to provide advice on outstanding evidence and facilitate meetings to enable sign-off. Please ensure you are especially proactive with doctors who may be less familiar with systems, such as IMGs.

There will inevitably be queries about the need to do this so early in the placement, but ARCP outcomes are required before the end of June to allow time for F1s to be granted full registration with the GMC. ‘Sign off’ in June is conditional and done with the expectation that a FD will successfully complete their final placement. The outcome can still be changed if that does not happen. If you, as a supervisor, think the FD will not successfully complete the placement then please discuss with your FPTD.

As always, there is more information on all this on the UKFPO website.

Best wishes
Tony Choules, Operational Advisor to the UKFPO