Supporting medical trainees - a new course

BEST (Building Excellence in Specialty Training) is a new course I am running on behalf of several Deaneries around the UK, to explore much needed ways for trainees to gain access to opportunities for learning on the job.

With the advent of the latest report on training under the European Working Time Directive,(EWTD) http://www.mee.nhs.uk/PDF/14274%20Bookmark%20Web%20Version.pdf by Professor Sir John Temple, which highlights the need for dedicated training and support for junior doctors, BEST addresses one of the shortfalls in the new WBA (Workplace Based Assessment)and competence based training system.

The Training and Assessment in Practice (TAiP) course that I wrote and have delivered for the last 3 years on behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons of England has seen over a thousand consultants demystified as to what the WBAs are and how they complement existing good training practice. However there has been no such provision for trainees. Many are still using the WBAs incorrectly as retrospective, virtual scoring forms rather than face to face engagement and training tools. They struggle to identify their Educational Supervisor and to gain meaningful Learning Agreements from them. Even when trainees understand the formative and developmental nature of the WBAs, they are often working with trainers who are enculturated into a summative, secretive pass/fail mentality because that is all they have known during their own training.

BEST is available to equip trainees with the skills they need to manage their own training, to access the appropriate opportunities and to engage their trainers within a system they are mandated to use.

Training at Foundation stage and beyond in Core and Specialty training programmes is now built around the use of Portfolios to document evidence of competence and progression. Use of the new Assessment tools (Mini CEX, CBD, DOPs, PBA and a range of 360° feedback) is here to stay and the BEST course will:

• Develop understanding of the assessment tools and how best to use them in everyday practice;
• Show how to manage the Learning Agreement;
• Identify immediate learning needs;
• Consider how to get the best out of trainers;
• Identify ways to ensure trainer observation sessions;
• Use the tools to gain training rather than assessment;
• Manage the reception of feedback from your trainer;
• Agree ways to action plan further learning;
• Identify the appropriate people to ask to conduct your 360° feedback;
• Agree follow up activities to show progress after your 360° feedback;
• Support the development of simple approaches to structure reflective writing;
• Develop and improve a piece of your reflective writing;
• Identify the use and value of a portfolio;
• Discuss ways to add quality to your portfolio;

Sessions are delivered using live demonstrations for candidates to discuss, group work and paired work.

By the end of the course you will have:

• Prepared a PDP
• Drawn up an action plan
• Managed your feedback from a trainer
• Identified follow up activities from an assessment tool
• Improved a piece of reflective writing
• Received advice on your portfolio

Please email me for further details. There are a variety of ways that BEST can be accessed.

Hayleyallan@tiscali.co.uk