Course Delivery and promotion
Since taking up the post of Training Manager for Medical Appraisal at the beginning of February 2016 I have been very impressed with the quality of the current New Appraiser and Refresher Training courses that the team organises and delivers.
These courses are one of the cornerstones that support the Medical Appraisal and Revalidation processes across Scotland and their delivery is only possible through the dedicated and professional approaches of administrative staff, tutors, Appraisal Leads, and, of course, participants, who wish to take up the important role of being a Medical Appraiser.
The team have a schedule of courses that currently runs through to June 2017 and details of these can be found at http://www.appraisal.nes.scot.nhs.uk/events.aspx
One of the exciting challenges in the coming year is to review course delivery to date, to factor in new courses in order to meet the demand for new appraisers, and also to ensure that previously trained appraisers are provided with the opportunity to obtain Refresher Training on a periodic basis.
To support this, I have started introducing a series of new processes to assist the review and development work that I believe all recognised mature teams and services should undertake in order to maintain and evolve their services and product delivery to ensure that it remains current and valid for its wider customer base and operating environment.
The team has started work to document its course delivery processes using a range of recognised Process Mapping techniques.
This work is ongoing and has already proved to be very insightful in terms of visually documenting our current procedures, the various stages and requirements involved, and how relationships with our internal and external stakeholders are utilised to successfully deliver a training course.
This work also provides the foundation for further possible quality improvement work aimed at sustaining delivery of fit-for-purpose products that meet expectations and requirements, whilst also striving for efficiency within the budgetary constraints that the team and our related stakeholders are required to operate within.
Process Mapping, Continuous Improvement, and efficiency
Course Validation and Governance
To support and deliver fit-for-purpose courses, a new governance process is being introduced to enable periodic review of course delivery, feedback from course participants and tutors, and any other relevant developments or requirements such as changes to SOAR that could affect future courses and/or their content.
The new Course Validation and Review (CVR) Group will document its meetings together with any agreed changes to course content or delivery that are deemed necessary as a result of their review activities. In doing so this will deliver a documented and transparent process to support our delivery of courses appropriate for our operating environment and any emergent demands that it produces.
Health Improvement Scotland Partnership
It is clear that both the Medical Appraisal Team and Health Improvement Scotland have mutual interests in the delivery of appraisals across Scotland.
Initial discussions have proved very positive and concluded that there is a potential synergy to improve the quality assurance of medical appraisal, which we believe can be achieved through closer links and cross-fertilisation and sharing of data between the relevant teams in each organisation. Further work to develop this will take place during the remainder of 2016.
Responsible Officers Event - 26th October 2016
Following the successful Responsible Officer Event held in 2015, another Event has been scheduled for 2016, to be held at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel on Wednesday 26th October 2016.
The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, will be attending the Event, along with senior personnel from Scottish Government Health Department and arrangements are, at the time of writing, at an advanced stage. Further details will be available to potential attendees shortly.
Refresher Training
It is only fitting that I recognise the years of excellent work and effort from all involved that has gone before in creating, implementing, and subsequently enhancing the training delivery products to their current position.
Since inception the Medical Appraisal team has delivered training to in excess of 1200 course participants, the vast majority of whom are still active appraisers in either Primary or Secondary Care. Many have attended Refresher Training subsequent to their initial training as an appraiser. However, it is also a fair observation to note that practice varies across Scotland as to when, or if, an appraiser needs to undertake a Refresher Training course.
Over the remainder of 2016 I will be undertaking a data validation exercise with staff in each of the Territorial Boards to establish which NES trained appraisers are still active in that role. From that starting point I will then be able to triangulate this revised Pan-Scotland cohort with our own training database to establish when each individual last undertook a NES Appraiser training course.
Borrowing from the five-year Revalidation principle introduced by the GMC, I am proposing that we create a similar five-year cycle for appraisers to undertake Refresher Training. This would start in 2017 and, based on the current information of a gross number of appraisers, 2017 will be a “Big Bang” year in that it will target all appraisers trained in or before 2012 who are still active in the appraiser role. Subsequent years of the cycle, 2018 through to 2021, are projected to require a level of Refresher Training not too dissimilar to the volume of courses within the current training course schedule.
This work is a major undertaking but I believe that the time is right to introduce this Training Model in order to enhance governance and currency of training within the appraiser cohort.
Tutor Development
Courses can only be successfully delivered with the support, enthusiasm, energy, and dedication of the Tutor Cohort that the Medical Appraisal Team have at their disposal.
Currently numbering in excess of 40 and comprising both Primary and Secondary Care clinicians, this group participates in courses throughout the year with an average commitment of around a week spread over a series of one-day or two-day courses.
With the proposals regarding Refresher Training for 2017 and beyond, the possible commitment levels may need to increase, dependant on individual’s clinical and personal commitments.
I am keen to have more active engagement with this valuable cohort and am currently exploring possibilities around regional events for Tutors where we can engage, discuss, challenge, and debate all things relevant to Medical Appraisal.
More details to the tutor cohort will follow during 2016.
Engagement with the wider Appraisal community across Scotland
From feedback before and during the recent NES Medical Conference at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre held in early May 2016, it is clear that we need to improve on the current levels of engagement and communication with Medical Appraisal Leads, Appraisal Administration Leads, and others with a mutual interest in Medical Appraisal.
Earlier in this report I have alluded to recent interaction with Health Improvement Scotland, and I am happy to consider other requests and dialogue aimed at enhancing the current products and their delivery processes. If you wish to contact me regarding this, my e-mail is shown at the end of this section of the Report.
Acknowledgement
My transition into the role of Training Manager could not have been possible without the hard work, support, patience, and knowledge that my new team regularly demonstrate, and have extended to me over the last four months. We are working in a challenging and changing environment and our workload is not without its difficulties at times.
That said, I believe we have a unity of purpose to deliver the best training events that we can, and with the proposed changes outlined in this section of the report there is no reason not to believe that these can be further enhanced with the support of our network of stakeholders.
If you have any comments or feedback on the content of this Report, then please do not hesitate to contact me.
NHS Education for Scotland
Westport 102
West Port
Edinburgh EH3 9DN
tel: 0131 656 3200
fax: 0131 656 3201
© NHS Education for Scotland 2016. You can copy or reproduce the information in this document for use within NHSScotland and for non-commercial educational purposes. Use of this document for commercial purposes is permitted only with the written permission of NES. | Privacy and data protection | Terms and conditions
This annual report has not been designed to be printed. To download the text only version of the report, please visit the Medical Appraisal Scotland website.