Curriculum & Assessment

Details

The Foundation Programme has been designed to enable the Trainee’s to gain competencies in core clinical skills.

The full curriculum can also be downloaded from the Foundation Programmes website

The core heading are as follows and are closely linked to the GMC core standards

1. Good Clinical Care.
2. Maintaining Good Medical Practice.
3. Teaching and Training.
4. Relationships with Patients and Communication Skills.
5. Working with Colleagues.
6. Probity, Professional Behaviour and Personal Health.
7. Recognition and Management of the acutely ill.
8. Practical Procedures.

It is important to remember:

• The rotation in your practice is part of a 2 year programme.
• The Foundation doctor will not cover all competencies during his/her time with you in general practice.
• Some competencies may well be more readily met in general practice than in some other rotations eg Relationships with Patients and Communications.
  The curriculum is nationally approved and applied across all deaneries.
  Some assessments may not necessarily be done during the general practice component.
• Clinical skills requiring acquisition during the F2 year include
  o Chest drain insertion
  o Lumbar puncture
  o Central venous access
  o Pleural aspiration

These skills may be provided during a hospital based triplet or through the clinical skills laboratory at the local trust. This will be organised between the F2 doctor and their base hospital.

The Assessment

The Foundation Year 2 assessment programme is intended to provide objective workplace-based assessments, on the progress of the Foundation Doctor through the Programme. The assessment will be used by the deanery to decide whether the doctor can be signed up as satisfactorily completing the programme.

• The assessments are designed to be supportive and formative.
• The Foundation doctor can determine the timing of the assessments within each rotation and to some degree can select who does the assessment.
• It is important that all assessments are completed within the overall timetable for the assessment programme.
• Each F2 Doctor is expected to keep evidence of their assessments in their portfolio. These will then form part of the basis of the discussions during appraisals.
• The F2 doctor is an adult learner and it will be made clear to them that they have responsibility for getting their assessments done and for getting their competences signed off.

The Assessment Tools

The following tools are used for F2 doctors starting in August 2005 and are likely to be those used from 2006 onwards. You are obliged to attend a training session on all of these tools which will be provided by the deanery. Full details can be found at the www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk and can also be accessed through the Foundation Learning Portfolio.

Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) – Mini-PAT

This is very similar to a 360 degree feedback.
Each F2 should nominate 12 people within the practice to complete the mini-PAT form

Mini Clinical Evaluation Exercise (mini-CEX)

This is an evaluation of an observed clinical encounter with developmental feedback provided immediately after the encounter.

Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS)

This is another doctor-patient observed encounter assessed by using a structured check list

Case Based Discussion (CBD)

This is a structured discussion of real cases in which the F2 doctor has been involved. It is similar to the Problem Case Analysis (PCA) and Random Case Analysis (RCA), often used in training GP Registrars.