|
SAC in Urology
THE SAC IN UROLOGY
SAC members are drawn from the Specialist Association either nominated by one of the Royal Colleges or elected by their peers. The committee includes members from the Irish Republic to support the longstanding tradition of uniformity of training between the UK and Ireland. The Lead Dean, drawn from COPMeD is an important and influential figure on the committee.
The committee meets 4 times a year. The 4 home countries and the Irish Republic are divided into training regions; each region is allocated an SAC liaison member. Typically, that member will work in the region for 2 or 3 years in close association with the Programme Director for that training scheme. Rotation of liaison members ensures that the committee has a broad but very detailed experience of training (strengths and weaknesses) throughout the UK and Ireland. Liaison members must attend the annual regional RITA assessments and additionally may decide to attend further assessments if particular cause for concern is evident. In this way the liaison member will be familiar with most if not all the urological trainees in his/her region. The programme director is appointed jointly following advice from the Postgraduate Dean and the SAC (effectively the local liaison member).
The Chairman is responsible for leading the primary training committee for Urology and he works within the framework of the Joint Committee on Specialist Training (JCST) under the direction of its Chair.
THE ROLES OF THE SAC
The essential role of the SAC in urology is to produce competent Consultant Urologists and Consultant Urological Surgeons. The manpower, construction and working practices of the committee are selected and designed purely to achieve this single objective. The principle aspects of the role of the SAC are as follows:
PMETB
• The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board took over from the Specialist Training Authority in October 2005. The work of the SAC is expected to be compatible with principles laid down by PMETB.
Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Project
• The SAC is responsible for the development of the web-based Curriculum. The details may be delegated to a nominated Curriculum Writer, but responsibility rests with the SAC.
CCT/CCST/CSD Applications
• The SAC considers applications for CCT and ensures standards are maintained on a National basis. The Chairman also considers approval of training such as overseas OOPE and research.
Co-ordinating Article 14 applications for Entry to the Specialist Register
• The SAC considers all applications in Urology and makes recommendations to PMETB.
Career structure
• The SAC is responsible for advising on the Career Structure to be adopted for trainee urologists, on selection and on assessment.
Schools of Surgery
• The SAC through its Liaison Members works closely with the Postgraduate Deans in the Schools of Surgery, and acts as their external Quality Control in all matters to do with the training of urologists.
Specialty Association
• Specialist Advisory Committees are responsible to the Royal Colleges through the Joint Committee on Higher Surgical Training, but have close relations with their specialty associations
THE INTERCOLLEGIATE SURGICAL CURRICULUM PROJECT (ISCP)
The curriculum has been developed on an intercollegiate basis, involving and the Royal Colleges, the Specialist Associations and their respective specialist advisory committees.
The Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Project managed the development of the curriculum, on a project basis, from 2003 until implementation in August 2007. The Chairman of JCHST and the Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) Chairs, together with their delegated editors, led the process of curriculum creation. Practising surgeons, trainees, educationalists, and other specialists were involved in all aspects of curriculum development.
The UK Department of Health, the Irish Department of Health and Children and the Royal Colleges contributed funding for the pre-pilot and pilot phases of the project.
Aims of the ISCP
The aims of the curriculum are to ensure the highest standards of surgical practice in the UK by delivering first class surgical training and to provide a programme of training from foundation years through to the completion of specialist surgical training, culminating in the award of a CCT.
The curriculum is broad based, using the CanMEDS framework and Good Medical Practice to ensure that surgeons completing the training programme are more than just technical experts.
The curriculum was founded on a number of key principles that support the achievement of the aims:
• A common format and framework across all the specialties within surgery.
• Systematic progression from the foundation years through to the exit from surgical specialist training.
• Curriculum standards that are underpinned by robust assessment processes, both of which conform to the standards specified by PMETB.
• Regulation of progression through training by the achievement of outcomes that are specified within the specialty curricula. These outcomes are competence-based rather than time-based.
• Delivery of the curriculum by surgeons who are appropriately qualified to deliver surgical training.
• Formulation and delivery of surgical care by surgeons working in a multidisciplinary environment.
• Collaboration with those charged with delivering health services and training at all levels.
From 1 August 2007, the curriculum applies to all trainees joining surgical training programmes from ST1 onwards and those in Fixed Term Service Training Appointment (FTSTA) posts. Current SpRs are encouraged to use the curriculum.
The curriculum is appropriate for trainees preparing to practise as consultant surgeons in the UK. It will guide and support training for a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in a surgical specialty. The curriculum enables trainees to: develop as generalists, be able to deliver an on-call emergency service; and deliver specialist services to a defined level.
Doctors applying applying for a Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) via Article 14(4) on or from 1 August 2007 will be required to demonstrate that they meet the standards required for a CCT as set out in the curriculum.
Components of the Curriculum
The surgical curriculum has been designed around four broad areas:
• Content/syllabus - what trainees are expected to know, and be able to do, at any point in their training;
• Teaching and learning - how the content is communicated and developed, how trainees are supervised;
• Assessment - how the attainment of outcomes are measured/judged, feedback to support learning; and
• Systems and resources - how the educational programme is organised, recorded and quality assured.
In order to promote high quality, safe care of surgical patients, the curriculum specifies the parameters of knowledge, clinical skills, technical skills, professional skills and behaviour that are considered necessary to ensure patient safety throughout the training process and specifically at the end of training. The curriculum therefore provides the framework for surgeons to develop their skills and judgement and a commitment to lifelong learning in line with the service they provide.
Length of training
A common framework of stages and levels is used by all the specialties. Trainees progress through the curriculum by demonstrating competence to the required standard for the stage of training. Within this framework each specialty has defined its structure and indicative length of training (for Urology this is a minimum of 5 years); the majority of trainees will be able to cover a level in the course of a year. The individual specialty syllabuses provide details of how the curriculum is shaped to the stages of training.
In general terms, by the end of training, surgeons have to demonstrate:
• theoretical and practical knowledge related to their specialty practice;
• technical and operative skills;
• professional judgement;
• an understanding of the values that underpin the profession of surgery and the responsibilities that come with being a member of the profession;
• the special attributes needed to be a surgeon;
• a commitment to their ongoing personal and professional development and ective practice and other educational processes;practice using re
• an understanding and respect for the multiprofessional nature of healthcare and their role in it; and
• an understanding of the responsibilities of being an employee of an NHS trust, hospital and/or a private practitioner.
The curriculum recognises the need for a degree of flexibility in content, over and above that of the essential requirements, in order to meet geographical variations in service configuration and specialisation. In areas of highly specialised services and practice the award of a CCT will not inevitably mark the completion of training as continued training and development may be needed.
SURGICAL LOGBOOK
At this time the logbook appropriate for urological trainees is the FHI logbook. This has been developed to support surgeons of all grades in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It has been developed in close cooperation with the Specialty Associations and is approved by JCST and the Senate of Surgery for the current and future training requirements of UK surgical trainees.
FHI is in open dialogue with the JCST and the ISCP and users can rest assured that duplicate data entry or the use of more than one logbook will not be required.
Users should also be reassured that data will not be released to any 3rd party without the user's prior expressed consent.
http://www.elogbook.org/
|
|
