ICM Training Update

ARCPs in 2021

The GMC has recently published an update confirming the continued use of the approved Covid curriculum derogations for ARCPs this year with some useful detail around flexibility. We have updated our ARCP Guidance and Decision Aid for panels for 2021 to allow for the continued use of the ICM curriculum derogations. Please see the following documents for further information:

The ARCP Covid Outcomes 10.1 and 10.2 recognise that progress of the trainee has been satisfactory but that acquisition of capabilities by the trainees has been delayed by COVID-19 disruption. These are therefore 'no-fault' outcomes. See here for further details.

Panels should consider an Outcome 10 (.1 or .2) only where progression has been disrupted due to the necessity to cancel FFICM examinations, and/or inability to acquire competences, and/or inability to complete minimum time in specialty ICM placements, as a result of the impact of COVID-19 on ICM training. In all other circumstances, the usual ARCP outcome codes should be used in 2021.

The COVID outcomes have been included in the ARCP Outcome Forms in the ICM ePortfolio and will also be in the new LLP. If you need to use these outcomes we recommend you include as much narrative as possible to explain the situation fully.

New ICM Curriculum and Lifelong Learning update

We are working hard behind the scenes in order to provide additional guidance to help with the transition to the new curriculum and LLP. Please do check the website regularly for future updates as we will be uploading the documents as and when they have been finalised. We are planning to run a series of webinars to help answer any questions you may on the curriculum and LLP have, so please look out for an email regarding this.

First I would like to draw your attention to an update from the GMC to their policy statement on the transition of learners to a new curriculum. The policy statement sets out the GMC’s requirements for doctors in training who are working towards a CCT to move to the most recent GMC approved curriculum and programme of assessment. 

We have finalised a couple of documents related to the implementation of the new ICM curriculum, they are as follows:

Please see the recent update in Trainee Eye about deadlines for downloading your data from the NES ePortfolio and moving to the ICM Lifelong Learning Platform. We are intending to send logins to users next month if the final development sprint stays on track.

Key points:

• Go live 04 August 2021. Anyone that will not CCT by 31 August 2022 will have to move to the new curriculum and LLP. This includes anyone on a Dual CCT programme (as there is only one CCT Date), you will have to move to the new ICM Curriculum and LLP irrespective of the curriculum transition arrangements of your partner specialty.
• Login details to be issued in June 2021
• Documentation needs to be downloaded from NES by 31 December 2021. Access will cease for most people on this date
• Stage 3 trainees that will CCT by 31 August 2022 but would like to move to the new Lifelong Learning Platform should contact the Faculty.

Clarification regarding ICM Dual CCT Training Programmes and progression

It has come to our attention there is some confusion around establishing the training year for our doctors following a dual CCT programme with a partner specialty.

We have therfore produced guidance to help clarify the training pathways for doctors following a dual CCT programme with ICM. It outlines our principles for incorporating prior training (usually from core training programmes but not explicitly) onto the ICM training programme. There may be doctors that fall outside of this guidance due to having a complex training history. Where possible, we endeavour to incorporate all relevant prior medical training onto our programme to avoid any unnecessary prolongation of training.

New Dual CCT Programme Guidance

We are working with our partner Royal Colleges on developing the new dual CCT programme guidance for our new curricula. The document below is the current draft of the new Dual Anaesthetics and ICM CCT Programme. NB: This has not yet been approved by our respective Training Committees or the GMC so is subject to change. However, we felt it would be useful for you to see this draft to understand our current thinking. We know people find the schematic diagrams of the training pathways useful and a diagram will be included in the final version, we haven’t decided on how best to reconfigure them for the new curricula yet.

In relation to this, the RCoA have just released guidance for the transition year between intermediate level training on the 2010 Anaesthetics Curriculum and stage 3 training on the 2021 Anaesthetics Curriculum.

Triple CCT programmes with the physician specialties

The GMC Curriculum Oversight Group (comprised of members of the UK Medical Education Reference Group) approved the triple CCT accreditation in principle, in order for doctors to continue to have the opportunity to train in ICM and one of the prior approved medical specialties (eg Acute Internal, Respiratory and Renal Medicine) that will automatically dual with Internal Medicine (in 2022) due to the JRCPTB's curriculum changes. We have been working closely with the JRCPTB on finalising the training pathway for these programmes so we can submit our plans to the GMC for review and approval. We will keep you informed of progress.

We are also liaising with the Lead Postgraduate Deans and 4 Statutory Education Bodies to try to see if we can make any allowances for doctors currently training in ICM who may have missed out on the opportunity to apply for dual training with Medicine this year. 

With the introduction of the new IMT curriculum, doctors training in Medicine will have to have an extra year at core training level (3 years total) before applying to higher specialist training. Some doctors have unfortunately been caught out and are at a disadvantage through no fault of their own.They have been successful in entering higher specialist training in Intensive Care Medicine (with only 2 years at core training) and were planning to apply to one of the approved Medical specialties (AIM, Respiratory and Renal Medicine) to complete dual or the proposed triple CCTs if and when they are approved. However, they will not have the extra year that the new IMT curriculum demands. In addition, very few posts were available this year in HST Internal Medicine.

We are trying to ascertain whether:

1. The window available for applying to a second specialty can be extended from 1 to 2 years, to allow these doctors to gain the majority of capabilities needed to apply.
2. Doctors in ICM planning to apply for one of our Medical Dual Training Programmes can be allowed to gain the required IMT capabilities (necessary for their new curriculum) within their year of Intensive Care Medicine. 

Everyone involved is keen to find a solution to this. We will let you know the outcome of these discussions when it has been confirmed. 

Other Training News

• Training Survey 2021 - This month we will launch the 2021 Training Survey. An email will be sent directly to all those registered on the single and dual ICM training programme for completion. The survey primarily focuses on training placements and experiences between August 2020 and August 2021, and will remain open throughout June and July for completion. If you do not receive your survey link in May and believe you should have please do get in touch shall@ficm.ac.uk