Rotational Training in ICM

RECOMMENDATION 8: Those with responsibility for overseeing the delivery of ICM training programmes (Deans or equivalent) should ensure appropriate administrative and technological support is provided to their Heads of School and Training Programme Directors

1. The management, communication and delivery of training programmes requires a significant amount of administrative time and technological resource. Across the UK, regions have had restructuring and reductions of staff, with ever-present financial constraints. The feedback from Heads of Schools and Training Programme Directors is that this has added to their own administrative burden and impacted on the timeliness and accuracy of ARCPs, communications with IiTs and notifications of rotations to departments, causing additional workload, stress and anxiety.
2. TPD and lead trainer resource allocation needs to reflect the complexity of planning and delivering a programme, considering the plurality of core training and multiple dual/triple specialties at different training grades. There is a financial burden placed on IiTs personally to support educational activities that should be delivered within training.

RECOMMENDATION 9: Implementation of the recommendations for Improving the Working Lives of Doctors in Training as a matter of priority

The Faculty would ask the education bodies in all four nations to implement the recommendations as a matter of urgency. Those highlighted below will play a significant role in minimising the adverse effects of rotational training:

1. Introduction of a Lead Employer Model: The development of a central employer looking after all IiTs on a rotation has been shown to be beneficial. The avoidance of needing to change employer between placements has reduced the issues with incorrect or delayed salary payments, taxation issues and significantly reduced paperwork.
2. Reinstate monitoring of compliance with rota requirements: Information regarding incoming doctors is provided to organisations within the required 12-week time frame and with improved accuracy.
3. Provide intensive support to providers including a review and redesign of payroll processes to reduce payroll errors
4. Addressing the unique issues caused by rotations: To include reviewing on-boarding processes, and other practical steps to help foster a sense of wellbeing and belonging such as reviewing the application processes for lockers or car parking spaces, and the availability of facilities.
5. Make it easier for staff to move between organisations via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enable providers to accept each other’s mandatory training. This will remove the requirement for staff to repeat mandatory training in a new organisation.
6. Reform the existing approach to Statutory and Mandatory training: There should be an agreed framework of statutory and mandatory training within regions across the UK, and systems should be put in place to enable the transferability of this training between organisations. These systems should be designed to provide a record of training completed which can be made available to host hospitals in advance of rotations. This will minimise the administrative burden for both intensivists in training and local departments.