Job Planning in ICM

What is a job plan?

Job plans are annual agreements that sets out your duties, responsibilities, objectives and agree supporting resources for the coming year’. They are  a mutual agreement between yourself and the employer, with discussions led by the clinical director for the department in most cases. A job plan will list the programmed activities (PAs) that you will be involved in, which include direct clinical care as well as supporting professional activities. 

• Click here for guidance from the BMA on job planning
• Click here for NHS best practice on job planning
   

Challenges in dual specialties

There can be multiple challenges in developing dual ICM job plans with other specialties, and creating a fair job plan requires total commitment from both divisions in order to work. Traditionally, this has been easier with anaesthetics, which operates on a largely session-based framework and often fall under the same trust directorate. Often specialties advertise for a whole person contribution to service provision, unless the specific departmental lead has enough forward vision in their workforce planning. 

Dual jobs also tend to require there to be a vacancy in both specialties simultaneously and there is often disagreement between clinicians wishing to advertise for posts and what individual trusts/directorates are willing to fund. The sticking point is often the on-call commitments and the difficulties of performing on-calls in both specialties. In essence, the issues come down to funding, and to there being few established dual job plans in place with the onus very much on the individual to convince employers to cooperate. IiTs report having to choose between their specialties when applying for consultant posts. 

Job plans

However, there are also many instances where these challenges have been overcome. Below, several consultants from around the country have kindly outlined their experiences and current job plans for direct clinical commitment time in both ICM and a partner specialty.  

Enlightening employers and their respective HR/ medical workforce departments as to how these patterns of working can be accommodated is the first step in improving the process for the future. Together with the fantastic precedents set by colleagues already in post, it is hoped that over time it can be made as easy as possible for future intensivists to shape their careers as intended. 

What should my job plan include?

A standard starting job plan for a consultant in ICM will vary depending on the location within the UK that post is in - this relates the variances within the consultant contract between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ensure you are aware of what your contract relates too in your location of work. A proposed job plan should be included within a job application pack for a consultant vacancy. Once a post is accepted, this may then be negotiated prior to starting.

Examples of typical direct clinical care (DCCs) include

• ICU/ HDU sessions
• Follow up clinic sessions
• MDT meetings
• On-call sessions
• Admin time directly related to clinical time

Examples of supporting professional activities (SPA) include

Core

• Appraisal and revalidation
• Continuing professional development
• Mandatory training

Other

• Teaching and education including undergraduate or postgraduate
• Educational/ Clinical supervision
• Research
• Clinical governance
• Audit
• Management and leadership roles