Workplace Based Assessment (WPBA)
From the start of your training you will be assessed while you are in your placements in General Practice and in hospital. This will take the form of your the learning the record in your online eportfolio, and assessments carried out by your supervisor.
Applied Knowledge Test (AKT)
The current advice is that the AKT should be sat in the ST2 year. This ensures you should have familiarised yourself within a GP practice in ST1 or ST2 and leaves your ST3 year clear for the CSA and preparing for independent clinical practice. The following links provide useful information about AKT.
Simulated Clinical Assessment (SCA)
Examination preparation tips:
- Do a surgery with 10 minute appointments once a week for practice.
- Allocate patients with specific problems to this clinic. Your trainer can identify specific cases or you can book people yourself, eg if someone says “by the way, can I talk about my knee?” you can book them in a 10 minute surgery to practice doing it in the time.
- Make sure your normal surgeries are at least at 15 minutes. This allows time for preparation and typing up that you won’t have to do in the CSA, and therefore helps you to get through things in a relevant timescale.
- Practice doing some joint surgeries with your trainer watching. This is uncomfortable but will get you used to being observed and marked by a third party.
- Ask to sit in for part of a surgery with doctors other than your trainer … may be just two or three consultations at a time. Note the skills they use and the strengths and weaknesses of their approach. Adapt skills you think are useful to your own practice.
Suggestions for joint surgeries:
- Book these as GP registrar surgeries so patients are expecting to see you not the trainer.
- GP registrar sees the patients and the trainer watches.
- GP registrar and trainer alternate patients with time for discussion and feedback.
- GP registrar sees the first half of the surgery with the “Registrar’s Revenge” being the second half where you watch your trainer and give feedback. Practice watching your trainer using a consultation map or COT scheme to focus your attention and help you to identify and emulate the skills you see being enacted by the trainer.
Resources for Training
The NHS England Northwest GP Training Website offers a wealth of resources to guide you through your time in training, whatever your background or experience at the outset of your training
https://nwpgmd.nhs.uk/educational-resources-gp-doctors-in-training
Study Leave
One of the benefits of training as a GP is the opportunity to have funded courses and paid leave to complete educational activites where these relate to your agreed educational goals within the GP Curriculum.