FAQ’s related to GIM training
How will your GIM training be assessed at your ARCP? – in the EoE Deanery, GIM training is assessed along with specialty training at every specialty ARCP, with assessment being against criteria specified in the Decision Aid. One member of the ARCP panel will have the specific remit of doing this. In preparation for your ARCP you will be expected to complete a ‘summary of training calculator’ (see attached document below) and attach this to your ePortfolio. You should keep this up to date year by year and will need to present it at your GIM PYA as well as at all your ARCPs. You will be issued with separate ARCP reports for your specialty and GIM training each year.
Could I have a different outcome for my specialty and my GIM ARCP? – yes. If you are making satisfactory progress in training in your specialty but not in GIM, or vice versa, then you will be issued with a satisfactory outcome in one specialty, but not in the other.
How will your GIM training be assessed at your PYA? – PYAs are always conducted separately in the specialty and GIM, hence if you are training for dual CCTs (or – for trainees remaining on the 2007 curriculum - a specialty CCT and a level 2 accreditation in GIM) you will have two separate PYAs. Before your PYA you will be expected to complete various forms to describe your GIM training / experience and to articulate what you think you still need to do to complete your GIM training. Assessment – which will be led by an external (to the EoE) assessor - will be against criteria specified in the Decision Aid.
What is meant by ‘external GIM training’? – this means training on a subject that is not within your specialty, delivered by someone who is from outside of your specialty. It does not mean that it has to be delivered in a different place from your normal place of work, although it can be. Attendance at a medical staff round or educational meeting within your normal place of work can be counted as external GIM training if it satisfies the definition given above, as can many other educational activities.
Is a patient survey mandatory? – no.
Do I have to keep a log book? – no. Estimates of the number of cases seen or clinics attended are required, with the name of the educational supervisor who can confirm these estimates. But you can keep an (appropriately anonymised) log book if you find that helpful to your training.
Difficulties with ACATs – as part of the ARCP process trainees are assessed against the Decision Aid that mandates that particular numbers of WPBAs need to have been done, and that a certain number of these must be done by consultants. Some trainees have reported that it is difficult for them to get appropriate numbers of consultant-led ACATs. This difficulty largely arises because of a misconception that many trainees and many consultants share of the requirements for performing an ACAT. This WPBA can be performed during an on-take shift where a trainee works closely with a consultant, or when a trainee presents a series of patients to a consultant on a PTWR, but these circumstances are relatively infrequent in some hospitals. The issue has been discussed at the GIM SAC, who have emphasised that ACATs can be performed during a normal ward round of patients who have been admitted with acute medical problems. So, the next time you are doing such a ward round, ask the consultant if after presenting the cases you can send them a link to complete an ACAT assessment.
I have another question related to GIM training – please email School of Medicine Administrator - Sarah Cubitt