Year 3 medicine placements supervisor information

Students will be introduced to some of the different teaching methods that will be used in year three. Also to the assessments that will take place and to the year three portfolio. A session about Student Selected Components in year three will also take place.

Following this, the rest of year three is split into four clinical modules:

• General medicine
• Care and community
• Surgery
• General Practice

During their time in general practice, students will have a teaching week during week three of their placement.

The equivalent of six half days of clinical placement activity (CPA) will be timetabled each week. These may be timetabled flexibly. This is at the discretion of the placement provider across any day of the seven-day week excluding campus days and teaching weeks.

Evenings may also be utilised. Long shifts, the equivalent of up to three half-day sessions (approximately 12 hours) are acceptable. This would mirror practice in Foundation year one. Two half-day sessions of self-directed learning (SDL) should also be timetabled. This time is for self-study or may also be used by the student to work on their Student Selected Component project and other coursework. At least one weekend day should be left free of either CPA or SDL each week.

Activities to complete on placement:

• EMIS training
• Audit
• Three clerkings per week
• One case presentation to a doctor per week
• DOPs if possible
• Two Mini-CEXs 
• Portfolio

The time allocated for the audit should be three sessions in total, to include initial meeting and planning and data collection.

The reminder of the time needed for the audit should be during the students’ home study time. There will also need to be some time allocated for the mid point and end of placement meeting with the named GP Supervisor.

It is the responsibility of the student to contact yourself to arrange the meeting. But of course it is your responsibility to respond to their contact and ensure you are available for meetings.

The forms live within the “Pebble Pad” e-portfolio account of the student and should be completed as below. The student will either bring a tablet PC to the meetings and will access the forms on that, or via any desktop PC. Forms are always accessed via the student’s account – supervisors do not need their own direct access to My Progress.

First meeting form

This should be completed at the initial meeting in week one of the module. You should aim to discuss the following:

• Aims for the module
• Concerns / likely challenges
• Any learning needs which the student identified in the last module and is taking forward
• Learning outcomes and core clinical presentations and conditions for the module. It is helpful if these can be discussed to determine whether students have any questions.
• Minimum requirements for clerking’s, presentations and clinical case logs discussed
• Timetable – this should be discussed to answer any student queries
• Date of next meeting – if possible, this should be fixed at this point
• Start to discuss plans for the audit (SSC3) (link to SSC3 Section)

Mid-point meeting form

This should be completed half-way through the module. The student should have completed a self-assessment of their:

• Progress so far on the placement
• Any concerns or challenges
• Their Learning Needs with a SMART Action Plan

These should be discussed during the meeting.

The supervisor should also ensure that:

• The student is meeting the requirements for clerkings and presentations (as evidenced by their Core Clinical Presentations Log)
• The student is on track with their Clinical Case Logs (two per nine-week module)
• Check the student is on track with their audit
• Any issues with attendance or timekeeping/punctuality have been recorded. Consider completing a Professionalism Lapse Event Form if necessary

Feedback summary to the student:

What is the student doing well? What should they continue doing?  What should they work on? What should they stop doing?   Date of next meeting; if possible, this should be arranged at this point.

Final meeting form

This should be completed in the final week of the module. This is a summative evaluation of the student’s performance throughout the module. The student must be given a grading of “Satisfactory” or “Not yet satisfactory”. A grading of “Not yet satisfactory” may affect the student’s ability to progress on the course as they may be required to re-take the module. A remediation plan will be agreed with the student by the Phase 2 team. The completion is monitored by the Phase 2 Senior Team, not by yourself.

The student should have completed a self-assessment of their: 

• Overall progress on the placement 
• Clinical communication 
• Medical knowledge 
• Clinical and examination skills 
• Professionalism 

The supervisor should also ensure that:

• The student has met the requirements for clerkings and presentations (as evidenced by their Core Clinical Presentations Log)
• The student is on track with their Clinical Case Logs
• Any issues with attendance or timekeeping/punctuality have been recorded. Consider issuing a Professionalism Development Opportunity via completion of an Event Form if necessary.

The Supervisor should record their overall summative judgement as to whether the student’s performance on the whole has been “Satisfactory” or is “Not yet satisfactory”. You should base this decision on a number of factors such as:

• Your own observations of the student
• Feedback from the wider team
• Review of the Log Book
• Review of the Core Clinical Presentations Log
• Engagement with their Clinical Case Logs

By stating that a student’s performance is satisfactory, you are confirming that you are happy for them to progress to the next step in their training. It is important that we do not “fail to fail” students whose performance does not meet the standard expected for their level of training. If you are not satisfied with their progress then your judgement should reflect this.

If only minor actions are required to remediate, then agree these with the student and arrange a date to meet again as soon as possible. The student and yourself will need to complete a second Final Meeting Form at that meeting.

If the problem is more serious, this will require the input of the Phase 2 team. Please email details of your concern to the Phase 2 Officer for Year 3. The Phase 2 team will discuss the remediation required and will liaise with you about completion of this and subsequent sign-off.

If you rate a student’s performance as “Not Yet Satisfactory” for whatever reason, you MUST complete an Event Form Notification. Details of this are included within the meeting form within the portfolio.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding making an assessment of a student’s performance you are encouraged to contact the Director of Clinical Studies who will be happy to discuss this with you.