MBChB Keele Universitymedicine2.keele.ac.uk/ssc_guidelines/guides/Year 4... · Web view3 SSC in...

MBChB Keele University

Year 4

SSC Guide

2016-2017

YEAR 4 SSC GUIDE – 2017

CONTENTS

Student and Supervisor Guidance …………..………..…………….……… 3-5Assessment of the SSC ……………………………………………………… 6-7CV Template ….……………………………………………..….…………..….. 8-14 Written Reflective Report and Final Appraisal with Supervisor ……... 15-16

Keele Medical School–Year 4 SSC Guidelines 20172

Student and Supervisor Guidance

This guidance for the Year 4 SSC is offered to both the students and supervisors.

As Year 4 students, you will be starting to apply for your Foundation Posts in just six

months time. This means that at this relatively early stage, even before qualifying,

that you need to start thinking about possible careers pathways. It is hugely

important, and equally hugely difficult, to make the right choice with the very limited

experience that you have had in medicine so far. We hope that the Year 4 SSC will

help you to think about post-graduate specialties and give you more insight about

what you want from your future career.

We want you to make an informed decision when choosing a possible specialty by

building on what you already know from your experiences from observing and

helping with direct clinical care on the wards. What is important to realise however is

that delivering Direct Clinical Care is only part of what a senior doctor does. Perhaps

up to a third of a Consultant’s or GP’s time is not spent with patients but in other

activities such as teaching, management, developing clinical pathways, research and

in lifelong learning. As medical students you will clearly have first-hand experience

of the role of a consultant as a teacher but other consultants will have chosen to be

involved in, and be experts in, hospital management, postgraduate education,

developing clinical services, medical politics, work with the Royal Colleges etc etc.

Senior doctors are also lifelong learners involved in Continuing Professional

Development and Continuing Medical Education and are now facing a future where

they will be required to demonstrate their on-going skills and competency with

regular revalidation throughout the rest of their working lives.

We want students to find out how senior doctors balance their clinical and nonclinical

activities, how they get involved in these areas away from the wards, clinics and

theatres and develop their interests away from direct patient care.

Clearly the path to becoming a senior doctor is just as important and we want the

Year 4 SSC to allow the students to find out about the training in a specific speciality.

We would hope that the students will be able to spend time with the junior doctors on


the career ladder. We want students to learn about how the junior doctors are

trained, how their teaching is delivered and how they balance it with their clinical

duties and on call. What can the Foundation doctor do to prepare themselves for

specialist post application? Are there specific courses or clinical experiences that

will help their success in job application? Does the specialty require "core training"

first or is there "run-through training"? What is the structure of the collegiate exams

system? How much do the exams cost? What is the pass rate? At what point is

higher specialist training undertaken and what options are there for sub

specialisation? Are there options for dual accreditation and what benefits might that

give a senior trainee? Consult the specialties’ College websites, the Foundation

Programme website and Deanery websites for information as well as asking the

junior doctors and consultants, to get as much insight as possible.

We want the Year 4 students to analyse a particular specialty and get a feel for not

only what it is like to practice medicine in that specialty, but what it is like to be a

trainee and a senior doctor. We want the students to analyse the specialty and also

reflect to determine what it is that attracts them to that particular career. We hope

that the students will be able to have some frank discussions with the doctors on the

teams and undergo personal reflection about lifelong goals balancing life both within

and outside medicine.

We would like the four weeks to be spent undertaking a combination of clinical

experience for the students to practice and extend their skills, but also spending time

specifically with both the senior doctors and junior doctors learning what they do not

just on the wards but away from patient care. If appropriate, if there are nonclinical

activities being undertaken by the doctors (junior or senior) such as teaching,

meetings, management work would it be possible for the medical students to

experience the duties/roles of the clinicians away from patient care? Clearly this

won't always be appropriate/possible, but any insight into what makes up the full job

of a trainee or senior doctor might be very useful to the students considering a

particular career pathway.

We want the student to write their CV during the four weeks, using a template

outlined later, and for this to be reviewed by the supervisor at the end of the


attachment. Rather than writing the CV to just reflect their current experience as a

medical student, the CV should be completed as though it were being used in an

application for a career post at the end of foundation years. This means that the

student will be able to complete a certain parts of the CV (personal details,

experiences and qualifications to date) but clearly there will be significant parts of the

CV that the student will not have any material for at this stage. The idea is that the

student will complete these domains with "indicative content" -- experiences in

activities which they should strive to achieve during their early postgraduate clinical

experience in order to enhance their CV when applying for posts as they aim to enter

higher specialist training. We hope that by having this "aspirational" CV students will

then have a plan to maximise their experiences and therefore maximise their CV

when applying for jobs later on. Advice on how to fill in the CV is given later but

hopefully the student will also use the experiences of the junior doctors and

consultants when selecting material to complete their CV. The CV does need to be

completed for all SSCs, regardless of different specialty application requirements.


Assessment of the SSC

The assessment for the Year 4 SSC is divided into three parts:

1. The standard assessment of attendance/professionalism. Satisfactory

attendance, punctuality and engagement are prerequisites for any attachment

at any point during undergraduate training including the SSCs. At this stage

we would not expect there to be any issues in these areas and hope that this

part of the assessment will be a formality. Any unauthorised leave can lead to a failed SSC, resulting in re-sitting the whole SSC during 5 th year electives. Students are strongly advised to inform the Medical School about their absence in case of an unplanned or unexpected event as soon as possible.

2. The second area of assessment is a personal reflective piece written by the

student analysing the career aspect of the specialty to which they have been

attached. This will be a piece of approximately 2000 words describing various

aspects of the specialty that they have observed and make a personal

reflection on how the attachment has informed them as to their suitability for

that particular specialty and vice versa. Hopefully the SSC will allow the

student to reflect on many aspects of the specialty from the point of view of

both trainees and senior doctors, show insight into training within a specialty,

life as a consultant and activities that are undertaken away from direct patient

care. The assessment of this reflective piece will take place in an appraisal

meeting between supervisor and student at the end of the attachment.

Provided that the student demonstrates in this appraisal that they have used

the attachment to gain a proper insight into the specialty and have engaged

properly and honestly in the reflective process then the assessment will be

graded as a "pass". In most cases the four-week attachment will hopefully

confirm the students’ interest in a particular specialty but it is entirely expected

that some students will conclude that a particular specialty is not for them.

This is an entirely acceptable and valid outcome for the SSC -- passing or

failing the attachment does not depend on whether or not the student finally

concludes that a particular specialty is for them!


3. The CV that the student completes will not be subject to assessment -- it is

expected that the students will use the attachment to become as informed as

possible in order to complete a competent and useful model CV using advice

from both the trainee doctors and senior doctors. Where there are inevitable

gaps in experience (such as audit and research) these should be filled in with

indicative content (which I suggest is done in italics to differentiate it from

actual information/experience that the student already has). It is hoped that at

the end of this month of reflection about future careers that the students will

be able to write a well thought out Personal Statement that would encapsulate

their thoughts about their future careers (and lives!). Hopefully the students

will seek advice from both junior and senior doctors when completing their

CVs and at the final meeting with their supervisor, the CV will be reviewed

and suggestions made for further improvements and advice about suitable

future experiences/activities to enhance the CV post qualification.

Whilst the assessment of this SSC may appear less demanding than in other

areas, a well-written and well thought out CV (with targeted intended future

content and a well-constructed personal statement) and a focused career-

orientated reflective piece will require considerable investigation and analysis

by the student over the four-week attachment.


Keele University School of Medicine

CV template

The following is a template that we hope will give you some idea how to structure a

CV. Although anonymous application forms are very common in job applications, a

formal CV is also required on occasions. Another advantage in developing your own

CV is that the template will show you areas where you may need development;

completing a preliminary CV as part of the Year 4 SSC is for you to get an idea of

the various domains that you need to show achievement in such as experience in

teaching, management, audit etc. At this stage you may have little or no experience

in some of these areas but by thinking about your future career pathways you can

set goals for not only generic skills and competencies but career-specific

experiences to enhance your CV.

.

The advice is based on a national consultation carried out by a member of the

careers team that led to a Deanery training package. This template is designed to be

used by junior doctors but we want you at the end of your fourth year of medical

training to use this template to write your own CV with a combination of things that

you have already done but also to get you thinking what you would like your CV to

look like in two or three years time when you are coming to the end of your

foundation jobs and are applying posts in specific career specialties. We hope you

find this template a useful guide.

General hints and tips

Use an easily legible font (at least 12pt) and consider double spacing. Do not

use “fancy” fonts or colours. Break up text with paragraphs.

Your spelling and grammar must be good. This applies also to your

application forms. It is sensible to check it several times yourself and then ask

a friend if they will do so as well. Do not use abbreviations, text speak or

similar. This is a high stakes document.


Keep separate topics on separate pages

As your CV grows, consider an index

Use good quality paper for printing and avoid poor photocopies

Keep an electronic copy in at least 2 locations and update regularly. Consider

keeping a copy in your e-mail inbox to access in emergencies.

Think of your CV as a “live” document – record not only your current

experiences and what you have already achieved but set out your career

aspirations as objectives to aim for you progress through your clinical posts.

Keep refining your Personal Statement as you find out more about yourself

and your career ambitions.


Page One

This page should include your personal information. Traditionally, this has included

many items including date of birth, nationality, etc. However, it can be argued that

much of this is irrelevant and indeed contrary to Equality legislation. However, it

would seem sensible as a minimum to put your name, contact address and

telephone numbers on this page.

Page Two

Use this for your educational qualifications. Once you have your basic medical

degree, you should not bother listing your A levels or equivalent (at least not for a

medical post). This is also the section to list relevant postgraduate training courses

(for example Advanced Life Support).

You need to add the year of award and the awarding body (e.g. Keele University or

Resuscitation Council UK).You must be able to produce a certificate for any

qualification you list-it is normal to verify these at interview. Do not list “non-

assessed” courses here unless very significant and you have an attendance

certificate.

When completing your Year 4 CV, think what courses you would need to have

attended or would look good on your CV when you come to apply for a career post.

Ask the junior doctors what courses they are doing during their clinical posts and

discuss with the consultants what they might expect to see on your CV when you

come to apply for a post in their specialty.

Page Three

This is the page for your medical posts. If you are producing this CV before you are

employed, a short description of your medical education can go here along with any

relevant work experience.

For clarity, a list of posts with dates is helpful. Research has shown most doctors

reading these would prefer to see your current post first and then all others

chronologically (NOT in reverse). Do explain any career breaks - this is very


important. Do not hide any gaps in employment as they will be noticed – it could

mean not get shortlisted or having to clarify your employment history at interview.

Initially when you have only had one or two jobs, you may want to write a short

description of your responsibilities under each. As you have more experience, simply

write a list and then summarise your clinical experience, on a new page if needed.

During your SSC think about how particular Foundation Programmes offer different

ranges of clinical experience. Most foundation posts offer very similar clinical

attachments but there are differences. For instance, if you want specifically to be

radiologist or an anaesthetist, there may be Foundation rotations that offer

experience in radiology or anaesthesia. Applying such post would not only give you

experience to confirm your interest in a particular specialty but also look very good

on your CV and at interview when you are come to apply for a career post. Find out

from the junior doctors and the consultants what sort of posts will give you the right

clinical experience for your particular career area.

Page Four

Use this page for your experience of Audit, Teaching and Research. These are all

areas you must expand and in time they may need a page each. Initially one page

with subheadings is fine.

Under Audit, indicate which audits you have been involved in. If you can, indicate

which you initiated and which closed an audit cycle as this is significant.

Under Teaching, list formal and informal teaching you have undertaken and to what

groups of people (lay, nursing, paramedical, other medical, etc). In due course add

your “teaching training” experience (e.g. training the trainer courses, instructor

courses).

You may not be a major researcher but everyone should be able to demonstrate how

to use research information and how to analyse the literature. You should include

posters at conferences, presentations, etc here.


For the purposes of the Year 4 SSC make sure that you put down each of these

headings and give details of any relevant experience that you have in each of these

domains. If there is heading for which you have little or no relevant experience (and

for many of you this would be quite normal at your stage of undergraduate training)

think of what you would like your CV to look like at the end of your Foundation Posts

when you are applying for your Core Training or Specialist Training posts.

It is important for all of you to carry out good quality audit during your Foundation

Posts but if your audits are related to your intended career specialty it will look even

better on your CV. Write on your CV template the sort of audits that you would like

to carry out to help develop your particular specialist interest and you can use this

"indicative content" on your CV later to guide you to make the best use of your

involvement in these areas. Once you have started to gain experience in audit you

can put these achievements into your CV and then set new goals in the Audit

section. It is important not only to very briefly describe your audit but to state clearly

what your involvement was, what the outcome of the audit was and what specifically

you learned from your involvement - was it in the design, data collection, data

interpretation, writing up or presentation of the audit?? -- You will specifically be

asked these sorts of questions both on job application forms and at interview.

As with Audit, many of you will not have the opportunity to carry out meaningful

Research yourselves during your early clinical posts but you should aim to have at

least some involvement, perhaps with the more senior trainees on your firms, helping

with case reports or posters, or presenting at a local or regional meetings. At this

stage complete your CV with "aspirational" aims, where possible linked in with your

intended career specialty. You should not only record these goals such as "Aim to

submit a case report to a paper or e-journal" or "Present at a local/regional specialty

meeting" but also give a brief description of how you will make this happen. As with

the audit section, once you have achieved these goals, not only describe the

research that was undertaken, but state what your involvement was and what

specifically you learned from that involvement.

Use the Year 4 SSC attachment to ask questions of the junior doctors and

consultants about how to get involved in areas like Audit, Research and Teaching.


See how the junior doctors on your firm do audit, what teaching they do and what

involvement in research they have and use this to help guide your objectives when

you are a junior doctor.

Page Five

You can use this page for two very important issues-your personal interests and your

personal statement. This is the page that gives a sense of your individuality so it is

very crucial.

Many interviews are very structured these days but if your interviewers are left any

freedom then asking about your pursuits, especially if unusual, is an obvious target.

Probably even more important is the “personal statement” perhaps more correctly

thought of as “why I want this post” It is crucial that this part at least is tailored

specifically to the post for which you are applying. Look at the person specification

and job description. Think about how your experience to date qualifies you for this

post. Explain how you see the post fitting in with your training needs or career

aspirations. Is there anything special you can bring to it? (remember everyone says

they are hardworking , a team player , etc which gets tedious to read after a

while……). It is worth investing time in this section.

Your medical student experiences are very relevant on your CV as a junior doctor.

Your basic medical training will be very similar to everybody else's but your

experiences in your Year 3 and Year 4 SSCs, and in your final year electives are

very relevant and personal to you and make you stand out from others when you

make your job applications. Your Year 3 SSC in histopathology may seem

insignificant four years later when you are applying for your specialist registrar post

in pathology, but that SSC will demonstrate your long interest and experience in that

specialty and make an impact on your CV compared to others.

Your Year 4 SSC will hopefully help you decide what it is that attracts you to a

particular career and give you an idea of what will help you maximise successfully

getting a career post if you decide to pursue it.


Page Six

This is for your referees. You need to supply contact details of as many referees as

requested, two or three being the norm. It is worth noting that it may be questioned if

you do not provide your current supervisor as a referee. Also, it is important that you

ask your chosen referees if they will provide a reference. To not do so may be seen

as ill-mannered at the very least and may mean a reference is not supplied. Please

do not leave this until the last minute as your referee is likely to need ample warning

especially as most posts are now appointed simultaneously.

Good luck!

Summary of contents for CV

Personal detailsQualificationsJobs/clinical experienceAudit/teaching/researchInterests/personal statementReferees


Written reflective report and final appraisal with supervisor

Word processed with font size 10 or greater and double-spaced - Word count 2000-3000. Please include your name. Keele card number

and word count on the first page.

The reflective piece should be clearly structured and firstly demonstrate that the student has engaged with the aim of exploring a particular specialty as a potential career pathway. During the four weeks the student will have been given ample opportunity to experience the day-to-day activities of both senior and junior members of the clinical team and hopefully will have used the time to learn as much as possible about the training as a junior doctor and the activities, both clinical and nonclinical, of the senior clinician.

The reflective report should therefore contain a certain amount of factual material about the training pathways within a subspecialty (how training is delivered, the collegiate examination system and other requisite training requirements etc) and demonstrate insight into the role of the senior clinician not only involved in direct clinical care but also in nonclinical supporting activities. Anecdotal observation and perhaps comparison with other clinical specialties may well be included.

Secondly the student must demonstrate true reflection; going beyond a mere description of the specialty and the training pathway, and demonstrate reflection/insight into why they feel the specialty may or may not be suitable for them and hopefully to explore the particular reasons for this.

For the first part of the reflective piece the student must demonstrate that they have gained a good insight into a specialty/career pathway. Clearly a student who has gained no insight/knowledge during the four weeks would not be deemed to be satisfactory within this area. Where there are areas which the supervisor feels the student has failed to demonstrate insight into a particular aspect, the supervisor will need to explore during the appraisal meeting whether this reflects that the student has a) failed to learn about a particular area, b) has a genuine misperception (which the supervisor can discuss) or c) there are difference of opinion between the supervisor and student -- this latter option is perfectly acceptable and will potentially be the most valuable areas to the student in the career-informing process. The obvious hope is that the student will not only be analysing a specialty but also analysing themselves -- what are their clinical interests?, what are their strengths and weaknesses?, do particular aspects of their personality lend themselves towards certain training pathways and long-term career interests?Suggested topics in the Reflective Report:

1. Why I chose this particular attachment/specialty.

2. A description of the training pathway

a. Life of a junior balancing training and service work

b. How is training delivered?

c. The Collegiate exam system and CCT accreditation

d. Other necessary experience, research etc

e. Subspecialisation opportunities

3. What did I learn that I didn’t know before about a) being a junior trainee and b) working as a consultant? Did I learn anything that I wasn’t expecting?

4. Why might this particular specialty be suitable/ unsuitable for me?

5. What have I learned about what I want from my medical career?


Provided that the written submission and the final appraisal meeting between supervisor and student indicate that the student has successfully learned about a particular specialty and has genuinely undertaken reflection about whether a particular career is suited to them (and vice versa) then student will have filled the criteria for a pass. Given the ample opportunities that the student will have to interact with both junior and senior clinicians and the fact that the students are already well-versed in undertaking reflection, we would envisage that passing this element of the assessment would be very straightforward to the vast majority of students.Curriculum vitae

The expectation is that the student will submit a well thought out CV with content reflecting both their actual experiences but also showing indicative aspirational content in keeping with someone applying for a core or specialist training post at the end of their two Foundation years. We would hope that the indicative content shows insight and is aligned to maximise the student’s success in applying for post-Foundation training. Indicative content should therefore not just be "I need to do an audit" but show more specific planning relating to a particular audit aligned to a potential career pathway. The student will be expected to have used the four-week attachment gaining help from both juniors and consultants in compiling their CV. There is no assessment tariff attached to the CV -- the students will hopefully realise the huge opportunity that the SSC will give them to start thinking about their CVs and will have maximised the opportunities available in researching and writing themThe student should liaise with the supervisor and agree when the written reflective report and the CV should be submitted

during the final week -- preferably 48 hours or so before the final meeting between the supervisor and student so that the

supervisor will have had the chance read and consider the student submissions. The final meeting between students and

supervisor should discuss and evaluate the reflective report and then review the student’s CV -- highlighting strengths and

areas for potential improvement to is due to future activities in their final year and foundation years to build a strong a CV

as possible.

The student will automatically fail the SSC if an attendance grade of <3 is given.


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