Articles

Assessing junior doctors — how pharmacists can be prepared

By Barry Jubraj, MSc, MRPharmS, MCPP

Following changes to the training of junior doctors, hospital pharmacists may now be asked to play a formal role in their assessment. This article describes the tool that pharmacists will use to do this, and how one pharmacy department is taking steps to prepare pharmacists for this role

This article as a PDF (240K)

Barry Jubraj is lead pharmacist for academic studies and professional development, Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust

Junior doctors

Junior doctors will seek feedback from other health professionals

Further information

Foundation programme for junior doctors

The reform of pharmacy postgraduate education in the south

PowerPoint presentation (130K) given to pharmacists at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, entitled “Foundation year training for junior doctors”

The presentation is also available on the London Clinical Pharmacy Services website (login required) or by email from the author (barry.jubraj@chelwest.nhs.uk).

SUMMARY

Recent changes in junior doctor training and assessment have presented opportunities for hospital pharmacists to develop their relationships with medical teams. As part of their training, junior doctors must now ask their colleagues, who may include pharmacists, to complete an assessment, scoring the trainee on their progress.

New curriculum for doctors

Training for newly-qualified doctors was revised last year and now consists of a two-year foundation programme that is linked to the General Medical Council’s “Good Medical Practice” guide. It incorporates the pre-registration house officer year and the first year of senior house officer training. Junior doctors are now known as “F1” (foundation year one) or “F2” (foundation year two) trainees. The terms “junior house officer” and “senior house officer” are being phased out accordingly. The foundation programme curriculum consists of core competencies that trainees will be formally assessed against, and a syllabus that sets out the specific knowledge, skills and attitudes to be developed. A number of assessment tools have been developed for use in the foundation programme, including multi-source feedback (ie, input from a number different colleagues), direct observation of the doctor-patient interaction and case-based discussion. One assessment tool, called the Mini-Peer Assessment tool (“Mini-PAT”), is already being used by pharmacists to assess junior doctors, and is an example of multi-source feedback.