{"id":682,"date":"2021-06-24T15:43:49","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T14:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/?page_id=682"},"modified":"2025-07-18T16:11:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T15:11:49","slug":"sy-trainees","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/?page_id=682","title":{"rendered":"SY Trainees"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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SY Trainees<\/strong><\/p>

Progress through the SY is monitored regularly by the supervising member(s) of staff, and every three months a formal meeting is held where the trainee is able to summarise what progress they have made through the training plan.\u00a0 This is documented in written form and stored with the trainee records.\u00a0 The SY rotations are governed by a set of competencies for each subject (see\u00a0example for MRI<\/a>), and a bespoke training plan is built in order to meet those competencies.\u00a0 If all of the competencies are met then the training should map correctly to GSP.\u00a0 The training plan is put together and agreed by the trainee and the supervisor at the beginning of the SY.\u00a0 Although training progress is benchmarked to the training plan, the very nature of the clinical work in Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering does mean that sometimes priorities can change over the course of the SY duration.\u00a0 If specific changes to the training plan are required then \u2018edits\u2019 may be made \u2013 subject to the entire training still meeting all of the competencies and providing enough material for the trainee to map their experience correctly to GSP.\u00a0 Example\u00a0SY training plans<\/a>\u00a0can be found via the link.<\/p>

One aspect of the training that is unique to NHS Scotland is the incorporation of a 3-6 months Innovation Project, to be completed within the specialism training period.\u00a0 This does not have to be conducted in the same subject as the specialism training, although in practice the two are often done within the same training area.\u00a0 The focus of the work is very much \u2018innovation\u2019 as opposed to more conventional research and development.\u00a0 The results of the innovation project are written up and incorporated into an\u00a0NHS Scotland \u2018Proceedings\u2019 journal<\/a>, and the results are presented nationally at a trainee event (usually held in November) which forms a part of the NHS GG&C Department of Clinical Physics and Bioengineering (DCPB) annual meeting.<\/p>

Approximately 7-8 months before the end of the specialism year, the trainee is expected to complete an \u2018Intention to Submit\u2019 (ItS) application to the AHCS.\u00a0 The ItS document is simply an overview of the training journey and consists of two parts; (i) an agreed\u00a0descriptor of the SMPCETS<\/a>\u00a0as agreed by NES (which is copied\/pasted as the first section of the application), and (ii) a summary outline of the individual training journey.\u00a0 If this is done appropriately (after supervisor approval and references) then the AHCS will invite the candidate to submit a final written portfolio six months later for STP equivalence assessment by three panel members (lay member, specialism assessor and clinical assessor).<\/p>

The portfolio that the trainee produces for AHCS STP equivalence assessment is a carefully structured document that provides evidence of training experience to satisfy the standards of\u00a0Good Scientific Practice (GSP)<\/a> \u2013 which describes a set of professional, scientific, clinical, research and managerial standards by which trainee practice should achieve.\u00a0 The entire training programme needs to be carefully described and evidenced within the portfolio, and each piece of work is mapped to the sub-domains of GSP.\u00a0 The simple guide of \u2018describe it, evidence it, and map it\u2019 is often useful for trainees to follow.\u00a0 The AHCS provides excellent guidance on their website on all aspects of the STP equivalence application process.\u00a0 The evidence used can take many forms, but can commonly include the front cover of a scientific report, a standard operating procedure, an email from somebody thanking the trainee for completing a task, the first few slides from a talk, scientific poster etc.\u00a0 There are many other examples.\u00a0 The AHCS is keen that the evidence is included as a \u2018snapshot\u2019 \u2013 i.e. just highlight a representative section of the work as opposed to the full documents.\u00a0 The portfolio should also demonstrate that the trainee has undertaken reflective practice throughout their training \u2013 i.e. it should not consist of a completed \u2018tick list\u2019 of tasks from the training plan, but there should be evidence that the trainee has thought carefully about why they have completed a task in a particular way, and potentially how could things be possibly modified or improved.\u00a0\u00a0 A good way of engaging in reflective practice is to undertake multi-source 360 feedback (MSF), where the trainee asks a series of colleagues for their opinion of them as a clinical scientist via a series of questions.\u00a0 Colleagues who can assist with MSF may be from different departments \u2013 e.g. Radiographers, Radiologists, and other Clinicians etc.\u00a0 There are a few other statutory requirements for the final portfolio, such as inclusion of a reflective piece as follows: “Please write a reflective statement of no more than 500 words describing why becoming a Clinical Scientist is important to you and importantly how you have demonstrated that you made the patient your first concern.”\u00a0 <\/em>Additionally it is important to include the midway QA outcome, and professional references (as provided for the ItS paperwork).\u00a0\u00a0Further guidance for AHCS portfolios<\/a>\u00a0can be found here.<\/p>

The individual training centre takes responsibility for confirming that the trainee is considered safe to practice when they submit their equivalence portfolio.\u00a0 This information is gathered via regular meetings between trainee and supervisor to monitor progress against the training plan, observation of practical skills, review of written reports, review of continuous GSP mapping and performance in mock viva assessments.\u00a0 The journey through the hospital-based work is intended to be an evolutionary process, where the trainee initially requires full-time support during the FY but can gradually demonstrate the ability to work more independently as their SY progresses.\u00a0 By the mid- to later stages of the SY, the trainee should be able to work safely and effectively under minimal supervision and be a working asset to the group that they are training with.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SY Trainees Progress through the SY is monitored regularly by the supervising member(s) of staff, and every three months a formal meeting is held where the trainee is able to summarise what progress they have made through the training plan.\u00a0 This is documented in written form and stored with the trainee records.\u00a0 The SY rotations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-682","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=682"}],"version-history":[{"count":85,"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2588,"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/682\/revisions\/2588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smpcets.scot.nhs.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ffolder&post=682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}