Modernising Healthcare Science Careers

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Modernising Healthcare Science Careers

• Pippa Hodgson
• Programme Manager
• pippa.hodgson_at_skillsforhealth.org.uk

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Skills for Health

• Formed with the backing of the four UK health
  departments, independent health sector, voluntary
  organisations and staff associations
• Licensed in 2004 as the Sector Skills Council for
  Health by the Sector Skills Development Agency
  under the Department for Education and Skills
• One of 25 SSC licensed by DFES

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Sector Skills Councils

• Identify and articulate sector skill needs
• Help develop more responsive provision
• Provide the business case for skills
• Engage employers in skills development
• Influence skills policy

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Skills for Health

• UK - wide
• Sector wide
• Coherent UK-wide Competence Framework
• Sector Skills Council license
• Hosted by United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust
• UK-wide, multi-professional, multi-agency Board

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Sector Skills Agreement

• Purpose
• Raise the quality of health and healthcare for
  the public, patients and service users throughout
  the UK through a skilled and flexible workforce
  based on nationally recognised competences

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• Working with UK Health Departments to
• Deliver the vision of a health service defined by
  competence
• Developing awards and qualifications framework
• Supporting Modernising Healthcare Careers
• Develop career frameworks based on Career
  Framework for Health

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Scope of the Programme

• Integration of HCS NOS into Skills for Health
• Modernisation of pre-registration education,
  training and development for
• Currently regulated groups
• Aspirant groups
• Development of an awards and qualifications
  framework
• Embed HCS NOS in practice and learning across
  the career framework.
• Further development of NOS extended roles for
  scientists working in medical areas of practice

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4 UK Workforce Boards
Modernising Health Careers Programme Board
Governance Arrangements for Modernising
Healthcare Science Careers
Modernising Healthcare Science Careers Programme
Board
M HCS C Programme Management Group
HCS Team
Critical Dependencies
product
Physiological Measurement Work Stream
product
Life Sciences Task Force
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Key products

• Building Blocks e.g.
• National Workforce Competences (NWC)
• National Occupational Standards (NOS)
• Applications
• Management Products e.g.
• Functional Map for Health
• Health NOS Template

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National Workforce Competences

• Start with the question - What do people,
  patients and their carers need?
• For use by anyone working in any role, within any
  field of practice, at all levels, in all UK
  geographical locations
• Competences are fundamentally about the function
  being performed not who does it, where it is
  done etc
• Patient-centred, UK-wide recognised, transferable
  competences

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Relationships between competences
CTC Clinical Transferable Core NCTC Non-Clinical
Transferable Core
Service Area Specialised
Service Area Transferable
CTC
NCTC
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National Occupational Standards

• 46 disciplines
• 10 generic functions
• Comprising
• Performance criteria
• Knowledge understanding statements
• Use as building blocks to
• Define individual roles
• Define team roles
• Define education and training programmes

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NOS Rationalisation HCS Integration

• HCS NOS approved by SEMTA, July 2005
• HCS NOS Integration
• Unbundling NOS
• Generic and specific
• Rationalising current NOS
• Eliminating duplication
• Closing gaps
• Identifying Reference Competences

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Mapping NWC / NOS to KSF
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Broader M HCS C Issues

• Affordable VFM pre registration E and T
• Define national Scope of Practice
• Support different routes of entry
• Education and Training programmes funded and
  commissioned fit for NHS purpose
• Salary versus bursary
• Opportunities for new approaches to delivery
• Build into career pathway linked to specialist
  training
• Clear national definition of specialist training
  and expected roles and functions

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Modernisation Pre registration Education and
Training

• General principles
• Fitness for practice programmes
• Integrated skills and knowledge
• Defined scope of practice linked to service needs
  appropriate to level of underpinning knowledge
• Professional (workplace) practice embedded within
  programmes/awards informed by HCS NOS and linked
  to robust assessment of competence
• Independently assessed and QA
• Clear APEL arrangements to facilitate fast
  tracking
• Opportunities for common approaches to delivery
  (generic/core)

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Approach to Modernisation of Pre-Registration
Education

• What does service need in the next 5-10 years?
• Think Tank
• National Scope of Practice
• Academic level
• Delivery approach
• specific packages of learning
• Academic content
• Professional practice
• Independent evaluation

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Career Framework
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HCS Career FrameworkLevel 6

• Staff with a high degree of autonomy and
• responsibility performing a complex clinical /
  scientific / technical role and / or managing and
  supervising a team.
• Specialist healthcare scientists will include
  clinical scientists in first registration jobs
  who fulfil a complex clinical and scientific
  role. They will be studying for or have attained
  a relevant postgraduate qualification or
  vocational or professional equivalent.

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HCS Career FrameworkLevel 7

• Experienced clinical / scientific / technical
  professionals who have developed their skills and
  theoretical knowledge to a very high standard,
  performing a highly complex role, and continually
  developing the clinical, scientific or technical
  practice within a defined field and / or having
  management responsibilities for a small section
  or department.
• They will have their own caseload or work area
  responsibilities and will be studying for or have
  attained a masters or higher level postgraduate
  qualification or vocational or professional
  equivalent.

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Clinical Science Scope of Practice - i

• Plan a range of investigations / procedures /
  processes to support and improve patient care in
  the context of patient, samples and/or
  technology.
• Perform a range of specialist scientific /
  clinical investigations / procedures / processes
  to support patient care in the context of the
  patient, samples and/or technology
• Plan and prospectively review / instigate patient
  treatment or management programmes for groups or
  individuals and/or technologies.

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Clinical Science Scope of Practice - ii

• 4. Report and interpret results of
  investigations, procedures or processes for
  patients / samples / measurements / technology
• 5. Monitor report on progress of the patient
  conditions / technology and the need for further
  intervention.
• 6. Apply and maintain and be capable of setting
  quality standards, control and assurance
  techniques, including restorative action, assure
  high quality interventions across all clinical
  scientific and technological activity.

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Clinical Science Scope of Practice - iii

• 7. Provide clinical and/or scientific advice and
  information to healthcare and other
  professionals, patients and their carers to
  support effective assessment, diagnosis,
  management and treatment of patients and/or
  patient services.
• 8. Communicate clinical and/or scientific
  knowledge to a range of audiences, including
  professionals and patients

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Clinical Science Scope of Practice - iv

• 9. Plan, organise and prioritise own work
  activities, practices and tasks
• 10. Undertake peer reviewed research and
  disseminate results.
• 11. Using Knowledge Management techniques
  including critical appraisal undertake audits and
  service development to improve quality of service
  provided.

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Academic Level

• Debate re Clinical Scientists
• Vocational masters v Professional Doctorate
• Ref Qualifications Framework relating to
  England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Masters demonstrate self-direction and
  originality in tackling and solving problems, and
  act autonomously in planning and implementing
  tasks at a professional or equivalent level
• Doctorate continue to undertake pure and/or
  applied research and development at an advanced
  level, contributing substantially to the
  development of new techniques, ideas, or
  approaches

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Possible learning packages general

• Audit
• Communication
• Data Information Management
• Ethics
• Health and Safety
• Key skills for health
• Management
• Maths and statistics
• Multidisciplinary/multi-professional/team working

• NHS Policy, Priorities Organisation
• Personal Development
• Problem solving
• Quality Management
• Research Development
• Statistics data analysis
• Underpinning Science incl. anatomy, physiology,
  cell biology

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Possible learning packages common

• Specimens and samples
• Equipment and technology
• Reporting results
• Analysis of data
• Knowledge of disease processes
• Communicating with patients carers
• Quality
• QA, Clinical Governance, QC, interpretation of
  quality data
• Service improvements related to area of work

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Possible learning packages specific

• Equipment and technology
• Science applied in own work area
• Plan, perform, interpret, report, review, advise
• Knowledge of disease processes specific and
  detailed
• Knowledge of Human Body systems specific and
  detailed
• Skills, including professional practice -
  limitations, scope, SoP, etc

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ModalitiesLife Sciences

• Clinical Biochemistry, Immunology, Paediatric
  Metabolic Biochemistry and Toxicology
• Haematology, Transfusion, Tissue Banking,
  Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics
• Microbiology, Virology, Bacteriology, Mycology
  and Parasitology
• Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics
• Embryology and Andrology
• Cellular Science, Electron Microscopy, Molecular
  Oncology, Immunohistochemistry and Myology

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Clinical ScientistsPathway in reality
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New Clinical Scientist Career Pathway

• Pre reg E and T linked to run through nationally
  defined HST
• Designated training numbers based on projected
  consultant requirements
• Majority expected to practice at consultant level
  some step off similar to medics

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One Suggestion
Entry Quality BSc or higher Exit Professional
Doctorate HPC Registration
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Entry PhD Exit MSc HPC Registration
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HCS AQ Framework
Experience, Continuing Professional Development
Work based learning, vocational awards
Professional Masters and Doctorate Awards
Professional practice
Royal College Awards
Research Masters/ PhD
Specialist training
Honours Bachelors Programmes
Intermediate Programmes
Levels
Entry Level
Widening entry
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HCS AQ Framework
Membership of Royal College of Pathologists
Research Masters/ PhD
Professional Masters and Doctorate Awards
Experience, Continuing Professional Development
Work based learning, vocational awards
Honours Bachelors Programmes
Intermediate Programmes
Entry Level
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• www.skillsforhealth.org.uk
• Pippa Hodgson
• pippa.hodgson_at_skillsforhealth.org.uk