Multi-professional Foundation Programme Simulation Training – The FAST Course.

Abstract

Postgraduate medical training in the UK has recently been modified with the introduction of the Foundation Programme. Key aims of the foundation curriculum include care of acutely ill patients, with specific inclusion of non-technical skills such as communication, multi-professional teamworking and reflection. Effective, multi-professional teamworking optimises management, and therefore safety, of the acutely ill patient. Traditionally, however emphasis has not been placed upon multi-professional training in the UK. Foundation Advanced Simulation Training (FAST) is a one-day course for Foundation doctors and ward nurses, developed with support from the Trent Multi-professional Deanery. Aims and objectives are derived from the Foundation Programme curriculum. Each day accommodates 8 doctors and 4 nurses, who all receive pre-course information advising them of typical clinical scenarios, encouraging emphasis on non-technical skills, reflection and multi-professional teamworking as key objectives of the day. Candidates manage two acutely ill ward patients, and, through facilitated debriefing, reflect upon their performance and teamwork. Participants are mentored throughout the day, and aided in their production of a personal development plan, which they subsequently reflect on with their workplace educational supervisors. The aim is for the participants to develop these competences when back in their clinical environments. The participants also complete a questionnaire, exploring, inter alias, the foundation curriculum, practical competences, non-technical skills and course feedback. We will describe our experience of delivering this programme to 224 doctors and 112 nurses, highlighting its’ impact on the areas described above, and explore how well it has linked to their respective professional development needs.