Evaluation of the National Improving Surgical Training Pilot
Client: Health Education England 2019-21
A new surgical training programme, informed by the Royal College of Surgeons, Health Education England and sector partners, is being piloted across England, Scotland and Wales. The Improving Surgical Training programme has several elements including protected supervision time for training in trainers' job plans, and a competence-based curriculum. Programme elements are being trialed and tested in postgraduate training sites. The programme has been designed to respond to lower levels of satisfaction amongst trainees compared with other specialties, and concerns about securing sufficient training time within rota and shift work allocations. The competency-based pilot started in August 2018; trainees can choose to apply for the pilot training or core surgical training.
SQW is evaluating this pilot within England and Wales from February 2019 to December 2021. The evaluation explores the programme features and mechanisms, including how it differs from the business as usual model, and trainee and trainer experiences. It explores the counterfactual and any negative or unintended consequences, as well as impacts at trainee, trainer, service and programme levels. The evaluation draws on existing data as well as capturing additional insights, generating both context specific and generalisable findings regarding the programme.
For more information about the evaluation of Improving Surgical Training, please contact Lauren Roberts, SQW Director.
For more information about the Improving Surgical Training programme, please contact ist@rcseng.ac.uk.
