Web site of the month: Almost a Doctor

Almost a Doctor is a free UK site aimed at medical students, junior doctors and other health professionals to help you (as the site says) "learn about stuff".




The site contains revision notes, flashcards, mind maps as well as  an online medical encyclopaedia which you can browse by category. 

The content of the site is written by both health professionals and students, but it is always reviewed by a doctor before publication to ensure all the content is accurate and of good quality.

Almost a Doctor is a really useful resource and highly recommended.

Web site of the month: Educator Hub

Educator Hub is a new e-learning resource aimed at educators and supervisors of doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, allied health professionals and healthcare scientists that has recently gone live.

The content, which is hosted on the Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) Hub, includes both academic and video-based practical modules, such as supervision, feedback, workplace based assessments and Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP).

These have been migrated from HEE Kent, Surrey, Sussex's e-Training for Trainers (etft) platform together with London's Multi-professional Faculty Development modules. Complementary content from other regions will also be included to produce a national resource.

Modules are linked to the new 'Professional Development Framework for Educators' which is being adopted in London and South East in the first instance. The framework domains map to professional regulatory standards for education and training including HEE's Quality Framework standards and are applicable to all educators working in clinical practice and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as guidance for best practice.

Nearly 50 modules will be available initially, with complementary resources from elsewhere to be included in due course. All the resources are free to access (just browse the catalogue of modules). Registration with the site allows you to track your learning, provide feedback and keep copies of certificates of completion. 

Medical Masterclass - now available as an app

Medical Masterclass is a learning package designed to help trainee physicians as well as and doctors undertaking the MRCP.

We have had a subscription to the web site for some time, but the Royal College of Physicians has now produced a rather nifty app as another way to access this revision package.

Available for both Android and iOS (Apple) devices, the app is a well designed, easy to use way of accessing all the content from Medical Masterclass. It also tracks your performance as you go through revision questions, giving you a good idea of how you are performing.

The app itself is free, but to set up an account on Medical Masterclass you will need to contact the Richmond Library to obtain a user name and password to access the content.

If you are a doctor in training, undertaking the MRCP or just wanting to test your medical knowledge, Medical Masterclass is a good starting point and the new app has just made it even easier to access.

Almost a Doctor

http://almostadoctor.co.uk/

Almost a Doctor was developed by (then) medical student Tom Leach in 2009 who shared his notes online with other students from Manchester University.

Since then the site has grown and Tom (now a junior doctor) was recognised by the Health Service Journal as one of 2013's top innovators and has featured in The Independent.

The site, aimed at medical students (but useful for  junior doctors, nurses and other clinical professions), features revision notes covering all stages of medical school.

Almost a Doctor has over 12,000 pages of content featuring course notes, articles and blogs, all edited by doctors. You can browse for information using broad categories or use the search facility to find what you are looking for. As well as different specialties, disease processes and anatomy, you can find information on clinical skills, data interpretation, drugs, examinations and scoring systems.

There is also an App for Apple devices with an Android version promised in early 2014.

Almost a Doctor contains a wealth of useful information and is well worth a look.

E-learning resource for doctors: apprasial and revalidation

The London Deanery have recently launched a set of e-learning resources to support doctors in appraisal and revalidation.

They are freely available for all doctors including primary care, secondary care and mental health and those in private healthcare.

The resources are aimed at supporting both appraisees and appraisers by providing guidance, tips and useful information about the appraisal process. 

These online learning modules take about 45 - 60 minutes to complete and cover a range of key  topics helpful for both appraisees and appraisers:  Getting the most out of your appraisal Top tips on developing your PDP  Quality improvement activity for appraisal and revalidation  Challenge in appraisal Calibrating supporting information in medical appraisal Tips for appraisers The modules are hosted on the BMJ learning platform and any doctor is able to register for free access.
As well as e-learning modules there are a collection of several short bite sized films (3-4 minutes) covering a range of key topics, helpful for both appraisees and appraisers :  Introduction to appraisal and revalidation GMC Domains Managing challenging situations in appraisals Multi Source Feedback and Patient Satisfaction Questionnaires Reflection  Gathering Supporting Information

GMC National Training Survey 2012

The National Training Surveys are a core part of the work that the General Medical Council carries out each year to monitor the quality of medical education and training in the UK.

The survey covers all doctors in postgraduate training and the current one had a 95% response rate.  It shows that overall, satisfaction has increased since last year’s survey and that junior doctors feel the standards of training and clinical supervision are improving.

You can read a summary of the reports key findings here.

The full report is also available on the GMC web site, along with associated documents.