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Laboratory Guidance for External Verifiers
Laboratory Guidance for External Verifier's Visit
The External Verifier has been appointed as a representative of the Institute to verify the evidence of competence against the Health Professions Council (HPC) Standards of Proficiency. Since the standards are generic for all disciplines, it is not necessary to appoint discipline specific verifiers. They may therefore be asked to review evidence accumulated in a discipline different to which they practice. This will not disadvantage either the verifier or the candidate, as an in-depth knowledge of the pathology discipline is not required. Indeed, as the verification is to be made against generic standards, the candidate is not expected to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge and skills of a specialist practitioner.
It will also be part of the External Verifier’s task to evaluate the quality of training and assess the suitability of the laboratory to carry out pre-registration training.
The following guidelines are to guide you through the portfolio verification process, and includes advice/guidance given to External Verifiers. Additionally, the Institute will provide the following:
• Contact details of External Verifier
• Portfolio Verification: Laboratory feedback form
Please note the External Verifier is expected to contact you within two weeks of you receiving this information.
Requirements of the HPC Standards of Proficiency
The HPC Standards of Proficiency apply to all registered professions. It is acknowledged that the professional practice of the therapy professions is considerably different from the science professions and this is accommodated within the broad conceptual nature of many of the standards.
The purpose of registration is to ensure that all registered practitioners are able to meet the same minimum standards on day one of registered practice. The purpose of the standards is safe and effective practice, not to demonstrate specific in-depth knowledge and skills within a particular discipline.
The academic requirements for biomedical scientists are represented in section 3a.1 of the Certificate of Competence Registration Portfolio and are met by an IBMS accredited honours degree programme in biomedical science.
Graduates with other science degrees are advised (on assessment by the Institute) how to address any shortfall in their education from an Institute accredited undergraduate biomedical science programme. Whilst an accredited academic programme will also contribute to evidencing many other standards in the portfolio, it is structured training (as a student placement or post graduation) that brings the education and training elements together to produce evidence of applied work-based competencies and ‘fitness to practice’. Certificate of Competence Registration Portfolios are only issued to individuals who have a letter from the Institute recognising that they have been awarded an approved biomedical science honours degree, (or are seeking to obtain one) or have a letter advising on supplementary education required for a partially acceptable degree, and are working in an Institute approved training laboratory.
Arrangements for Conducting a Portfolio Verification
On completion of the portfolio, an application is made to the Institute’s Registration Department, using the form that is at the back of the portfolio and downloadable from www.ibms.org, to arrange a verification visit by an External Verifier.
External Verifiers are appointed by the Institute’s Registration Department and selected for geographic proximity to the laboratory where the verification will take place and not for their own discipline specific knowledge and experience.
Upon receipt of confirmation of the verification from the Institute, the External Verifier is expected to contact the training officer within two weeks to arrange a mutually convenient date for the verification visit. The Verifier is also notified of the candidates name, training officer’s name and laboratory for the verification.
Verification Visit
The External Verifier will require a quiet room for the duration of the visit. The host laboratory should provide refreshments. The verification visit will comprise the following:
1. Informal Interview with Candidate and Training Officer (15-20 mins)
This is an opportunity for everyone to be put at ease. After all, the work has already been done! The Verifier will ask questions that give them a feel for the routine work of the laboratory (DGH, teaching, or specialist such as National Blood Service) and the normal workload.
It is important that the trainee is encouraged to talk about their training and give their view of the training provided. A judgement is made of the quality of the training support to see if it was effective. (Was it 1-1? Was there one trainer, designated trainers, rotation and secondment if needed?). Discuss the portfolio evidence with the trainee and the training officer, were there any difficulties?
Please note specialist laboratories are not to be disadvantaged as the HPC standards are generic.
2. Portfolio Verification (maximum 90 mins)
This needs to be done in a quiet room, with refreshments available. The External Verifier must look for evidence that all the HPC Standards of Proficiency have been met. The review of the portfolio is not expected to exceed 90 mins.
The following documents must be seen.
1. Letter of qualification acceptance from the Institute.
• If the letter states the requirement for supplementary education evidence of this must be provided as an official university document.
2. Departmental Training Manual
3. Completed portfolio (Version 1)
• Section 2 (Record of Completion) signed by training officer, trainee and if appropriate university tutor.
• Section 3 (Training) completed with answers to questions in spaces provided.
• Additional evidence as appropriate to the standards (i.e. where space in section 3 was not sufficient).
Completed portfolio (Version 2-3)
• Evidence of Achievement signed by training officer, trainee and if appropriate university tutor.
• Additional evidence as appropriate to the standards
3. Tour of Laboratory (30 mins)
The External Verifier must conduct this with the trainee only and should not normally exceed 30 mins. It gives the trainee an opportunity to show that they understand the work of the department and how they contribute to service delivery. It also provides an opportunity to pick up on any issues regarding clarity of evidence in the portfolio so that the External Verifier can make a professional judgement that the standard of proficiency has been met.
An overview of facilities, equipment and environment can be taken. An assessment of the training culture will be made, for example:
• are there notice boards for training?
• are they eye-catching and up to date?
• do they reflect a positive attitude towards training?
General points:
a) In-depth knowledge of a single discipline is not needed.
b) Rotation around all disciplines is not required. Evidence of some departmental collaboration in respect of training does complement the biomedical science degree and is recommended by the Institute as it gives the student a more complete experience of the profession.
c) The amount of evidence can be expected to fill either the Institute’s Registration Portfolio (version 1) or a ring-binder to capacity. It should be sufficient to enable the training officer to sign the standards off and to enable a considered verification that the HPC standards of proficiency have been met.
d) There should be enough evidence to show consistent achievement of competence. The spaces for questions in section three of the portfolio (Version 1) is indicative of the amount that probably should be written. It is preferable for the evidence to be handwritten rather than word-processed, as this does show it is the trainee’s own work.
e) Supplementary evidence can be included and it is perfectly acceptable to cross-reference evidence within the portfolio and refer to polices and procedures without reproducing the entire document.
f) Evidence should be valid, authentic and appropriate to the standards and competencies being evidenced.
g) The External Verifier will look at the nature of the material. Reports must be anonymous. It is better that they are annotated and explained, rather than merely used.
h) It is important to see if a holistic approach to training has been taken, i.e. see evidence that the trainee has been integrated into the team working of the laboratory and that they attend meetings where appropriate.
4. Feedback Comments to Trainer and Candidates (15 mins)
Feedback at the end of the process is given to both trainee and training officer, although the External Verifier may wish to see the training officer in private prior to this, particularly if there are some major concerns: e.g. is there an issue over continued approval of the laboratory for training?
This is an opportunity for the External Verifier to make constructive feedback. For example, could the portfolio evidence or training strategy be improved by encouraging the trainee to spend a day in other laboratories, or by developing a collaborative and co-ordinated approach to training across the disciplines? They may suggest that maximising the use of resources can avoid the same training being replicated unnecessarily to a number of trainees.
However, the External Verifier should adhere to the Institute’s guidelines and whilst promoting good practice should be aware they are representing the Institute and advocated standards and not impose their own standards and opinions if these exceed Institute requirements.
Please note: Some laboratories may wish to seek further guidance from the External Verifier with regard to advice about evidence and completing the portfolio. This is at the discretion of the External Verifier and should be taken outside of the normal verification process. It should also be noted that some of the advice may be based on the personal knowledge and experience external verifier and may therefore vary between verifiers.
The External Verifier must inform the trainee and training officer whether or not they are satisfied that evidence of competence has been met. The External Verifier may award the Institute’s Certificate of Competence if they can confirm the training officer’s view (i.e. as demonstrated by signing off the evidence) at the HPC standards of proficiency have been met. If not the External Verifier must indicate the nature of the additional evidence required and defer awarding the Certificate of Competence until this has been submitted to them.
5. Completion of the Report
The External Verifier will complete a report form during the verification (draft) and then send a completed typed and signed report form to the Institute.
The External Verifier will submit an expense claim form to the Institute for reasonable travel and subsistence expenses.
6. Laboratory Feedback
As the training officer, you are provided with a report form to provide you with the opportunity to communicate your, and the candidate’s, experience of the verification process. This is now mandatory and must be completed as a requirement for continued approval of the laboratory for training. This is to enable the Institute to audit all aspects of the verification process and to maintain consistency and parity of verifiers on a national level. It is designed to be constructive. Please email a copy of the feedback to both the Institute and the External Verifier.
If the laboratory wishes to appeal against the External Verifier’s decision, they should email the Institute’s Registration Department to request details of the appeal procedure.
Further information
Guidance for External Verifiers (Word)
External Verifier Training (Powerpoint: 1.5 megabytes)
Contact registration@ibms.org