FTY Supervisor Training and support
The following page provides information on
- Induction training for FTY Supervisors
- FTY Supervisor peer support sessions
- Support for effective assessment during FTY
Induction training for FTY Supervisors
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The following section provides some general information about the FTY supervisor induction. For those supervisors who have received their approval from NES, pre-work and details of the supervisor induction session can be found on our Foundation Training Year Supervisor Induction pages.
The FTY will see some significant changes in 2025-26, as we move towards full implementation of the GPhC 2021 Initial Education and Training of Pharmacist standards. From the 2025-26 FTY, most trainee pharmacists will follow the GPhC full learning outcomes to prescriber on registration pathway and some will follow the GPhC interim learning outcomes to non-prescriber on registration pathway. All trainee pharmacists will require a Designated Supervisor (DS) and those on the full learning outcomes to prescriber pathway will also require Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) supervision. To support supervisors in their role, we have designed a new FTY supervisor induction session which will be part of the mandatory DS / DPP training for 2025-26.
On successful completion of the FTY Supervisor Declaration supervisors will be provided with details of how to book onto a FTY Supervisor Induction.
Following pilots in March 2025, induction events will run from May 2025 throughout the training year. NES plan to deliver 18 induction sessions by end of November 2025. There will be a mixture of daytime and evening sessions. After an initial roll out between May and November 2025, it is anticipated further sessions will be scheduled on a rolling basis to capture new supervisors.
The induction focus will be video examples of supervised learning events (SLEs) demonstrating trainee pharmacists being assessed against specific IE&T learning outcomes supplemented by peer group activities. There will be opportunities to become familiar with updated FTY SLE tools, and encouragement to use SLE descriptors to develop a standardised assessment approach. Supervisors will have the opportunity to compare and reflect on their expectations of level of practice with peers as a means to promote fair and equitable assessment of trainee pharmacists.
FTY Supervisor Support Sessions
After the induction session participants will be signposted to book onto our FTY Supervisor resources and peer support as detailed below. As part of completing their declaration, supervisors are required to commit to attending one of these per training year.
FTY Supervisor resources and peer support
Below is an overview of the proposed resources and peer support sessions available for FTY supervisors. Based on feedback from our ongoing evaluations these sessions will be adapted to meet the supervisors’ needs throughout the training year and are therefore subject to slight changes from the listing below. Supervisors can book onto a peer support session via the Pharmacy Courses and Events booking page. Supervisors may also wish to attend our regular Educational Supervision Peer Support sessions designed to support supervisors across all workstreams. It should be noted that where there are specific questions relating to FTY programme, attendance at an FTY supervisor peer support would be most appropriate.
| Resource | Details |
| Short recorded presentations emailed to supervisors at relevant timepoints throughout year but also available on Turas | Range of topics including:
|
| Monthly spotlight infographic e-mailed to supervisors at relevant timepoints | Key dates, priorities, peer session dates and general updates. Include link to relevant recorded presentation |
| Monthly peer review sessions | Sessions will adopt a similar structure where supervisors can ask questions, share examples of evidence and develop a peer support network. Specifics will vary based on stage in the training year. Range of topics to be covered including:
|
In addition there is the opportunity for our supervisors to be part of a longitudinal peer support group. Please contact eleanor.paton@nhs.scot should you wish to be involved in this.
FTY supervisors for November cohort will have access to the same resources and sessions as July cohort. The monthly communication (which includes links to resources and advertising of sessions) will be specific to the cohort i.e. July or November, linking to resources appropriate for the stage in the training year. Sessions will run at the appropriate time in their training year. During peer support sessions, supervisors from different cohorts will have opportunities to form smaller breakout groups for more relevant discussions as needed. This approach will ensure November cohort supervisors have access to peer support from the full network of FTY supervisors rather than limiting to the smaller group of November cohort supervisors.
Support for effective assessment during FTY
NES FTY Assessment strategy
The NES FTY assessment strategy details the FTY learning outcomes and some suggested examples of how these can be assessed in practice.
It may also be useful for some supervisors to see how the prescribing related learning outcomes in the FTY map over to the RPS Prescribers Competency Framework and how the individual SLE tools can be most effectively used for assessment. The NES FTY prescribing outcome SLE guidance can help supervisors to feel confident about how best to assess the prescribing related LOs for trainee pharmacists.
Tools and Templates
NES have developed structured supervised learning event tools to enable trainee pharmacists, supervisors and collaborators to be clear on the required standard. Samples of the supervised learning event tools can be found below to provide some guidance in advance of the training year. Please note these are currently in development as part of the design of the online portfolio and may be subject to some changes.
A reminder of the type of SLEs and what they can be best used to evidence
| SLE Type | Used to evidence | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) | Physical assessment skills | Mandatory |
| Min-Clinical Examination (mini-CEX) | Consultation and shared decision-making skills | Mandatory |
| Case-based Discussions (CbD) | Appropriate prescribing choices, clinical and non-clinical management | Mandatory |
| Case presentation | History taking/data gathering, clinical reasoning and appropriate safety netting/monitoring/follow up | Mandatory |
| Acute care assessment tool (ACAT) | Workload prioritisation and decision making under pressure | Optional |
These documents can be found below:
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DOPS form
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Mini-CEX form
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Case based discussion
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Case presentation form
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ACAT form
In addition the following tools may be useful to support the trainee pharmacist and to help develop supervisor and collaborator understanding of the required behaviours and skills that are required for trainee pharmacists to become prescriber ready.
Clinical Reasoning Cycle
The clinical reasoning cycle may help in structuring an approach to completing supervised learning events. Doing so helps ensure relevant data is captured, discussions on potential issues and goals of treatment and actions that were taken occur and outlined in the form itself. Reflecting on the process through SLE discussions and encouraging capturing trainee pharmacist self-reflection as part of the SLE form should also encourage reflection on their current capabilities, limitations of practice and how to address these throughout the training year.
Clinical Reasoning Cycle
Consultation skills
Consultation skills modules have been designed for pharmacists and technicians to develop basic skills and could be used as a useful reference point to support trainee pharmacists development and supervisor feedback. Trainee pharmacists are encouraged to split the modules up throughout the training year.
Physical Assessment Skills
As part of final sign off for Foundation Training Year trainee pharmacists must demonstrate competence against the core procedures (temperature, automated blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation levels).
The core procedure checklists below can be used to help supervisors to assess this competence.
Each core procedure form is in the same format with a drop down box to allow you to select the skill being assessed.
A sample of the form can be found below.
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Core Procedure Form
Once a trainee pharmacist is deemed as competent in a particular core procedure, a direct observation of procedural skills (DOPs) form can be used to gather evidence of how the use of a physical assessment skill in a consultation informed the trainee pharmacist’s decision making.
An example of a DOPs form for an automated blood pressure can be found below.
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DOPS Automated BP Template
