Guidance for Training Units

Published 22/02/2022

Training Recommendations

  1. Hospitals / Departments should provide access to relevant and up to date Intensive Care Medicine journals and books relevant to the training of all members of the MDT.
  2. Critical care units should provide additional access to online clinical resources from within the clinical area relevant to all staff.
  3. Study leave, in line with contractual agreements, to attend intensive care-related courses and conferences should be provided where appropriate and reasonable to help meet curriculum and PDP requirements.
  4. Where possible, providing 'on call' (as opposed to resident) out of hours opportunities for Stage 3 trainees is to be encouraged. It is not appropriate for Stage 3 trainees to be the most junior member of the resident ICM medical team.
  5. Departments are encouraged to provide doctors in training with appropriate access to IT, rest and accommodation facilities. Any hospital with trainees must have appropriate accommodation to support training and education; this may be in the department or elsewhere in the hospital e.g. the Postgraduate Teaching Centre. The Faculty’s guidelines are that this accommodation should include:
  • A focal point for the ICU staff to meet so that effective service and training can be coordinated, and optimal opportunities provided for gaining experience and teaching.

  • Adequate accommodation for trainers and teachers in which to prepare their work.
  • A private area where confidential activities such as assessment, appraisal, counselling, and mentoring can occur.
  • A secure storage facility for confidential training records.
  • A reference library where trainees have ready access to bench books (or an electronic equivalent) and where they can access information at any time.
  • Access for trainees to IT equipment such that they can carry out basic tasks on a computer, including the preparation of audio-visual presentations; access to the internet is recognised as an essential adjunct to learning.
  • A suitably equipped teaching area and a private study area.
  • An appropriate rest area whilst on shift.