Blogs Archives - elearning for healthcare
Menu Access our elearning programmes on the elfh Hub Hub Register / Log in >

Archive for the ‘Blogs’ Category

Telephone triage training supports assessment of cancer patients

Posted on: February 9th, 2024 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Colleagues working with oncology and haematology patients can now access free online training to help utilise the UK Oncology Nurses Society (UKONS) triage tool in everyday practice.  

The UKONS 24- Hour Triage Tool is a risk assessment tool that uses a red, amber and green (RAG) scoring system to identify and prioritise the presenting problems of patients contacting 24-hour advice lines. The aim of the new training is to provide a standardised programme that can be used as a basis for this specific triage process. The free training also provides generic information and guidance relating to organisational governance and the safe delivery of telephone assessment. 

The elearning will be useful for all staff who undertake telephone assessment of cancer patients across secondary care, primary care and volunteer organisations (including service managers and practice educators).  

You don’t need a healthcare email address to register, which means colleagues from third sector and voluntary organisations can access the training for free. Simply visit the UKONS Telephone Triage training programme page on the NHS Learning Hub to register and find out more.  

Clinical incidents: Foundation update (February 2024)

Posted on: February 5th, 2024 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Welcome to your February 2024 update from the Foundation elearning programme. This month focuses on what happens and what you should do if you are involved in a clinical incident.

From exploring how things can go wrong, to ensuring that clinical incidents are reported, the following sessions use case studies and key subject areas to address the principal steps to take when dealing with a clinical incident.

Sessions:

The sessions cover key areas in your curriculum on:

FPC 1: Clinical Assessment

FPC 2: Clinical Prioritisation

FPC 3: Holistic Planning

FPC 4: Communication and Care

FPC 5: Continuity of Care

FPC 8: Upholding Values

FPC 11: Ethics and Law

FPC 12: Continuing Professional Development

FPC 13: Understanding Medicine

Notes:

The Foundation elearning programme has been developed specifically for Foundation doctors by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in partnership with NHS England elearning for healthcare (NHSE elfh), and is approved by the UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO).

The online training has a range of other sessions that might help you. Please log in to the programme page to view more.

You can sign on to the elearning with your login supplied by elearning for healthcare at any time during your foundation training.

HORUS and TURAS have deep links to elearning for healthcare sessions from the Foundation Curriculum and are therefore accessible to all trainees, making it quicker and easier to access the appropriate session linked to the curriculum.

Good communication: Foundation update (November 2023)

Posted on: November 2nd, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Welcome to your November 2023 update from the Foundation elearning programme. This month focuses on good communication.

From discussing issues such as treatment risks or organ donation with patients; to breaking bad news or supporting the bereavement process, communication skills are key to your success as a doctor. The following sessions aim to support you to sell your diagnosis, your treatment, and most of all yourself, to your patients.

Sessions:

The sessions cover areas in your curriculum on:

FPC 1: Clinical Assessment

FPC 2: Clinical Prioritisation

FPC 3: Holistic Planning

FPC 4: Communication and Care

FPC 5: Continuity of Care

FPC 6: Sharing the Vision

FPC 8: Upholding Values

FPC 11: Ethics and Law

The Foundation elearning programme has been developed specifically for Foundation doctors by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in partnership with NHS England elearning for healthcare (NHSE elfh), and is approved by the UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO).

The online training has a range of other sessions that might help you. Please log in to the programme page to view more.

You can sign on to the elearning with your login supplied by elearning for healthcare at any time during your foundation training.

HORUS and TURAS have deep links to elearning for healthcare sessions from the Foundation Curriculum and are therefore accessible to all trainees, making it quicker and easier to access the appropriate session linked to the curriculum.

SCRIPT

The 6th edition of the NHS SCRIPT Foundation Doctor safe prescribing elearning programme is due for release in 2024.

Freely available to all Foundation Schools across the UK, the new edition celebrates the 12th year since SCRIPT was launched and now contains over 100 elearning modules covering prescribing, therapeutics and medicines management.  The latest edition also includes new and extended modules, an updated user interface and extended functionality for the transfer of SCRIPT competencies from medical schools to a foundation doctor’s respective Foundation School.

Please contact Dr. Nic Blackwell at ukfp@safeprescriber.org for further details on the new edition as well as to schedule in the free upgrade for your Foundation School.

Continuing professional development opportunities for learning disability nurses

Posted on: November 1st, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

This year, Learning Disability Nurses Day is a double celebration for us as it also marks six months since the launch of a bespoke training package for learning disability nurses called the Learning Disability Nursing CPD Award.

The response to the training so far has been brilliant as almost 2,000 people have already registered to use it. If you haven’t already tried it, you can access the training for free on the NHS Learning Hub and we hope that it will support you in your career. We want the training to be as meaningful and valuable as possible for you, so please do complete the evaluation survey at the end of the training as well, to let us know what you think of it.

Covering the core principles of the profession, the training aims to help resolve any gaps in knowledge that colleagues already practicing may have; and it can also be used as an introduction to learning disability nursing for any healthcare professional with an interest in the area. The training can also help prepare you for specialising in key areas as it includes modules on inpatient settings, community, forensic and intensive support settings, as well as primary and acute care liaison.

This fantastic step forward is part of work to advance a dedicated career structure for learning disability nursing. The training supports the delivery of the All England Plan for Learning Disability Nursing, and aims to support those thinking about a career in this profession, as well as those in training and those currently working as a learning disability nurse.

Learning disability nurses are one of the most diverse and adaptable professional groups, working in a variety of settings and roles, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank every single one of you for the care and support that you provide every day.

Discussing the training, David Harling, National Deputy Director for Learning Disability Nursing at NHS England, said:

“The launch of the new Learning Disability Nursing Continuing Professional Development Award signals an important marker in both the evolution and investment in our profession. For over 100 years learning disability nurses have been providing expert care to people with learning disabilities and their families, and the advent of this programme will enable them to further their knowledge and skills.

“The programme has been created by learning disability nurses working in a variety of specialist areas of care and we hope it will become one of requisite benchmarks supporting specific roles, be this within job descriptions or as part of the learning disability nursing career framework.”

Ellie Gordon, Senior Nurse; Autism, Learning Disability and Mental Health at NHS England, said:

 “It has been a real pleasure to be part of this piece of work. Collaborating with learning disability nurses to progress from an ‘ask’ to a programme of continuing professional development that not only supports knowledge development, but also provides tools and resources to enhance nursing specific skills.

“When we first launched the All England plan for Learning disability nursing back in 2020, we had a clear vision that we not only needed to attract more people into learning disability nursing, but we also needed to develop those nurses who specialised in this area. We also knew that to develop such specialist nurses we would have to develop something that really spoke to nurses and nursing, and which showed how much we value and appreciate all that these great nurses do. I really feel that with this training we have started to do just that, and I look forward to continuing to work with learning disability nurses to develop and grow this great profession.”

Access the training

You can find out more and access the training now on the NHS Learning Hub.

Empowering patients to manage chronic breathlessness

Posted on: October 26th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Many people live with chronic breathlessness and often feel helpless, believing nothing can be done to relieve the symptom. However, there are many self-management techniques that can make a difference, allowing people to feel more in control, confident and able to get on with their daily lives.

A free online course is now available that aims to help health professionals understand how chronic breathlessness can still be improved even when the underlying condition cannot. The training takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and is relevant for any health professional who looks after people with long-term conditions causing chronic breathlessness. This includes nurses, therapists, advanced practitioners, doctors and psychologists working in primary care, community care and secondary care.

Long-term conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure can cause breathlessness that persists even when the underlying condition is being medically managed as well as possible. Upon completion of the training you will have learned some practical tips to manage the symptom, and you will have considered other sources of support for people living with chronic breathlessness.

The training has been developed as part of the NHS England Respiratory Long Term Plan Breathlessness Management workstream, to support colleagues with easily accessible education around non-pharmacological self-management support for people living with chronic breathlessness.

To find out more and access the training, please visit the Managing Chronic Breathlessness programme page.

Celebrating continuing professional development opportunities for all dental staff

Posted on: October 24th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

As we reach the milestone of 60,000 registered users on our Dentistry (e-Den) elearning programme, we are celebrating by sharing the latest updates to the training and how these can support continuing professional development across the whole dentistry team.

This online training features opportunities for all dental professionals: from experienced colleagues seeking Continuing Professional Development, to new dental graduates looking for training to use throughout your two-year Foundation programme, as well as students preparing for Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) exams.

The e-Den programme was created with the aim of delivering a high quality, interactive, online learning solution for dental professionals. It is available nationwide and is free of charge to all members of the dentistry team who are operating within an NHS contract. The curriculum is primarily based on the UK Dental Foundation Training curriculum, and is made up of four domains – clinical, management and leadership, professionalism, and communication.

We are incredibly pleased to share the following updates:

Enhanced CPD forms

 e-Den supports continuing professional development (CPD) for all dental care professionals and experienced dentists. As a learner you can plan and record your learning and work through any module that is relevant to your training needs, in any order you choose. Revised enhanced CPD forms are now available to support you with this.

All 13 modules within the training include an enhanced CPD form to be completed by the learner, which can be added to your portfolio with your elearning certificate as evidence to demonstrate your understanding of each subject area. The forms are downloadable and can be used as evidence of how you meet the criteria for the GDC’s development outcomes.

The enhanced CPD scheme is designed to support dental professionals to gain maximum benefit from CPD activities. The plan, do, reflect, record model encourages you to proactively think about your professional needs, field of practice and the Standards for the Dental Team before embarking on CPD activity. In this way, the activity becomes more meaningful and applicable to areas that you have identified to maintain or build on.

MFDS pathway reminder

If you are preparing to take your Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) exams this autumn, a tailored elearning pathway can be found within the training programme to support you.

The pathway features short and focussed sessions that cover the whole MFDS syllabus and makes leaning more manageable for trainees who have multiple demands on their time.

The sessions cover all areas of the MFDS syllabus, including communication skills, clinical competence and clinical reasoning, and will prepare candidates for the professional skills assessments within the exams.

Module reviews and newly refreshed sessions

To ensure that training sessions remain valid and in line with current best practice guidance, we have been working with the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England to complete a review of all 13 modules within e-Den.

We are pleased to share that along with the Learning Paths, reviews have recently been completed for the following modules:

Module 1: Patient Assessment

Module 3: Anxiety and Pain Control in Dentistry

Module 5: Hard and Soft Tissue Surgery

Module 9: Replacement of Teeth

Module 10: Communication

Module 11: Professionalism

Module 13: Environmental Sustainability in Dentistry

Access the training

To find out more and access the training, please visit the e-Den programme page.

Adult Pathology and Orthopaedics updates to the Clinical Imaging elearning programme

Posted on: September 14th, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

Dorothy Keane, Clinical Lead at the Society and College of Radiographers, gives a brief overview of updates that have been made to our Clinical Imaging elearning programme.

The online training is free to access for healthcare staff and is the ideal resource to support all imaging staff.

Adult Pathology Sessions

“As radiographers, you are constantly looking at images of patients who have been referred from the emergency department, ward, outpatients, or a GP. Having the knowledge to recognise and identify bony changes which may represent a pathology will enable you to ‘flag’ the images to allow a faster report and quicker referral to a specialist”. Dorothy Keane, Clinical Lead

A new module has been developed to complement our Clinical Imaging programme. We have created 12 new sessions which give a general outline of a wide range of conditions and diseases and the related pathophysiological changes encountered on radiographs. These pathologies are commonly seen on radiographs and a knowledge of how bone and soft tissue changes manifest on radiographs will be discussed using images and diagrams. There is an opportunity to assess learning throughout each session which consist of 4 introductory sessions and 8 which focus on specific anatomical regions and discuss specific pathologies related to those regions.

Clinical Imaging – Orthopaedics

Have you looked at the 2 orthopaedic modules in elfh’s Clinical Imaging programme?

Our Orthopaedic Imaging modules explore follow-up images post orthopaedic surgery. The introductory session explains the post-operative plan for patients who have undergone orthopaedic procedures and why imaging is essential to assess the interventions.

Further sessions cover procedures involving the hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, ankle and foot, hand and wrist, long bones, vertebral column (spine) and pelvis in both emergency trauma and elective surgery. Each procedure is described with accompanying photographs of the prosthetics and instrumentation. The rationale for carrying out the procedure is discussed. Images are used to demonstrate post-procedure appearances and describe post-operative complications such as loosening of metalwork and infection.

The 2nd module, Orthopaedic Intervention, introduces the operating theatre outlining the environment, equipment, sterile procedures, infection control and staff roles. Radiographers often rotate into theatre and may have limited experience of certain procedures – this can, and often does, create an atmosphere of tension within the operating theatre for both the radiographer and the orthopaedic surgeons. These sessions have been designed to help prepare radiographers for theatre work. It provides detailed advice on the position and movements of the image intendifier for a range of orthopaedic procedure involving the upper and lower limbs and the vertebral column.

Accessing the training

To find out more and access the training, visit the Clinical Imaging programme page.

New elearning offers hot weather guidance for carers

Posted on: July 4th, 2023 by Vanessa Bassnett No Comments

Hot weather can pose a range of health threats to elderly and vulnerable people so new elearning has launched increase carers’ awareness of the risks and show how to protect themselves and those they care for.

Older people and those with underlying medical conditions are particularly vulnerable to the effects of high temperatures which include increased risk of heart attack, stroke, lung problems and even death. This means people living in care homes, those who are unable to care for themselves or those who require support in their day-to-day lives are more at risk becoming unwell in hot weather.

The elearning has been created in collaboration with NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency and is hosted on the Learning Hub.

It is intended for front line carers who are supporting elderly and vulnerable people both in domestic and care settings. The modules explain the health risks of excess and extreme heat in care settings and demonstrate quick and simple measures to reduce the health risk.

Modules include:

  • Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
  • How to cool down a home or care home
  • Prevent dehydration
  • Protection from the sun
  • Further precautions

The session is based on guidance published by the UKHSA on hot weather and health.

To access the training visit the webpage: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/hot-weather-guidance-for-carers/

New elearning modules to boost patient safety

Posted on: June 29th, 2023 by Vanessa Bassnett No Comments

No matter what your role or where you work, an understanding of the essentials for patient safety is important because we all have a role to play in supporting the NHS in keeping patients safe.

Colleagues across NHS England can now complete new patient safety training modules to learn about how and why patient safety incidents happen, and what we should consider in our own roles to support the NHS to improve safety. In response to feedback from users, updates to the patient safety syllabus training include improved usability, interactivity, and navigation and a certificate of completion. There are also five new sector specific patient safety case studies covering good practice, human factors, risk, systems thinking and safety culture in the following areas: Mental Health, Maternity, Management and administration, Primary Care and Acute Care.

The new modules support all colleagues, not just those who provide direct care to patients, as everyone can have an impact on patient safety through their decisions and actions. All of our roles in health and care, from office based to hands on care, impact in some way on the safety of patients. That is why it is important that we embed patient safety in everything we do.

The training has been introduced as part of the National Patient Safety Syllabus, with an aim that the entire NHS workforce understands how we all support patient safety, and consider this in their roles, no matter where they work.

Level 1 and 2 of the updated Patient Safety Syllabus training are available on ESR, Local Management Systems, and e-learning for healthcare.

Accessing the elearning

You can access the elearning here: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/patient-safety-syllabus-training/

Get in contact with the programme: patientsafety@hee.nhs.uk

elfh is a NHS England programme in partnership with the NHS and professional bodies