To: Allwessex GP Trainers

To: All Wessex GP Trainers From: Dr Jonathan Foulkes, Deputy Associate Advisor GP Education, Dorset and Wessex ePortfolio Lead

Dear Colleagues,

I am getting an increasing number of enquiries from around the Wessex Region from both Trainers and Trainees about the PSQ for GP ST3 doctors (what we used to call GP Registrars). The following is taken from the RCGP web site which explains the process in reasonable clarity: ------

Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire

The PSQ provides useful feedback to doctors by providing a measure of the patients' opinion of the doctor's relationship and empathy during a consultation. The evidence provided is useful in helping trainer and trainee to address needs and facilitate educational shift during the training period.

PSQ will take place as follows:

Once during months 31 to 34 (Speciality Training Year 3, if in primary care). Also, PSQ can take place in ST1 or ST2, if in primary care. That is: once if GP experience is for 12 months, or twice if GP experience is more than 12 months.

Process: Obtaining Feedback

1. The trainee and GP trainer should agree a date for the PSQ and a date for interview (NB see also at the end of the email)

2. The forms and letters of explanation should be handed to consecutive patients (irrespective of their likelihood of responding) by the receptionist, continuing into subsequent days if necessary.

3. Receptionist and trainer complete the declaration form and return to Deanery.

4. Patients complete the forms and hand back to receptionist. This should continue until 40 completed forms have been returned.

5. The results need to be entered on-line using www.eportfolio.rcgp.org.uk/forms (accessible from August 2007). Each deanery will decide who will perform this duty. (Wessex is hoping that your Practice Administrative staff will be able to perform this task - NOT THE TRAINEE!) Process: Using Feedback

5. Once submitted, results are sent to the Educational Supervisor. Results will include mean, median and range for each question.

6. Results are anonymous.

7. The Educational Supervisor familiarises him/herself with the feedback prior to the interview and aims to assimilate the numerical scores within the context of the trainee's overall performance.

Process: The Interview

8. The interview should be conducted in protected time with no interruptions. Different individuals may require different lengths of time for reflection. It may be necessary to schedule the feedback for more than one occasion in order to make best use of data.

9. The Educational Supervisor can authorise for the transmitting of results to the trainee's ePortfolio at any time. The GP trainer will then have access too.

10. The Educational Supervisor or GP trainer should ensure that the trainee understands the background and purpose of the PSQ.

11. The interviewer uses skills in feedback.

12. Discussion should centre around the trainee's expectations in relation to the mean, median and range for each question.

13. In order to evaluate and record the success or otherwise of the feedback process, it is suggested that the Professional Conversation log in the Education Section of the ePortfolio is used.

14. If the trainer has any areas of serious concern regarding either the content of the assessment or anticipated difficulties in giving feedback, they should contact their programme director/associate adviser for further discussion prior to the interview. ------NB:

 The Practice enters the data ( that is the pain) and releases it to the College.  The College is responsible for processing it.  The result comes back through the ePortfolio to the Educational Supervisor who then reads it, feeds back to the learner and finally releases it to the latter. In most cases the Educational Supervisor and GP Trainer are one and the same in the ST3 year  The main problem with this is that the 'ticket' for collection only lasts 14 days. If it takes longer than that to get the 40 returned questionnaires, the data is invalidated. Therefore, we are suggesting, especially for part time trainees, that you print off and photocopy the PSQ forms, get the receptionists to hand them out, and only set the date for review with the Trainee when the required amount of data is collected. This is not ideal, but is better than the frustration of starting all over again if you run out of time.

I hope that you all get on OK but if you have any queries or problems than please contact Lynne Fenella or me at Highcroft who may be able to help.

For more information on the WPBA then do have a look at: http://www.rcgp.org.uk/the_gp_journey/nmrcgp/wpba_and_eportfolio/collecting_evidence.aspx