Personal Professional Development
We take PPD seriously, having a teaching course dedicated to it, together with appropriate support systems and documentation. For example, trainees complete a ‘progress file’ together with their personal tutor. Completing this document serves two main functions. Firstly, during a period of significant personal professional development it heightens self-awareness of pre-existing and developing strengths. Secondly, it provides a means of fostering critical reflection, helping to identify and address perceived needs relating to knowledge-acquisition, skill-development or confidence-building. In essence, this file aims to help ensure that trainees make the most of the learning experiences that are available during training, supported closely by their tutor.
There are a number of other supportive relationships available to trainees. These include a ‘Buddy’ system, a ‘Mentor’ system and a Manager. Each newly appointed trainee is allocated a 'Buddy' (a fellow trainee from year 2). Contact is made prior to the start of the programme and often continues throughout. The ‘Mentor’ will be a local - often recently qualified - Clinical Psychologist, with whom the trainee can discuss their professional personal development. Regular meetings are scheduled with the allocated Academic Tutor who acts as a lynchpin between all programme Tutors, fulfils the University role of ‘personal tutor’, and is also available to provide more general practical, informational and emotional support.
The programme has an active PPD agenda - with trainee representatives from all year groups on relevant committees. These oversee the above systems, as well as organise relevant teaching and social events. Should trainees need to access formal psychological therapy services, their Manager can arrange ‘fast-track’ contact with a local Clinical Psychologist for confidential therapy. This is intended to facilitate more adaptive coping as a trainee. Access to the other ‘occupational health’ services within the employing NHS trust is also available (which includes staff counselling services). As postgraduate students of the University, the Student Counselling Service is also freely available.
