ANS Meetings

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Other meetings that may be of interest

These meetings are not run by ANS. Their appearance in this listing should not be interpreted as an endorsement. The list is provided as a service to our membership. It is up to the individual to determine if the meeting or course is suitable.

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WBA Training and Assessment

Work based assessors are able to register for online training and assessment to gain and maintain their WBA status.

The online training is hosted on our moodle subsite. To access this you need a separate user name and password (it can be the same one as you use for the ANS website, but doesn’t have to be).

https://moodle.ansuk.org

In order to register for this please contact Kelly Bill at k.bill@nhs.net.


The following PDFs are taken from slides used in presentations made during the classroom based Work Based Assessor Training Days. Reading these will assist any WBA when they are taking their own assessments.


 

Individual Record of Clinical Practice (IRCP) for Intraoperative Monitoring during corrective spinal deformity surgery

The NHS requires a workforce that is fit for purpose and clinical governance demands professionals to be self-regulating. The workforce must develop and maintain evidence based standards of practice for services to show compliance against, and individuals within the profession should utilise an Individual Record of Clinical Practice (IRCP) to evidence competency within that service.
Every service providing intraoperative monitoring of the spinal cord during corrective spinal surgery requires a workforce that is fit for purpose and clinical governance requires that those professionals that are working in this specialised area of expertise are competent to practice against national standards and guidelines. However, it is recognised that many practitioners are now working in roles and performing tests and procedures for which they have not been formally trained or assessed.
An IRCP is a tool that can be used to assess and document that specific performance criteria have been consistently achieved within an individual’s scope of practice. It evidences the minimum safe level of clinical practice across a range of experiences and is supplemented with documents supporting a knowledge specification that underpins the test and procedures being carried out.
The IRCP can be used in order to demonstrate

  • An understanding of techniques employed for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring of the spinal cord in order to explain the rationale for recording for patients undergoing spinal deformity surgery, modification of the investigations and interpretation of the test results.
  • To become practically competent in this specific area of neurophysiology and gain competency in the technical and clinical principles underlying the work.

The performance criteria within this current IRCP is for those healthcare scientists and trainees who are performing intraoperative monitoring during corrective spinal deformity surgery and they must align their tests to the current Association of Neurophysiological Scientists and British Society of Clinical Neurophysiologists guidelines.
UPDATED ANS/BSCN GUIDELINES FOR NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDINGS OF THE SPINAL CORD DURING CORRECTIVE SPINAL DEFORMITY SURGERY.
https://www.ansuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Final-ANSBSCN-IONM-guidelines-HJGedit.pdf
The IRCP can be added to if necessary; to meet the specific requirements of a department, however, the minimum standards must all be achieved. Any additional standards should be combined with additional assessments and requirements.

The IRCP is intended to complement existing local practices that are already in place to establish competency and is offered in a recognised format, that trainees and departmental work based assessors may be familiar with.
The IRCP and supporting documents are available by contacting Peter Walsh at peter.walsh@nbt.nhs.uk


The Science Council Member’s Newsletter


Clinical Neurophysiology Practice

Access the open access journal Clinical Neurophysiology Practice at the link below. This is described as a companion journal to Clinical Neurophysiology.


SOTON Brain Hub – by the University of Southampton


http://www.sotonbrainhub.co.uk/


Link to M Level/CSci on the RCCP Website


https://www.rccp.co.uk/articles/51/About-CSci-and-the-M-Level-Register


The ANS Standalone Exams

ANS provides the only professionally recognised practical examinations in Neurophysiology in the UK. Currently it is possible to train towards the ANS EEG standalone exam or the ANS NCS/EP standalone exam.  More information is available via the Membership > Resources page (ANS members only).

The EEG Exam

The EEG exam is taken after a period of study within a department, usually within the UK or Republic of Ireland. A mentor is assigned who will be able to provide support during the process and a work based assessor (WBA) will help you develop your digital portfolio so you can provide evidence of your knowledge, experience and learning.  Your WBA will help you decide when it is time to arrange your final practical exam in your own department.  To register for this exam you must have the support of a Work Based Examiner in your department.

  • Current cost is £500 for ANS members and £695 for non-members.

The NCS/EP Exam

The NCS/EP exam is taken after a period of study within a department, usually within the UK or Republic of Ireland. A mentor is assigned who will be able to provide support during the process and a work based assessor (WBA) will help you develop your digital portfolio so you can provide evidence of your knowledge, experience and learning.  Your WBA will help you decide when it is time to arrange your final practical exam in your own department. To register for this exam you must have the support of a Work Based Examiner in your department.

  • Current cost is £500 for ANS members and £695 for non-members.

Exam update

We have had a number of queries regarding WBA training for non-ANS members and obtaining copies of exam certificates.

We can offer WBA assessor training for non-ANS members for £30

Copies of exam certificates can be obtained for £20 each

Letter confirming training/examinations   £20

If you require either of these please contact the AHCS – the contact is admin@ahcs.ac.uk

Kind Regards

Ann Harvey – Exam Board Chair