500th NHS trainer receives TAP Certificate
Over the course of the last three years a quiet revolution in the development and certification of training delivery skills has been taking place within the National Health Service. Gary Turnbull of Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Trust recently completed the three-day TAP Delivery Skills Refresher (DSR) programme operated by The Training Foundation, thereby becoming the 500th NHS trainer to be awarded a certificate within the Trainer Assessment Programme (TAP) since the turn of the millennium.
Speaking after his course, Gary Turnbull confirmed that the Delivery Skills Refresher course had lived up to his expectations: “This course made me feel very concerned about my training style after seeing the other training sessions on day one. I was surprised by my improvement by day three. Now I can deliver confident, interesting and professional training sessions. The next thing I have to do is to put into practice all the skills and knowledge that I have gained!”
“Within the role of IM&T Trainer/ ECDL Test Centre Manager I provide a wide range of training, not just IT training. Now the TAP training methodology provides the 'back bone' to all of my training sessions. I feel that the TAP programme is a vital tool whatever the subject matter and could be used in sessions ranging from IT Training to First Aid Training throughout the NHS.”
Adrian Snook, Director of Corporate Development for The Training Foundation congratulated Gary. “Our Delivery Skills Refresher course is designed to meet the developmental needs of all types of experienced trainers and involves a great deal of intense concentration and effort over a three day period. Everyone that makes the grade in the final assessment has worked very hard indeed. This is precisely why a TAP Certificate in Training Delivery Skills is so prized by employers and trainers alike.”
“In this case Gary’s certificate represents not only a major personal achievement but also a significant milestone in the ongoing initiative to raise the quality of training delivery in the NHS. This development serves to highlight the success of one of the most successful trainer certification initiatives backed by a single employer anywhere in Europe.”
Diane Benjamin, Programme Manager for the NHS Information Authority Ways of Working with Information Programme, explained the reasons behind the significant ongoing investment in training delivery skills development within the NHSIA over the last three years: ""There is a growing acceptance of the important role the skilled trainer fulfils in ensuring staff are properly prepared to use generic applications software and NHS system specific software. We are concerned that NHS trainers and those contracted in to supply training as part of a system implementation or ongoing supplier support to systems are appropriately qualified to carry out this role. The TAP Certificate in Training Delivery skills, awarded following assessment under the Trainer Assessment Programme is now a recognised standard in the UK and is a recommended standard for NHS IT Trainers.”
Notes for Editors:
Photographs of Gary Turnbull being presented with his certificate are available on request.
Reference Documents
The NHSIA Guidance Document referencing TAP as a standard is entitled Professional Qualifications for NHS Health Informatics Specialists and can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat format from:
http://www.nhsia.nhs.uk/nhid/pages/resource_informatics/prof_qual.pdf
Further guidance referencing TAP as a standard qualification for Accredited Clinical Coding trainers can be viewed at:
http://www.nhsia.nhs.uk/clinicalcoding/pages/training/acctp_overview.asp
About The NHSIA
Established in 1999, as a special health authority, the NHS Information Authority remit is to enable the national infrastructure for an on-line NHS with electronic health records, an electronic library of knowledge, and the convenient services that people expect from a modern NHS.