The Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) was launched in 2007, providing the GMC-approved framework for UK surgical training and the curriculum for specialty training in the Republic of Ireland. The ISCP aims to present the curriculum clearly and transparently, enabling trainees to record their achievements as they progress through training so that the public can have confidence that the surgeons who treat them are qualified, trained and competent.
The parent body of the ISCP is the Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST) which works on behalf of the four surgical Royal Colleges of the UK and Ireland to develop, promote and ensure the highest possible standards of surgical training. The ISCP provides the platform, the framework and the tools to train surgeons to this high standard.
The ISCP covers the ten surgical specialties: Cardiothoracic Surgery; General Surgery; Neurosurgery; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS); Otolaryngology (ENT); Paediatric Surgery; Plastic Surgery; Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery (T&O); Urology and Vascular Surgery and Core Surgical Training.
The curriculum comprises:
- The methods for teaching, learning and supervision - how training will be delivered;
- The syllabus - specifying the knowledge, skills and professional behaviours necessary to ensure patient safety throughout and at the end of training;
- The assessment methods – ensuring that the attainment of outcomes is measured and judged and fed back to trainees to support their learning; and
- Systems and resources – supporting how the educational programme is organised, recorded and quality assured.
The secure ISCP training management system enables trainees and trainers to capture learning, teaching and feedback through a variety of online educational tools including:
- The trainee portfolio, helping trainees to demonstrate that they are progressing and meeting all the curriculum requirements up to certification;
- Learning agreements delivered through meetings with a dedicated educational supervisor, helping trainees identify their educational goals and manage their training;
- Access to the surgical eLogbook to record the level of operative performance and support the assessment of operative skills;
- The online Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) process; as well as
- A record of trainer practice, enabling trainers to collect evidence of their training activity and receive feedback.
The ISCP has continued to evolve through constructive dialogue with surgical trainees and other doctors, trainee organisations, trainers, the Specialty Advisory Committees and specialty associations for surgical training, NHS employers, lead deans, lay/patient representatives, deaneries/HEE local offices, statutory education bodies, educationalists, other medical royal colleges and medical educational bodies. We are grateful to them for their input and welcome an ongoing exchange of ideas for further improvement.
ISCP Surgical Director : Christopher Fowell
Head of ISCP : Maria Bussey