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Frequently Asked Questions about Professional Support Referrals and Appointments

Overview

How can I find out more about the Professional Support Service?

You can read information about what we do on our website and by reading through these FAQs. It may be that your training programme director or educational supervisor has suggested you look at the information and even maybe that you should complete a referral form. Don’t be worried about doing this. Once you have made an enquiry via the referral form, we can let you know what support is available and you can decide how you follow on from there.

Is a referral to Professional Support a negative thing?

Not at all! In many curricula and throughout your consultant career, the GMC highlight the importance of developing skills around professional practise and wellbeing, and this can be documented through engagement with Professional Support.

How quickly will my referral be processed?

Once you have submitted the electronic referral form, it will be reviewed by a member of the Professional Support Team and we will do our very best to respond to you by email within five working days.

What we advise next will depend very much on the nature of your enquiry. We may signpost you to services at NHSE which can support you, or it may be that we ask if you would like to have an appointment with a senior member of the Team. If we offer you an appointment, try to respond to us as soon as you can to confirm you are happy to meet with an advisor, and we will liaise with you to arrange a time for you to meet with them. Meetings will usually take place on Microsoft Teams, which we will set up, and they normally last for an hour. It’s best if you can find a time where you can have privacy for this meeting and you won’t be interrupted, and where you can reliably access the internet.

Depending on the discussion, we may suggest a subsequent meeting or follow up, which we will contact you directly to arrange.

Will my referral be treated in confidence?

It’s really important that you see coming to Professional Support as a positive thing. We are here to help you and your trainers maximise your career potential. If you self-refer, then your enquiry will remain confidential. After an appointment, we may suggest others need to be involved, but that will only be acted on with your consent and you will have sight of any subsequent correspondence.

If you are referred by a trainer then we will let them know the support option we have recommended – such as taking up some coaching or an appointment with us. We do not invite them to your appointment nor do we provide them with a copy of your post-appointment encounter form. It is your choice if you wish to share a copy of the encounter form with them, or if you would like them to attend the meeting. 

We will save a copy of your referral form in our Professional Support files, which have restricted access, as well as any further correspondence about your referral and support. This information will be retained so that we have a reference of what support you have been provided with in the past (in case of a second or subsequent self-referral) and to enable us to review the service that we provide. If you are offered an appointment, your encounter form, which provides an overview of the discussions and outcomes of the meeting, will also be saved in our Professional Support files which are only accessible to the Professional Support Team. All files will be managed in accordance with NHS England’s Records Management Policy. 

If I am offered an appointment, how will I know who I am meeting and what do they need to know about me?

It may be that you have an existing link with a member of the Professional Support Team and you might want to request to meet a specific person. Wherever possible, we will try to help with this.

The person you meet will either be an experienced trainer, clinician, or provider of pastoral support. This includes the deanery's Associate Deans linked to the Learner Support and Faculty Development (LSFD) Directorate, or one of our Professional Support Managers. Some have more expertise in areas such as career advice, less than full time training, supported return to training, or neurodiversity support. However, they very much work as a team. They are there to support you in your choices and decision making. They are not necessarily there to “fix things”, but to help you find a way forward. Our principle is that the meeting allows you to talk about your situation in your own way and find answers with support from us rather than us telling you what to do.

When your meeting is arranged, you will be advised of who you are meeting and you will receive a calendar appointment with the Microsoft Teams joining link. If you would like to put a face-to-the-name before your meeting, please feel free to watch our Meet the Professional Support Team video on the Professional Support homepage. 

The person you meet will have seen your referral form, and any other information you wish to provide, and they may also review your trainee file to understand your training history. They will not have any discussions with your educational supervisor prior the meeting, unless that is something you have both agreed to.

What happens after I have seen a member of the team?

Part of the meeting will be about what your next actions will be and often what else you might need to help you. Between you, you will agree where you should go from here and if others need to be involved at this stage. If that is the case, you will have access to any correspondence with a third party.

After the meeting, the member of Professional Support will complete an encounter form which outlines the discussions had and agreed next steps. You will be sent a copy of the encounter form and if you choose, you can then discuss this with someone else or add it to your portfolio for reflection. It is your responsibility to share a copy of the encounter form with any third party, such as your Educational Supervisor or Training Programme Director, if you choose. 

In many cases, PGDiTs find the initial meeting might just be about talking through their situation and the action might be simply to spend some time thinking over what was discussed and perhaps to meet again. This doesn’t mean it wasn’t a useful meeting!

If I have already discussed my situation with my trainer, and maybe they have said there is nothing that can be offered, is there any point in me referring myself to Professional Support?

The vast majority of trainers on our programmes are very experienced and can ably direct trainees where they can go for advice or help. Or, indeed, provide that help and support themselves. This is one of the reasons we suggest speaking to your trainer first. However, sometimes it can be helpful to talk to someone else, especially if they are not from your own speciality or workplace.

There may also be less well-known avenues we can tell you about, or it can be that just the opportunity to talk with someone you have not spoken with before opens up doors you had not considered.

I feel like my situation is very sensitive. I am not sure I can risk talking to someone I don’t know about what’s been happening to me. What if they don’t think I should be at work?

The Professional Support Team are experienced in talking to trainees and will always approach your situation with professionalism, kindness and without judgement. Information will always be treated with the utmost confidence and only be shared with your permission, with those who needed to know and who you were aware of.

We completely respect that in the workplace people do not necessarily want their health details, for example, shared with others. However, sometimes there are very important reasons why your trainers should know about something which might potentially impact on your work. But this knowledge should and can be limited to a small number of people who you have agreed should know.

Things which are happening in your personal life are just that - personal to you - and it is important that you know we completely respect that. If after discussion with us there is agreement that some information should be shared, then that will only be done with your permission and for valid reasons involving your training and role at work.

Very occasionally we meet with a PGDiT, and the discussion raises significant concerns for that individual’s wellbeing. In that rare situation, we would share our concerns with you and ask you to seek urgent medical support from your GP. We would ask you to confirm that this has been done. This is because we have a responsibility to you to help you manage your health in difficult circumstances. Please understand this is only ever done in a supportive manner.

 

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