Support for doctors needing to resit the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA)

Background:

Passing the PSA is essential for successful completion of the F1 year and being awarded an F1CC.

HEE accommodate 3 sittings throughout the year for F1 trainees. The first sitting is usually in early September, with 2 resit opportunities around March/April of the following year.

As we offer resits, there are no grounds for appeals of results.

F1 doctors who do not pass the PSA after the 2nd resit (April/May), will therefore need to do one or more additional 4 month F1 placements until this is achieved. You will automatically be added to the registration list for the next sitting of the PSA if you are unsuccessful.

The following may be helpful to doctors in this situation, and those providing educational support:

1          Reasonable adjustments

Candidates may be eligible for reasonable adjustments to the online format of the PSA, for example up to 25% additional time, if they have an evidenced disability or health condition, provided that the foundation school is made aware of this in advance of the PSA.

If candidates believe they are eligible for reasonable adjustments, they will need to provide a completed form, alongside up to date evidence i.e. a Doctors assessment, of their condition.

2          Preparation for the PSA

Candidates are strongly advised to:

- Carry out all the practice online PSA assessments, available 2 weeks before the sitting date.

- Practice using the online BNF effectively under time constraints, familiarising themselves with the layout and buttons.

- Use targeted SCRIPT modules.

Using SCRIPT for remediation / before sitting the PSA

As many modules are available a summary is provided below.

The SCRIPT modules are presented in one of seven units. The eight PSA sections have been mapped to SCRIPT modules to help direct trainees sitting the PSA. As some sections of the PSA are mapped to several modules, some trainees may require support from a senior person to direct their learning. The pre-test function of each module identifies trainees with poor knowledge in that specific area.

Prescribing topics per PSA section mapped to SCRIPT modules

This matrix has been created by mapping the topics of the relevant sections of the PSA to the SCRIPT module learning outcomes. Performance in the PSA is broken down by section. Some PSA sections have greater weight than others.

If you have under-performed in several PSA sections, or are new to the PSA/ prescribing in the NHS, it may be helpful to undertake the following recommended modules in priority order (as there are 18 SCRIPT modules within the matrix). These have been selected based on the weight of the section in which they appear and the number of times they occur in the matrix:

1. Rational Drug Choice
2. Utilising the BNF
3. Prescription Documentation
4. Fluids
5. Taking a Safe and Effective Drug History
6. Adverse Drug Reactions
7. Dosing and Calculation
8. Drug Interactions
9. Adherence and Concordance

If none of the FAQs have answered your question, please submit an enquiry to the team by clicking here