Trainee Case Presentations

Introduction

Several different seminar slots and meetings are incorporated into the timetable. Their overall purpose is to provide more informal opportunities for learning and also to facilitate communication within the programme. During all three years trainees participate in case presentations.

Guidelines for Case Presentations

Guidance and Training Presentation can be found here

Case presentations are a mandatory part of the programme. They provide an opportunity for trainees to develop their presentation skills and to benefit from discussion of clinical work within a peer group setting. A member of the staff year team also attends the case presentations. Trainees will be required to assess their own performance and will receive formative feedback from the staff member. Whilst this is not part of the formal assessment process, trainees' self-evaluation and the tutor's comments can be used to inform the annual Personal Development Review process.

The aims of the case presentations are to provide an opportunity to present and share clinical work with other trainees. Specifically to:

• present clinical formulation embedded within the available evidence based literature

• facilitate discussion of clinical work, allowing new ideas to be considered

• self-evaluate and obtain feedback on presentation skills

Presentations will be timetabled according to the following structure:

Year 1

Trainees will present to their own year and will also receive timetabled slots to hear case presentations from Year 2 trainees in mixed groups (Yr1 and Yr2)

Year 2

Trainees will present to a mixed group of Year 1 and Year 2 trainees and will also hear case presentations from Year 3 trainees in mixed groups (Yr2 and Yr3).

Year 3

Trainees will present to a mixed group of Year 2 and Year 3 trainees.

Procedure

• Select a piece of work to be presented. This would usually be a piece of individual work although one of the three presentations may be focused on group interventions, staff training, consultation or leadership (see note regarding third year presentations below). Normally this work should not overlap with single case or service evaluation assignments or Clinical Practice Report submissions. If in doubt, please seek advice for your personal/clinical tutor. The presentation should last about 15 minutes, allowing 5 minutes at the end for discussion.

• Trainees should complete the self-evaluation form (available of Blackboard) within a week of their presentation and return this to the member of staff present who will add their feedback. This form will then be returned to the trainee and a copy will be kept on file as evidence that this part of the programme has been completed, and for use in the Personal Development Review process. Trainees can arrange to meet with staff members if they would like to discuss the presentation or feedback. Trainees may also, if they wish, seek feedback from the trainee group and include this on their form.

Choosing work to present

• The case presentations are designed as opportunities to practise presenting to others and to share and discuss clinical work. Any piece of work that allows for a substantial presentation may be suitable. The work does not have to be perfect, with a successful outcome, and extensive notes. An early or provision formulation may be sufficient (although some attempt at a formulation should be presented). An unsuccessful piece of work, or one where a therapist is feeling 'blocked', or progress differs from what is expected on the basis of the available evidence base, may be a good basis for discussion. Ideally the presentation will allow opportunities for the presenter and the group to learn mutually from the presentation. Appropriate self-disclosure and consideration of issues of diversity and inter-professional issues is encouraged.

• The case presentation session should be used to explore work other than that described in the reports of clinical practice, as the case presentations are conceived of as being independent from the Clinical Practice Reports. The presentation provides an opportunity to focus in depth on an additional piece of clinical work, explore dilemmas, gain ideas and enhance the breadth of training.

Structure

Presentations should usually be on PowerPoint but other methods of presentation can also be arranged with prior consultation with the office staff and facilitating member of staff.  Trainees should ensure that presentations are appropriately anonymous. There is not a set structure to the presentations and the following headings can be used as a guide for preparation:

Assessment only work:

• Reason for selection of this work for presentation and aims

• Referral- method of referral; referral agent; information available; reason for selection of this work for presentation.

• Assessment- rationale for selection of assessment procedures; what alternatives were considered but rejected and the rationale for this; the construction and development of instruments where appropriate, any literature suggesting the approach adopted.

• Assessment findings and interpretation. Identification of problem(s) and strengths including those not identified upon referral, consideration of systemic and diversity issues and existing coping strategies.

• Formulation(s) in psychological terms (with reference to the literature and relevant NHS or BPS guidelines). Rationale for future intervention and implications for the client (in terms of risk management and/or treatment choice).

• How information was communicated (e.g. letters, reports, verbally) to others (including client, colleagues, referral agent, significant others).

• Perspective of the service user(s) on the work carried out.

• Summary of what has been learnt.

Assessment and intervention work:

Any of the above plus:

• Intervention options considered- relationship to formulation(s) and to the literature relevant guidelines.

• Nature of any intervention process; nature of the therapeutic relationship.

• Reformulations and revisions of intervention where appropriate.

• Maintenance- how planned; what follow-up expected; preparation for relapse.

• Evaluation of outcomes- how measured; how effective and in what way; side effects (positive and/or negative); present data to back up your conclusions.

• Any communications back to referral agencies.

• Critical assessment of the case- what might be different in hindsight; any alternative formulations or strategies that might have been considered; could work have been more effective; how unsuccessful work is accounted for; was choice of outcome measure the best?

All case presentations should include some consideration of relationships and process issues, as well as diversity and interprofessional issues evident in the work. Time should be available for discussion at the end of the presentation. The trainee who is presenting would normally facilitate this. 

Note regarding Year 3 case presentations

In Year 3 trainees may choose to present an overview of clinical work or an aspect of emerging leadership in a specialist placement. The aim of these presentations would be to provide trainees with the opportunity to learn more about ways of working in different specialties enabling them to make links between the ways which trainees work on their own placement setting and ways of working in other domains and to consider the developmental trajectory from training to post-qualification. The following may be considered when making such a presentation:

• information about the clinical setting(s)/team/service

• the nature of the referrals

• any indirect work, consultation and/or leadership opportunities

• discussion of any theoretical models/approaches that may be unique/particular to the setting, e.g. physical health, forensic settings, etc or leadership models that have informed the indirect work undertaken

• typical presenting clinical issues, which could be illustrated with case vignettes, or more detailed case formulations

• consideration of a service development or community psychology perspective

Please note that it is a programme requirement to do a presentation each year. If you are unable to present due to illness, annual leave etc, you should arrange an alternative presentation slot in consultation with your year group and staff team.