Free online training for those returning to clinical roles during COVID-19 pandemic

An online training program designed to help those returning to clinical roles or being redeployed into less familiar roles during the COVID-19 crisis has been rolled out for free across the NHS.

The SCRIPT e-learning program is developed by experts at the University of Birmingham to improve therapeutics knowledge for newly qualified doctors and other healthcare professionals.

The web-based program is currently accessed by over 20,000 NHS trainees and students per year across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and used by a third of UK medical schools to deliver undergraduate curricula for trainee doctors and nurses.

The platform offers individual portfolios for Foundation trainee doctors and dentists, pediatric specialist trainee, GPs, nurses, and non-medical prescribers. The programs comprise a number of modules tailored to each discipline, offering information in a concise, easily understandable format that can be accessed from anywhere. Each module takes between 30 to 60 minutes to complete.

The roll-out includes a new module to provide an overview of COVID-19 and its management outside of the critical care environment as well as a portfolio of modules made available to the Ambulance Services.

Dr. Sarah Pontefract, program Director for SCRIPT and Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics at the University of Birmingham said: "In the unprecedented situation we are experiencing currently, it is vital that healthcare professionals at all stages of their career, including those returning to the front-line, feel adequately prepared in whatever role they are taking on in fighting this disease.

"Working with Health Education England, we hope that by enabling NHS workers to access the online teaching for free, we can equip them with the knowledge they need for the coming weeks and months to prescribe and manage medicines safety for patients."

SCRIPT can be accessed for free by anyone in the UK with an NHS.uk or NHS.net email address. For more information or to sign up, visit the Script website.