Supporting level 4/named and level 5/designated doctors

About

Our faculty, led by Dr Vicki Walker, Consultant Paediatrician and the designated doctor for children in care in Nottinghamshire and Dr Lynn Snow, Consultant Paediatrician and the designated doctor for children in care in Leicester, will deliver sessions with a focus on practical problem solving through facilitated discussion and sharing of experiences, as well as introducing current topics relevant to safeguarding, child protection, and children in care.

Whilst some sessions will be held jointly (reflecting the commonalities between the roles for children in care and safeguarding children), there will also be opportunities to meet with peers to discuss the unique challenges the areas of work bring.

Day 1 (which will be held in London) will be focusing on key responsibilities of the roles with an emphasis on face-to-face networking with peers. Day 2 (which will be online) will be focusing on key and emerging areas of practice.

As part of the course, delegates will be given access to a series of eLearning modules (which takes around 4 hours and 15 minutes to complete), specifically tailored to the responsibilities of named and designated doctors for either children in care or safeguarding children. This is to complement the course sessions – it is not mandatory to complete these beforehand but it is advisable particularly if you are attending Day 1.

There are two options for attending:

• Day 1 (face-to-face) and Day 2 (online) – you must be able to attend both days
• Day 2 (online) only (note there is no option to attend Day 1 only)

Course aim

To equip named and designated doctors (with a focus on paediatricians) either working with children in care or safeguarding children with a comprehensive understanding of their role, and develop the skills needed to fulfil their wide-ranging responsibilities as champions for children and young people’s health and wellbeing in both their organisations and the multi-agency arena.

I feel more empowered to represent health and contribute in a more meaningful way in multi professional strategic level meetings as I feel more assured in my knowledge. Thank you.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

[Day 1 only]

• Outline the different responsibilities of your role as a named or designated doctor
• Support colleagues in managing complex clinical cases via professional development processes including supervision and peer review

[Day 1 and Day 2]

• Describe how understanding of key and emerging issues, lessons learned from case reviews and the latest research evidence can be integrated to improve local service provision
• Establish and maintain productive relationships with your multi-agency colleagues
• Identify ways of evaluating local practice based on the sharing of experience with peer professionals

I am a fairly new designated doctor; doing this course has given me confidence and resources to be able to understand my role and fulfil my responsibility.

Target audience

Named and designated doctors for children in care or safeguarding children.

This course will be focusing on paediatricians undertaking these roles however named and designated doctors from other specialties are also welcome.

Technical requirements for Day 2

• Windows or Mac computer (laptop/desktop or tablet)
• An internet connection – broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE). Minimum bandwidth is 600kbps (up/down) and recommended is 1.5 Mbps (up/down)
• Microphone and speaker - either using:
  • the built-in microphone/speaker
  • a headset connected to your laptop/desktop or tablet
• Webcam - either using:
  • the built-in webcam
  • separate webcam connected to your laptop/desktop or tablet

Although I read the specifications of the role of named doctor, the course gave me better understanding and insight into the role. I developed a renewed confidence after the course - don't be afraid to challenge and speak up.