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Roles in Horus

  • Roles in Horus

  • What user roles are there in Horus?
    • User types

      There are two types of user roles in Horus:

      1. Foundation doctor (FD) (or NTG, who uses Horus to record their own competences)
      2. Any other doctor (for example, a doctor who is a trainer) or other user (for example, a nurse or a postgraduate centre manager)

      Access types

      Type 1 users have access to their own portfolio only.

      Type 2 users can have the following types of permission (depending on where they work):

      - Foundation School Director (FSD)
      - Foundation School Manager (FSM)
      - Foundation Programme Director (FPD)
      - Administrator
      - Trainer
      - ARCP Panel Member

      FSDs, FSMs, FPDs and admins have access to the portfolio of any FD/NTG who has placements at their location.

      Trainers and ARCP panel members have access to the portfolio of any FD/NTG to whom they have been assigned as a supervisor/ARCP panel member.

      Supervisor types

      Type 2 users can be assigned to FDs/NTGs as any of four types of supervisor:

      1. Academic supervisor
      2. Clinical supervisor
      3. Educational supervisor
      4. Other supervisor (explain in free-text)

      Guidance on managing these roles is available in the "User management" section.

  • What does it mean to be a "trainer" in Horus?
    • A "trainer" in Horus is a type of user permission that allows the user:

      • to be assigned to foundation doctors/NTGs as a supervisor
      • to be asked by foundation doctors/NTGs to sign supervised learning events (SLEs) and core procedures
        • This means that doctors more senior than F2, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals and other types of healthcare staff will be assigned the "trainer" permission in Horus 
      • to keep records of any forms they sign for foundation doctors/NTGs


      This permission-type should not be confused with the "GP Trainer" accreditation, which is official terminology used in the GP Educator pathway facilitated by NHSE local offices and NHS trusts.

  • UK Foundation Programme roles and responsibilities

  • What is a foundation doctor expected to do in the e-portfolio?
    • The Foundation Guide states that:

      • Foundation doctors are expected to take control of their own learning and become fully involved in the educational, supervised learning and assessment processes of their foundation training.

      Their responsibilities include:

      • becoming familiar with the requirements for satisfactory completion of F1 and the foundation programme
      • becoming fully involved in the educational, supervised learning and assessment processes, including attending core generic training sessions, meeting regularly with their educational and clinical supervisor and maintaining an up-to-date e-portfolio
  • What is an academic supervisor expected to do in the e-portfolio?
    • The Foundation Guide states that:

      • Foundation doctors in an academic foundation programme should also have an academic supervisor. The academic supervisor is responsible for overseeing a specified foundation doctor’s academic work and providing constructive feedback during an academic or related placement.

      On entry to the AFP, the named academic supervisor should devise a research plan with the trainee as the context against which to assess their academic progress. The educational supervisor and named academic supervisor should work together to ensure that clinical and academic objectives are complementary. Both supervisors and the trainee should be aware of the trainee’s overall clinical and academic requirements.

      The academic supervisor should submit a report to the Educational supervisor at the end of the academic placement, highlighting the AFP trainee’s achievements, strengths and areas for development. The Educational supervisor should use this report as evidence for their end of year report about the trainee, which will be used by the ARCP panel to recommend an outcome.

  • What is a clinical supervisor expected to do in the e-portfolio?
    • The Foundation Guide states that:

      • The named clinical supervisor is responsible for collating evidence of the performance of a trainee whilst in a training placement, providing feedback to the trainee and working with the trainee and the educational supervisor to agree action plans to ameliorate any concerns or issues identified.
      • The educational supervisor and/or named clinical supervisor and trainee should discuss and be clear about the use of an e-portfolio. Regular help and advice should be available to the trainee to ensure that the portfolio is developed to support professional learning.
      • Records should be made on the trainee’s e-portfolio of these regular meetings, and these must be shared between trainee and educational supervisor or named clinical supervisor.
  • What is an educational supervisor expected to do in the e-portfolio?
    • The Foundation Guide states that:

      • The educational supervisor is responsible for collating evidence of the performance of a trainee whilst in a training programme, providing feedback to the trainee and agreeing action plans to ameliorate any concerns or issues identified.
      • The educational supervisor and/or named clinical supervisor and trainee should discuss and be clear about the use of an e-portfolio. Regular help and advice should be available to the trainee to ensure that the portfolio is developed to support professional learning.
      • Records should be made on the trainee’s e-portfolio of these regular meetings, and these must be shared between trainee and educational supervisor or named clinical supervisor.