E-portfolio and downloadable resources

Should we build evidence of learning in the new E-portfolio and in other existing e-portfolios?    

The new foundation training year E-portfolio has been designed to support trainee pharmacists in all sectors of pharmacy.  

If you are currently using an e-portfolio provided by your employer or an external provider, please discuss the options with them. You can also get in touch with your regional HEE team who will be able to advise:  

- GPhC Foundation training year 2021/22 – Guidance for foundation training supervisors 

- Foundation training year 2021/22 – Designated supervisor development resource 

HEE do not currently mandate training for designated supervisors, but we strongly encourage all training sites / employers to ensure that all designated supervisors have reviewed and are familiar with the assessment strategy resources on our website, and that they have completed appropriate training relating to education supervision skills. Where a training post is funded by HEE, there is a requirement that the training site meets the HEE Quality Framework criteria, as set out in the Education Contract. This includes criteria relating to appropriate education and practice supervision for each trainee.  

Resources available for education supervision training include:  

- E-learning for Healthcare (elfh) resources   

- CPPE gateway page: ‘Helping others learn’   

- Regionally commissioned courses where available. Please contact your regional HEE pharmacy office for more information:  

--North West: medicinesoptimisation.north@hee.nhs.uk  

--North East and Yorkshire: medicinesoptimisation.north@hee.nhs.uk  

--Midlands: pharmacy.me@hee.nhs.uk  

--East of England: pharmacy.eoe@hee.nhs.uk  

--London: lasepharmacy@hee.nhs.uk 

--South East (Kent, Surrey and Sussex): lasepharmacy@hee.nhs.uk 

--South East (Thames Valley and Wessex): pharmacy.south@hee.nhs.uk   

--South West: pharmacy.south@hee.nhs.uk  

How can trainees completing their foundation training within industry best manage their portfolio/training record? 

The E-portfolio enables trainee pharmacists and their designated supervisor(s) to document their progress against the GPhC Interim Learning Outcomes, which can be done irrespective of sector of practice. We would encourage all trainee pharmacists to use the E-portfolio. 

We are interested to hear from those in industry and understand if the E-portfolio has been built in a way that enables them to document their evidence from their experience, if there are issues arising email traineepharmacist@hee.nhs.uk 

How do I get access to the E-portfolio?  

Access to the E-portfolio is dependent on the registration and processing of your My GPhC application which is open from 13th June 2022. To ensure prompt access to the E-portfolio, please register with the GPhC as soon as possible. We anticipate, for those registering between 13th June and mid-July 2022, access to the E-portfolio will be mid to late August 2022.   

Trainee pharmacists are encouraged to utilise the evidence forms and templates to start collating evidence, which can be uploaded within the E-portfolio after access has been granted. 

If you are a trainee pharmacist recruited via Oriel: Registration opens on 4th July. Ensure you have applied to the GPhC for your foundation training year prior to completing the registration survey. A link to the registration survey will be sent to you directly from Trainee Pharmacists - Foundation Training Year <no-reply@jisc.ac.uk> with the subject header 'Foundation Training Year Programme from Health Education England'. Registration will close on 9th December 2022. If you miss the registration deadline, you should discuss how you collect evidence records with your designated supervisor and/or training provider.  

Please note: Failure to provide the correct information and that of your designated supervisor, or if information needs to be verified by the GPhC, can result in delays with access.   

- GPhC Applying for the foundation training scheme.  

- GPhC Change of foundation training details form.  

Registration for trainees recruited outside of Oriel is now open, if you were recruited outside of Oriel, are eligible to start your Foundation Training Year and have applied to the GPhC, please complete the GPhC Trainee Pharmacist HEE e-portfolio Data Collection 2022 registration survey.

If you are a designated supervisor: Please complete Designated supervisor registration survey to gain access. This must be the designated supervisor who is named on the trainee’s GPhC application to training, if this does not match the GPhC data, there can be significant delays in getting access to your trainee’s e-portfolio. 

If you are an education programme director or educational lead: Please complete the Education Programme Director/Educational Lead registration survey. 

What happens after I have completed the survey relevant to my role?   

It will take a few weeks to match and verify your data. Then, providing everything matches, you will receive an automated email from <noreply@messages.axiadigital.co.uk> which will provide you with login details to access the e-portfolio.     

Please check your junk/spam mail folder, as automatic emails can get filtered out as spam.  

However, if you cannot locate this email, please try to login using your GPhC number and use the forgotten password link. 

You can access the E-portfolio here.  

Can I change my password when I first log into the E-portfolio? 

When you first login to your account, please make sure that you are copying your password directly from your access email. Do not add any spaces/additional characters, as this will result in your login failing. If your first attempt at logging in fails, we recommend manually copying out your password to avoid any errors. 

We also recommend that you go to the “My Details” page when you first access the e-portfolio and change your password to something more secure/memorable. 

Can I be locked out of the E-portfolio if I enter my password incorrectly too many times? 

If you forget your password at any point or if you have been locked out of your account by entering the wrong password on more than 3 occasions, you will need to reset it by selecting “Forgotten password?”.  You will be directed to a screen that enables you to reset your password. 

For site security, a set limit has been agreed on the number of failed attempts that users can make when trying to login to their accounts. To avoid experiencing this issue, we recommend that users ensure that they are copying their password out accurately. 

If you are locked out of your account please contact the RPS at eportfolio@rpharms.com  or on 0207 572 2737 (9am-5pm, Mon-Fri). 

Emails from the E-portfolio are 'on hold' by Postmaster Exchange. How do I gain access to them? 

You may receive an email from Postmaster Exchange notifying you that they are holding emails addressed to you within the Mimecast service. This is a simple security step: all you need to do is open the email from Postmaster Exchange and click on 'Permit'. This will release the email to your inbox and will add the sender's address to your personal 'Permit' list, so future emails are not put on hold. 

Please note that this may differ depending on training site and IT infrastructure. If you are unsure, please contact your local IT department or service desk. 

My email address has changed since I started using the E-portfolio. Who do I need to contact to notify this change? 

A change in detail such as name or email address will need to be amended by the HEE admin team. Please contact trainee.pharmacist@hee.nhs.uk with the change in detail request. If you are a trainee you should also notify the GPhC about this change. 

I have a new or additional designated supervisor who needs access to my E-portfolio what should I do? 

You must inform the GPhC of the change to your designated supervisor(s) as soon as possible so that your records remain up to date. You can do this by completing the GPhC change of foundation training details form.  

You should submit this change form directly to the GPhC and email a copy to traineepharmacist@hee.nhs.uk for processing. We will add the new designated supervisor to the e-portfolio and send out log-in details. 

Change forms are processed in date order of receipt and can take between 2-4 weeks to action. 

I am a designated supervisor and have been given access to the E-portfolio, but I don’t seem to be linked to my trainee?  

There are two reasons why you may not be able to see your trainee: 

1. Your trainee’s account has not been set up yet. 

We are prioritising access to the e-portfolio via completion of trainee and designated supervisor surveys in date order. Please note that once the survey information has been sent back to HEE, it will take 2-4 weeks to process the information and set up access to the E-portfolio. 

2. Your trainee has not created any evidence within their account yet. 

The portfolio accounts can only link once the trainee has undertaken some activity within their portfolio, and therefore linked trainees may not appear in your dashboard until they login to their account and record and save an activity. Please ask your trainee to sign into their account and create and save some evidence, you should then be able to see their portfolio using the “My Trainees (DS)” summary page. 

If you have checked the points above and are still unable to see your trainee within the “My Trainees (DS)” summary page, please contact eportfolio@rpharms.com to investigate this issue further. 

Can a pharmacist training to become a designated supervisor have access to a trainee's E-portfolio? 

Only designated supervisors who are named on the trainee pharmacist GPhC application (or change form) will be given access to the e-portfolio. Access to a trainee pharmacist E-portfolio is linked to the designated supervisor information held by the GPhC. 

I am an educational programme director/educational lead: What access rights do I have within the trainee E-portfolio? 

As an educational programme director/educational lead, you will be able to view your trainees’ overall progress during the foundation training year. You will have access to a summary dashboard of all trainees within your organisation or cohort including: 

- Trainee name 
- Associated designated supervisor for each trainee 
- Associated cohort of each trainee 
- Cumulative count of all records mapped to the HEE assessment activities for each associated trainee 
- A progress bar to show an ‘at a glance’ view of the progress the relevant trainee is making against the learning outcomes 
- Number of days leave taken (which includes annual leave, sickness, and other leave) 
- A count of the number of meeting records they have created using the designated supervisor meeting tool (this does not include a count of any other meeting types - i.e., progress review meetings, or Other Meetings) 
- Columns indicating whether the trainee has completed their 13-weekly Foundation Training Progress Reports and the outcome.  

I am an educational programme director/educational lead and have been given access to view the E-portfolio, but I can’t see any of my trainees when I log in? 

You will not be able to view the e-portfolio unless your associated trainees and designated supervisors have access to and have started using their e-portfolio by creating evidence. If your trainee is visible but you can only see the designated supervisors' GPhC number and not their name, this means the designated supervisor has not yet got an account. You will need to liaise with your trainees and designated supervisors to ensure they have access and have started to use the E-portfolio. 

I am an educational programme director/educational lead and need to complete a trainee’s progress report as the designated supervisor is absent and will not be able to complete the review on time. Can I have access to the E-portfolio? 

As per GPhC requirements progress reports should be carried out by the trainee’s named designated supervisor.  If the education programme director or educational lead is to carry this out, then the GPhC and HEE need to be informed and the change in designated supervisor process needs to be followed (see new designated supervisor FAQ in Accessing the e-portfolio section above). 

I am a designated supervisor signing off evidence that has already been reviewed by a ticketed supervisor (collaborator). Do I need to review the assessment activity and learning outcome mapping? 

As a designated supervisor your role is to review evidence submitted by the trainee in full, including the assessment activity and learning outcome mapping. Ultimately, you will be responsible for signing off the evidence submitted and learning outcomes for the trainee, so it is important that you review all evidence submitted in full, including any mapping, regardless of whether or not a collaborator has reviewed the evidence as well, before signing it off. Speaking to the trainee and ticketed supervisor (the person who supervised the activity) will facilitate this. 

Why do the progress reports need to be logged within the E-portfolio? 

This will allow you, your designated supervisor, education programme director or educational lead to monitor that foundation training progress reports are conducted in a timely manner and whether they were satisfactory or not. Please note, if any progress report is unsatisfactory the GPhC should be notified separately. 

What does the trainee have to do if their 13 or 26-week progress review is marked as unsatisfactory? 

The trainee must notify the GPhC separately. 

A plan for you to get back on track with your training should be agreed with your designated supervisor. A new or updated learning needs analysis (LNA) and personal development plan (PDP) with SMART objectives to facilitate this (see e-portfolio user guides and resources above for further details of the LNA and PDP). 

I am a designated supervisor and waiting for access to my trainee's E-portfolio. How can I conduct the 13-week progress report and sign this off within the E-portfolio? 

The GPhC paperwork to conduct the 13-week progress report can be found here. The 13-week progress report should not be delayed. We suggest meeting with your trainee and looking through their e-portfolio with them to look at progress and discuss action plans. The trainee will be able to upload the progress report to the e-portfolio. When you receive access, you will be able to sign this off.  

Please note: If the 13-week progress report is unsatisfactory, the trainee must notify the GPhC separately.  

Please see GPhC website for more details. 

The trainee pharmacist's named designated supervisor is not able to carry out the GPhC progress report due to sickness/absence. Can the educational lead for the programme complete this? 

As per GPhC requirements – The progress reports should be carried out by the named designated supervisor. If the education programme director or educational lead is to carry this out, then the GPhC and HEE need to be informed and the change in designated supervisor process needs to be followed (see ‘I have a new or additional designated supervisor who needs access to my e-portfolio what should I do?” FAQ in “Accessing the E-portfolio” FAQ section above). 

I have evidence which does not have an option within the E-portfolio.  Where can I upload this? 

Anything that provides evidence for specific learning outcomes that are more difficult to demonstrate using other assessment activities can be uploaded under 'miscellaneous evidence'. You should discuss this with your designated supervisor before submitting it. 

How can a workplace supervisor review evidence in my E-portfolio before my designated supervisor signs it off? 

You can invite another pharmacy or other health professional (eg, workplace supervisor, clinical supervisor, practice supervisor or collaborator) who has supervised an assessment activity to review and comment on the evidence you record in your e-portfolio via the “ticketing” processes. All supervisors must be trained and appropriately experienced to act as supervisors as described in the GPhC Standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists. They must witness you completing the activity and agree to review and authenticate the evidence as a ‘ticketed supervisor’ in the e-portfolio. See the HEE Trainee Pharmacist Foundation Year - E-portfolio user guide for collaborators for further details. 

Designated supervisors are ultimately responsible for checking the evidence submitted, including the interim learning outcomes it has been mapped to prior to signing off the evidence. 
Ticketed supervisors cannot view or access your full e-portfolio, they can only access the evidence that you send them a ticket for. The ticketed supervisor will receive an email with a link direct to the evidence you have invited them to review.  

My workplace supervisor has not reviewed evidence sent to them via the ticketing system in the E-portfolio.  What do I do? 

Contact your workplace supervisor and highlight that there is evidence for them to review. The email may have gone into their junk/spam mailbox. It will be from axiadigital.co.uk. 

You can resend the ticket to them within the evidence page in your E-portfolio. 

You may also wish to discuss this with your designated supervisor, who could discuss reviewing evidence with your ticketed supervisor. 

Can a pharmacy technician or other health professional be workplace supervisors?  

Yes, pharmacy technicians and other health professionals, can supervise learning events (SLEs), such as MiniCEX, CBDs, DOPS or MRCF, provided this is agreed with your designated supervisor. All supervisors must be trained and appropriately experienced to act as supervisors as described in the GPhC Standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists. They must witness you completing the activity and agree to review and authenticate the evidence as a ‘ticketed supervisor’ in the e-portfolio. See the HEE Trainee Pharmacist Foundation Year - E-portfolio user guide for collaborators for further details.