CERVICAL SAMPLE TAKER INITIAL TRAINING

TWO-DAY THEORETICAL COURSE - CONTENTS TABLE

Topic /Content / Teaching method/strategy includes: / Evaluation/ Feedback mechanism
Introduction to course
  • Overview of education pathway and training elements
  • theory
  • clinical practice
  • site visits
  • update
  • Supervision
  • Final assessment
  • Failure to complete training
  • Maintaining competence
  • Record keeping
  • Audit
  • PHE Blog sign up
  • RCN disclaimer – cannot confirm competence of any practitioner
  • Complaints procedure
  • Course evaluation
/ Presentation
Lecture
Handouts
Discussion / Evaluation form
Topic /Content / Teaching method/strategy includes: / Evaluation/ Feedback mechanism
NHS Cervical Screening Programme Overview
History of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme and its underpinning aims
  • Current statistics
  • Influences on uptake
  • Screening intervals
  • Unscheduled screening tests
  • Population screening programmes
Background to cervical screening
  • Epidemiology
  • Natural history of cervical cancer
  • HPV
  • Risk factors for cervical cancer
  • Rationale and principles of screening
  • Effectiveness and limitations of cervical screening
  • Future developments for cervical screening
Organisation of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme
  • Screening protocols
  • Sample taker responsibilities
  • Commissioning
  • Call and recall
  • General practice and its role in relationship to other areas of the NHS
  • National Co-ordination and Quality Assurance
Equality of access to cervical screening
  • Informed choice
  • Information for women
  • Checking for understanding
  • Women from minority ethnic groups
  • Female genital mutilation
  • Women with learning disabilities
  • Women with physical difficulties
  • Women who are not registered with a GP
  • Female to male transgender individuals
  • Automatic ceasing from cervical screening for reasons of age
  • Other circumstances for ceasing
  • Women who ask to withdraw from the screening programme
  • Reinstatement after a ceasing request
/ Reading list
Reading materials
Presentation
Lecture
Handouts
Pre-course requirement to review reading material provided in resource packs / Evaluation form
Portfolio – knowledge framework
Topic /Content / Teaching method/strategy includes: / Evaluation/ Feedback mechanism
Anatomy & Physiology of the Female Genital System
  • Normal anatomy and physiology of the female genital system
  • Transformation zone
/ Presentation
Lecture
Handouts
DVD
Pre-course requirement to revise the anatomy and physiology of the female genital system (reading list and associated material / web links provided prior to attendance) / Evaluation form
Portfolio – knowledge framework
Laboratory Aspects
  • Role of clinical laboratories and the relationship to other areas of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme
  • Normal & abnormal cellular structures
  • Understanding the test results
  • Cytology results
  • HPV testing
  • Sample quality and acceptance
/ Microscopy
Lecture
Presentation
Handouts / Evaluation form
Portfolio – knowledge framework
Topic /Content / Teaching method/strategy includes: / Evaluation/ Feedback mechanism
Principles of taking a cervical sample
  • Medico-legal considerations
  • Preparing the room
  • Equipment for taking cervical samples
  • Checking the woman’s identify
  • Providing information and answering questions
  • Taking a clinical history
  • Taking a screening history
  • Preparing the request form
  • Ending the appointment
  • Completing the request form
  • Sending the sample
  • Documenting the procedure
  • Auditing the test results
/ Presentation
Lecture
Discussion
How to take a cervical sample: BSCC DVD
Pre-course requirement to review reading material / web links provided in resource pack / Evaluation form
Practical sample taking (using teaching manikin)
  • Choosing the appropriate speculum
  • Appearance of the cervix
  • Sampling the transformation zone
  • Nabothian follicles
  • Polyps
  • Bleeding on taking a sample
  • STIs
  • Clinical suspicion of malignancy
  • Taking the sample with correct use of brush
  • Taking an additional endocervical sample
  • Presence of wide ectropion
  • Fixing the sample (Thinrep and SurePath)
  • Disposal of equipment and waste
  • Infection control
/ Demonstration and practice using a teaching manikin
Discussion / Evaluation form
Question & Answer session
Topic /Content / Teaching method/strategy includes: / Evaluation/ Feedback mechanism
Introduction to colposcopy and the management of women with abnormal results
  • Role and rationale of colposcopy in the diagnosis and management of cervical disease
  • Management guidelines for reporting abnormal samples
  • Ablative and excision treatment techniques
/ Presentation / Evaluation form
Portfolio – knowledge framework
Case studies & Scenarios / Presentation
Handouts
Discussion
Audience participation / Evaluation form

Cervical sample taker initial training

Version 1.0, June 2017Page 1 of 6