Access keys used on this site are:

Wessex  RITA  - Best Practice

The Record of In-Training Assessment ( RITA)

1.   RITA is not an assessment in itself but a record of ongoing assessment.  The documentation of this assessment is therefore crucial to the decision making process.

2.  The assessment should take place during training and should be work based and ongoing.

3.  The assessment needs to cover all the generic and specialty skills and knowledge as well as the ‘softer areas’ of attitude, judgement, team working, interpersonal relationships and clinical wisdom.

4.  Assessment methods will comprise direct observation of the trainee, discussion with and supervision of the trainee, feedback from colleagues, patients, carers as well as self-assessment.

5.  The main person carrying out the assessment will be the educational supervisor.

During the Training Phase

1.  Educational objectives and a structure for educational supervision, appraisal and assessment should be agreed between the trainee and the educational supervisor as early as possible after starting a new post.

2.  There should be regular educational supervision sessions during which ongoing assessment should take place and the educational objectives should be reviewed.

3.  Appraisal should take place at least at 3 monthly intervals.

4.  Agreed assessment documentation should be completed jointly and in good time, and there should be no surprises to either trainee or educational supervisor at the annual RITA review.

Annual RITA Review

1.  Documentation should have been received and read by the RITA panel before the review meeting.

2.  No RITA review should take place without the assessment documentation being available.

3.  No RITA ‘D’ or ‘E’ will be countersigned by the Postgraduate Dean without adequate documentation of the assessment leading to the decision to award a RITA ‘D’ or ‘E’.

4.  At the RITA review the decision regarding the appropriate RITA form should be made at the beginning and should only take a short time since all the documentation will have been available and read beforehand. Theoretically, it should be possible to make this decision without the trainee being present. If the trainee is present the decision should be communicated to the trainee as soon as possible and the signing of the appropriate RITA form completes the actual RITA review.  The Chairman should make it clear to the trainee that the RITA review is completed at this point.

5.  Although not part of the official RITA review, the panel may then like to use this annual meeting to do the following:

  • Seek feedback from the trainee about the current post
  • Review the trainee’s progress to date throughout the rotation
  • Identify further training needs
  • Plan the next and future posts

 

This discussion is likely to be of more value if the decision regarding the appropriate RITA form has already been made and the trainee does not need to worry if he/she wants to provide some critical feedback of their current post.

After the RITA Review

1.  Written feedback should be provided to the trainee, their current educational supervisor and their next educational supervisor.

2.  It is crucial that details of all RITA D&E decisions are communicated to the next Educational Supervisor so that the educational objectives for the next post can be informed by the RITA outcome.

3.  The trainee will receive a paper copy of their completed and signed RITA form from the Institute, after the RITA review. This should be stored in the trainee’s Portfolio, year on year.

A note to our visitors
AcceptWe have updated our Privacy Policy in compliance with EU cookie legislation. Take a look at our Privacy Policy to learn how we use cookies to collect anonymous site usage information. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our Privacy policy.
You'll keep being notified until you click the “Accept” button