Referred to FTP panel – help/advice?
Hey guys, I’m a final-year medical student who has been referred to a full FTP panel. I was hoping for some advice on how best to approach the hearing and what I can do to give myself the best chance of a positive outcome.
My situation is quite serious because I’ve previously been referred to a full FTP panel for similar concerns. The main issue this time is my attendance on placement. Previously, there were also concerns around attendance and engagement because I had missed compulsory teaching sessions and some coursework deadlines.
At the time of my previous FTP, I had significant extenuating circumstances. I had a lot going on in my personal life and was being persistently harassed by someone, which escalated to several sexual assaults. It was an extremely difficult year and had a significant impact on my mental health. I was later diagnosed with depression and PTSD and engaged with therapy, which helped a lot.
Afterwards, things improved and I was doing well with medical school again.
Unfortunately, towards the end of my final placements this year, my attendance became sporadic again for a period of around six weeks. During the last two weeks in particular, there was a block of time where I wasn’t attending at all.
There were a number of things happening at the time. My grandfather was diagnosed with cancer and later passed away. My home environment became quite chaotic with family flying in and out, and my parents went away to be with him. I was therefore taking care of my younger siblings on my own, including cooking, cleaning and managing things at home. I was struggling to keep up with the demands of the course alongside everything else and was also starting to fall back into a depressive state.
Towards the end of the placement I re-established full attendance and also made up some of the days I had missed, although I know I didn’t make up all of them.
I completely accept that, regardless of what was happening personally, I should have informed the appropriate people that I wasn’t attending. At the time I felt extremely overwhelmed and distraught and found it difficult to communicate what was going on, but looking back I realise that I still had a responsibility to communicate properly and seek help rather than simply not attending.
I had a meeting with the medical school where I apologised and accepted the mistakes I had made, but they have now referred me to a full FTP panel.
There are also outstanding probity/professionalism concerns. After the attendance concerns were raised, I tried to make up some of the missed placement time by liaising directly with staff members at the hospital. The university told me not to do this, but I still went ahead because I was feeling helpless and felt I was receiving conflicting information about what I was supposed to do. I realise now that I should have followed the university’s instructions rather than trying to resolve things myself.
There is also an honesty/probity element because they feel I haven’t been honest about my attendance and that I wasn’t professional in how I communicated with staff after the concerns were raised. There are some days where I genuinely was present despite being marked absent, and I have provided several pieces of evidence for these, although the university has so far not accepted them.
My biggest worry is that I have previously been referred to FTP for similar issues. I’m concerned the panel will see the recurrence as evidence that I haven’t learnt from the previous process or that I’m likely to repeat the same mistakes again.
I’ve also started wondering whether I could have ADHD or another underlying issue affecting my organisation, prioritisation and ability to manage competing demands. I’m considering seeking a proper assessment/support for this, regardless of the FTP outcome, because I want to understand why I struggle with these things and put appropriate strategies in place. At the same time, I’m worried about whether raising this now could negatively affect how the panel views my fitness to practise.
For anyone who has been through an FTP panel, supported students through one, or has experience with medical education:
What is the panel actually looking for at this stage? What can I do to demonstrate genuine insight and that this won’t happen again?
I’m especially interested in what I should be doing before the hearing in terms of evidence, reflection, remediation, support, occupational health/GP input, etc.
It honestly feels at the moment like they’re trying to remove me from the course, so any advice on how best to approach the hearing would be really appreciated.
Thank you.