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Reception | Lift | HTML version
Note: most of the hyperlinks on these pages (indicated thus) take you to related parts of the FAQ pages. Hyperlinks back to the NPCi site are clearly indicated.
What is NPC?
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What is NPCi? How do I find my way around the site? What will I find in different parts of the NPCi building? What resources are available on the site? How are NPCi materials produced? How can I find the information I need? Discovering what I really need to know Finding answers to a specific questions I know I have Finding out more about a topic Finding a specific resource for a topic How long will each resource take me to complete? How can I interact with other NPCi users? How can I find out what is new or changed on NPCi? How can I link this to my Continuing Professional Development (CPD) record? How can I use the materials with others? In meetings with other health professionals To support colleagues’ CPD/learning With patients Copyright issues How can I give feedback about NPCi? Problems and trouble-shooting
The NPC is based at:
How do I find my way around the site? The central concept is that the site is laid out like a virtual building with many floors, each of which relates to a particular theme. Each floor has different types of resources relating to the theme, each in a different room. Finding your way around should be intuitive if you bear this in mind. When you enter the building, you first find yourself in Reception, where our receptionist will help you and where you can watch a short video tour of NPCi on the plasma screen (far left) or look at the notice board. As in a real building, you can visit different floors from Reception by using the lift (to the right hand side of Reception). You can also use the search function (next to the lift button) to look for specific information. You can also go to the site map (to the right, below the lift button)or discussion room (left, below the plasma screen) direct from Reception. If you wish you can use the site map to find your way around instead of the lift. To go to the site map click here (link to main site)
What will I find in different parts of the NPCi building? In Reception, our receptionist, will tell you about NPCi (click on her picture or the notice immediately to her left). You can also watch a short video tour of NPCi on the plasma screen (far left). From Reception you can go into the discussion rooms (left), look at the notice board for news and events, enter the lift (right) to visit different floors or use the search button (right). To go to Reception, click here (link to main site) The lift is the main method of moving around the building. On the left hand side the floors are grouped into a directory of major categories, such as “respiratory tract”. If you click on a category, the directory expands into a pane on the right hand side, which lists all the floors of information (themes) in that category. Clicking on a floor name will open the lift at that floor. You can also jump to any of the major areas (Reception, discussion room, search function or notice board) of the site by clicking on the large lift buttons on the far left of the lift. To go to the lift, click here (link to main site) When you leave the lift at a particular floor, you see a floor plan which shows the rooms on that floor. Each room has a different kind of resource. Holding the mouse pointer over the room will display a description of the type of information or resource within it. Enter a room by clicking on it. This will show the information or resources in that room. When you have finished in that room you can go into other rooms on that floor by clicking on the list on the left hand side, or visit another floor by pressing the lift button, or go back to Reception. You can also use the search function or give feedback.
The search function supports quick, simple searches as well as ANY/ALL/EXACT selections, +, -, and advanced Boolean expressions. Full instructions are given on the search page. The search function will retrieve the best documents that match the query by weighing all of the results. If all of the search words are found in a document, that document will be weighted appropriately higher than a document which contains only a couple of those words. To go to the search page click here (link to main site) The discussion room enables you to interact with other users of NPCi, ask questions and share information. There is a separate FAQ document devoted to the discussion room: click here to read it (link to main site). The notice board, in Reception, tells you about news and up-coming events. You can also read the blog here and download the latest podcast to play on your computer or MP3 player.
What resources are available on the site? The materials are arranged in themes (for example, asthma) which are grouped into categories (for example, respiratory tract). Each floor has different types of resources relating to the theme, each in a different room. Enter a room by clicking on it. We describe the materials to be found in each room below, starting from the top left and moving clockwise round the floor plan. See below for ideas on how you might use these materials to answer specific questions, for your own professional development, with colleagues and with patients. In the Data-focussed Commentary room, you can read a commentary which compares recent prescribing data with the evidence base for that theme. There are questions for reflection. In the Patient Decision Aid room you can download a decision aid to help explain therapeutic choices to patients so that they can come to an informed decision. In the Workshops room you can watch and listen to an NPC trainer present a series of short workshops on the theme – all in less than 60 minutes. The recorded workshops are split into short sections, and can be navigated using the slide index on the left hand side of the workshop screen. You can also download key slides for the theme, with extensive notes, to use in discussion with others. The Library contains links to NPC publications related to the theme. The Knowledge Laboratory contains one or more quizes where you can test your knowledge of the theme. The quizzes are formative – getting answers wrong is a valuable way of learning as fully referenced answers are provided. This room also has one or more case studies - fictional but representative “real world” scenarios where you can apply your understanding and compare your answers with fully referenced suggested model answers. Finally, this room has examples of improvement case studies, a selection of examples of improvement from NHS organisations which have focussed on the issues arising from this theme, and how they tackled them.
How are NPCi materials produced? NPCi materials are produced by NPC staff and others working for NPC on a commissioned basis. All the content is written by experienced health professionals and is subject to a rigorous quality assurance process. The NPC has a track records of producing high quality written materials such as the MeReC publications (link to external site) and materials for its highly rated face-to-face training programme (link to external site)
How can I find the information I need? Discovering what I really need to know You may have a specific problem to solve. This might arise from your care for a particular patient or because another health professional has asked you for advice about a patient’s care. Alternatively it might arise in the development of local guidance or policy. It is important to frame the question in your mind as precisely as possible. So for example, instead of “what is the best way to prevent stroke in atrial fibrillation?” you are more likely to find a helpful answer if you ask, “is warfarin or aspirin preferred in patients with atrial fibrillation at high risk of stroke?”. This might highlight to you other pertinent questions, such as “how can I assess the risk of stroke in someone with atrial fibrillation?” An approach to finding answers to specific questions is suggested here You may become aware that you need to revise this topic a little and gain more background understanding of it and/or more clinical information relating to the patient. An approach to finding more about a topic is suggested here. You may wish to find out more about a topic for your own professional development. To give a focus to this and make it relevant to your practice, you may find it helpful to use the concept of PUNs and DENs. By keeping a log of your patients’ unmet needs (PUNs), you can more easily identify your own educational needs. This was originally developed with doctors’ educational needs in mind, hence “DENs”, but we can equally apply this to, for example, pharmacists (“PhENs”), nurses (“NENs”) or other professions. Equally, if you do not care for patients directly, you can still keep a log of problems you have not been able to solve, and this takes the place of the log of PUNs. Alternatively you may wish to check that your knowledge and understanding is in line with the current evidence base, completing a quiz or a case study might be helpful. An approach to finding more about a topic is suggested here. An approach to finding a specific resource is suggested here.
Finding answers to specific questions I know I have If you have a specific question in mind, you may wish to try the following approach: An approach to finding a specific resource is suggested here.
Finding out more about a topic If you wish to revise a topic and /or gain more background understanding, the case study, quiz and recorded workshop are all likely to be helpful. You may wish to use all, some or only one of these. Which you use depends as much on your preferred learning style as anything else. However, if you have only limited knowledge of the topic, you may find it best to start with the recorded workshop. Alternatively you may wish to check that your knowledge and understanding is in line with the current evidence base, in which case completing a quiz or a case study might be helpful. An approach to finding a specific resource is suggested here.
Finding a specific resource for a topic The resources you can find on NPCi are listed here. The intuitive approach is to take the lift to the floor relating to the theme, and then enter the appropriate room, guided by the floor plan. To go to the lift, click here (link to main site). Alternatively, you can use the search function or the site map to find your way around, instead of the lift. Both of these are accessed from the reception. To go to the site map click here (link to main site)
How long will each resource take me to complete? This will of course vary from person to person, but we expect that a case study or quiz will take about 20 minutes to complete. Some cases and quizzes are longer or shorter than average, depending on the topic. The recorded workshops last about 60 minutes in total (although some are shorter and one or two are longer). However, all workshops are broken down into shorter subsections, no longer than about 20-25 minutes and usually much shorter.
How can I interact with other NPCi users? The discussion room enables you to interact with other users of NPCi, ask questions and share information. There is a separate FAQ document devoted to the discussion room: click here to read it (link to main site). How can find out what is new or changed on NPCi? The notice board, in Reception, tells you about news and up-coming events. You can also read the blog here and download the latest podcast to play on your computer or MP3 player.
How can I link this to my Continuing Professional Development (CPD) record? The suggestions in the sections of this FAQ “Discovering what I really need to know” and “How can I use the materials with others” will be helpful for the reflective practice elements of CPD. Many of the documents are printable if you wish or need to provide evidence of your learning. In the future we hope to enable users to link directly to their electronic CPD record (where appropriate to their profession).
How can I use the materials with others? NPCi Materials are designed to be used to support meetings with other health professionals, to help support colleague’s learning and professional development and with patients (see copyright issues). In meetings with other health professionals A unique feature of NPCi is the availability of key slides which you can download and either project electronically or print off and use in paper form, rather like a pharmaceutical company representative’s detail aid. Before using key slides, it is important to read the accompanying notes pages carefully and have a good understanding of the content and educational messages. The key slides are derived from the slides used in NPC workshops, so listening to the recorded workshop may well be helpful. Note: you must not change the content of the slides. You must acknowledge the source. See the FAQ dealing with copyright issues Although primarily intended for use with patients, the relevant patient decision aid may also be useful. Depending on the context and nature of the meeting, it may not be appropriate actually to produce any of the materials in the meeting. Nevertheless, working through the materials for the relevant theme will give you a good grounding. The case study, quiz and recorded workshop are all likely to be helpful, see above. It is very important to have a clear plan of how you will use the materials. Think about the overall aim and the key points you wish to communicate. You will need to consider the background knowledge of the people to whom you are speaking. Do not think you have to use all the key slides. For example, suppose you are a GP and you have identified a need to encourage a more evidence-based use of antithrombotic drugs in patients in your practice who have atrial fibrillation (AF). You may have identified this need by a search of your practice computer records (searching for warfarin use in patients with a diagnosis of AF). You have a chance to raise this at the practice meeting. You will need to have a clear idea of what you would like your colleagues to agree to do – this might include modifying procedures, using the patient decision aid to help counsel patients, etc. The specific learning points will probably include the need to assess the stroke risk of patients with AF, the NICE guidance on the agent to use depending on risk, and the benefits and harms of warfarin and aspirin. In addition to you own audit data, you will need to use only slides 3 and 4 of the relevant set of key slides, which set out this part of the NICE guidance (risk assessment and choice of drug). You might also want to use the patient decision aid to illustrate the relative benefits and harms of warfarin and aspirin. After reading the case study and/or quiz and thinking about your colleagues’ past comments on the subject, you might anticipate (for example) that someone might ask about using aspirin plus clopidogrel as thromboprophylaxis. You will need to be ready to answer that question. You will also need to anticipate other concerns and be ready with a response, and/or be prepared to accommodate them.
To support colleagues’ CPD/learning NPCi resources can be used to support continuous professional development in a group setting, either by a teacher (undergraduate or postgraduate, or professional training such as pharmacist pre-registration tutor or GP registrar tutor) or as a peer learning set. See the FAQ dealing with copyright issues. To use in the latter context, here are some suggestions. You may wish to use some or all of these (an approach to finding a specific resource is suggested here).
The patient decision aids are another unique feature of NPCi. A guide to using patient decision aids is available here.
NPC materials may be downloaded / copied freely by people employed by the NHS in England for purposes that support NHS activities in England. Any person not employed by the NHS, or who is working for the NHS outside England, who wishes to download / copy NPC materials for purposes other than their personal use should seek permission first from the NPC. Email: copyright@npc.nhs.uk . If you use material derived from NPCi, please acknowledge the source. The moral rights of NPC are asserted.
How do I give feedback on NPCi? Users’ feedback is an extremely important part of NPCi. We welcome comments, both positive and negative, on specific points or more generally. We have a rigorous quality assurance process, but no process is infallible. Please complete the feedback form (link to main site).
I can’t see all the functions/ there are problems with images Images load very slowly This may be due to a slow connection to the internet or a slow processor in the computer. If you have only dial-up connection you may experience problems. If you have a broadband or local network connection, it may be that there are temporary problems. Contact your IT department I can’t hear any sound Check that you have a sound card on your computer (some IT departments have elected not to install these) and the sound is turned on and any externally connected speakers are plugged in and turned on. To turn on the sound on your computer running MS Windows: Alternatively, click on the “start” button (bottom left of screen) go to “control panel”, select “speakers and audio devices” and adjust the sound from there. The text size/image is too small/too large Adjust the zoom and/or text size on your internet browser I can’t start the quiz/ move from one question/part to another in the quiz/case study Click on the >>> button (quiz) or arrow (case study) towards the bottom right of the screen I can’t see the all of the answer text/ arrows in the quiz/case study Use the main scroll bar (extreme right hand side of the screen) to position the quiz or case sub-screen fully in view. Use the scroll bar in this sub-screen to scroll down for more text. How do I get from one room to another on a particular floor? When you have finished in a room you can go into other rooms on that floor by clicking on the list on the left hand side How do I get from one floor to another or go to reception? You can visit another floor by pressing the lift button, or go back to Reception. You can also use the search function or give feedback.
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The National Prescribing Centre is a National Health Service (NHS) organisation, formed in April 1996 by the UK Government Department of Health. Its aim is to ‘promote and support high quality, cost-effective prescribing and medicines management across the NHS, to help improve patient care and service delivery’. More information can be found on our 
NPCi is a new and radically different NHS learning resource from 
or later installed on your computer. You may need your organisation IT department’s permission to do download this.