Best Practice tips

In the interest of economy of time/efficiency, CSQTC has some "Best Practice" procedures in relation to the Monitoring Data & Teaching Log (MDTL) forms and Invoicing, for the benefit of both Training Practices and CSQTC.

Monitoring Data & Teaching Log (MDTL) Best Practice items

MDTL Best Practice Item # 1:
Top-half of MDTL, “Week Commencing” column –
a)    Enter only the date for the Monday that commences the week;
b)    Enter ALL weeks that commence in the month in question, even if the final week concludes in the next month.

Based on the above Best Practice approach, for the month of January (2008 Training Year), there should have been three weeks:
14/1/08, 21/1/08, 28/1/08

For the month of February 2008, there should have been four weeks:
4/2/08, 11/2/08, 18/2/08, 25/2/08

For the month of March 2008, there should have been five weeks:
3/3/08, 10/3/08, 17/3/08, 24/3/08, 31/3/08

MDTL Best Practice Item # 2:
Top section of MDTL –

• Clearly enter ALL of the information indicated in the correct order:
  • Registrar Name – Please ensure the Registrar name is entered
  • Term Type – check the relevant checkbox (Basic or Advanced)
  • Term Status – check the relevant checkbox (Full-time or Part-time)
  • Practice Name/Address – Practice Name only (address not required, here)
  • GP Supervisor Name – Name of Principal Trainer
  • Month/Year – Just the name of the current month (even if the last few days of the final week flow into the next month) and the year.
  • Please note that, for the month of March, there are 5 weeks (weeks commence on Monday) that commence in that month.  While the fifth week has only one day in March, in order to maintain Best Practice guidelines, March 31 and April 1-6 will be included in the March MDTL/Invoice.  The Month/Year will be:  March 2008.
    

MDTL Best Practice Item # 3:
Teaching Log – Lower-half of MDTL –

• While, in the past, the entry of data in this section may have been optional, this is no longer feasible because of CSQTC’s imminent implementation of Annual Practice Reports (see final paragraph in this article).
• Required Columns:
  • Date – please enter in correct date order for easy identification of weekly teaching.
  • Time of day – this column is optional.
  • Duration – Numerals only, with decimal equivalents, eg  3, 2.25, 1.5, 0.75, 1.17, 2.33, 3.67 as whole hour and fractions thereof, where 0.17 = 10 mins, 0.33 = 20 mins and 0.67 = 40 mins.  If there are a series of 5-minute discussions, combine them for a single entry.
    • Also, if you have a regular session of a particular duration in each week, note this as the initial entry in the Teaching Log so that your tally is explicable.
    • [Transfer the weekly totals to “Practice-based Teaching” – Column 6 of Top-half of MDTL.]
  • Content & Method – Topic(s)/Method in succinct format.  This column should not be left blank.
    
  • Location – Surgery, Local Hospital, Nursing Home, etc. This column is optional.
    

MDTL Best Practice Item # 4:
Joint Teaching (where, in special circumstances, Practices with multiple Trainers have more than one allocated Registrar) –

• In the “Joint Teaching” column of the Teaching Log (lower-half of MDTL), show the hour/mins (numerals only) of any teaching sessions that were conducted jointly with the two Registrars.
• In the “Practice-based Teaching” column (column 6 of the top-half of MDTL), enter the tally of the weekly hours in the “Duration” column (column 3 of the lower-half of MDTL).  Do not add or subtract the hours entered in the “Joint Teaching” column.  [Refer to Invoice Best Practice Item # 4 for guidelines on utilising the joint-teaching information.]

Invoice Best Practice items

Invoice Best Practice Item # 1:
Identifying your Invoice –

• To pass an ATO audit, all Tax Invoices MUST be numbered consecutively within your business regime.  Please ensure that you allot the correct Tax Invoice number to the Invoice that you submit to CSQTC with your monthly MDTL.
• Date your Invoice, using the date on which it was prepared – at or after the completion of the relevant month’s training.
• If you are utilising the CSQTC proforma invoice (which is an Excel template), ensure that you enter the name of your Practice (and address, if desired) in the cell provided.

Invoice Best Practice Item # 2:
Claiming the CORRECT rate for your Practice Subsidy –

• Refer to your copy of the GP Term Placement Schedule that was signed by both Principal Trainer and Registrar at the commencement of the placement.  [If your schedule has not yet been signed by both interested parties, please attend to this ASAP.]
• On page 2 (back of the single-page document) of your GP Term Placement Schedule, the following information is provided:
  • Teaching Allowance – both hourly rate and total to be claimed for the placement.
  • Practice Subsidy – both weekly rate and total to be claimed for the placement.
  • While the hourly rate for teaching is standard ($100/hour), the weekly rate for the subsidy varies, depending on term type (Basic or Advanced) and status (Full-time of Part-time) of the Registrar.  For part-time Registrars, the weekly rate varies; so it is essential to claim the amount stipulated on the GP Term Placement Schedule.

Invoice Best Practice Item # 3:
Claiming the CORRECT hours for Teaching Allowance –

• Do not claim for more teaching hours than you have identified in your Teaching Log (lower-half of MDTL).
• If you have delivered teaching hours in excess of requirements, you have two options:
  • Claim the total hours indicated in the Teaching Log;  OR
  • Claim the standard weekly hours required for your Registrar – (Basic, 3 hours/week; Advanced, 1.5 hours/week).
• Choice of the above options should be based on the psychological/ethical mind-set of the Trainer(s).  Would you prefer to be paid up-front or would you prefer to be paid at a regular rate?
• Teaching Allowance expires when maximum hours for term (as indicated on GP Term Placement Schedule) have been claimed.
• Regardless of the time frame during which you claim for teaching hours, actual teaching must continue during 24 of the 26 weeks of the Registrar’s placement.

Invoice Best Practice Item # 4:
Joint Teaching (where, in special circumstances, Practices with multiple Trainers have more than one allocated Registrar) –

• The Practice Monitoring Spreadsheet (PMS) that has been prepared by the CSQTC Finance Dept will assist your calculation of dollars to be claimed for joint teaching.
• For any week, the simple arithmetic for claiming of Joint Teaching is as follows:
  • Duration tally MINUS Joint Teaching tally – to identify individual hours;
  • Halve the Joint Teaching tally and add to the individual hours – to identify dollars to be claimed for the week.
  • EXAMPLE:  Duration tally = 5 hours;  Joint Teaching = 2 hours.
  • 5 – 2 = 3 individual hours of teaching to be claimed at $100/hour.
  • ½ of 2 = 1 additional hour to be added to individual claim.  [The other half will be claimed on the invoice for the second Registrar.]
  • TOTAL of claim for week: 3 + 1 = 4 hours
  • Use this process for each week in the month to arrive at the total teaching hours for the month.