An online learning and assessment tool is
being developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners
(RCGP) to provide support for GP trainees and trainers using the
first-ever UK wide GP curriculum.
The College is contracting with NHS Education
for Scotland to develop the innovative ‘e-portfolio’, which will
underpin learning for the new curriculum and act as a platform for
GP trainers and trainees to manage the various elements of the
curriculum’s assessment including the workplace-based assessment
(WPBA) module.
In addition to managing and documenting the
training of GP Speciality Registrars and their progress, the
e-portfolio will also be an invaluable resource for the continuing
professional development (CPD) of established GPs.
A prototype will be user-tested in March 2007
with a full pilot in the spring in order to be ready for the launch
of the curriculum in August 2007.
Professor Mayur Lakhani, Chairman of the RCGP,
says: “The new e-portfolio will play a vital role in GP education
and training as it is intended to support lifelong professional
learning and assessment.
“We hope it will prove to be an invaluable
resource for GP trainers and trainees alike.”
An historic milestone in GP education, the
curriculum has been given unconditional approval by the
Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) and will
benefit patients, trainees, GP educators and the NHS as it means
that every GP Speciality Registrar will receive the same quality
standard of training regardless of where in the UK they are
based.
The curriculum will transform the three-year
period of postgraduate medical education known as Specialist
Training for General Practice, which runs from the end of the
Foundation Programme to the award of a Certificate of Completion of
Training (CCT).
ends
Media enquiries should be directed to
Lorna Fletcher, RCGP Press Office, on 020 7344 3136 or press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- As well as dealing with the core competencies shared by GPs and
other physicians, the curriculum highlights six essential areas of
competency that are particular to general practice:
- Primary
care management
-
Person-centered care
- Problem
solving skills specific to general practice
- A
comprehensive approach
- Community
orientation
- A holistic
approach
- Assessment is divided into three categories – Workplace Based
Assessment (WPBA), Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and Clinical Skills
Assessment (CSA).
- Completion of the curriculum is an essential requirement for
entry onto the GMC Generalist Register and for Membership of the
Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP).
- The Royal College of General Practitioners is the largest
membership organisation in the United Kingdom solely for GPs. It
aims to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general
medical practice and to act as the “voice” of GPs on issues
concerned with education; training; research; and clinical
standards. Founded in 1952, the RCGP has over 25,000 members who
are committed to improving patient care, developing their own
skills and promoting general practice as a discipline.