Crammer's Corner
GP at The Fern Hill Practice, Faringdon, and RCGP Curriculum Development Fellow
E-mail: ben.riley{at}nhs.net
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Abstract |
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 TOP Abstract Topics without their own...Topics which appear more... |
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This issue of Crammer's Corner considers how to approach learning those topics encountered in general practice that do not appear to have a RCGP curriculum statement of their own and how to tackle those topics that appear more than once in the curriculum.
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Topics without their own curriculum statement |
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TOPAbstractTopics without their own...Topics which appear more... |
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The core RCGP curriculum statement, ‘Being a General Practitioner’, describes the core knowledge, skills and attitudes required to be a GP. One of the key competencies listed in the statement that every GP must master is ‘managing primary contact with patients and dealing with unselected problems’. As a GP in training, this means developing the ability to implement a management plan for every patient that you encounter in practice.
General practice is an extremely broad specialty and, although the Curriculum is a large document, it is not possible for every clinical topic to be covered by a statement of its own. This does not mean that these topics are unimportant or that they should not be learned; part of becoming a self-directed and needs-based learner involves the ability to identify what you need to learn, and this includes learning whatever knowledge and skills you need to competently perform the role of a GP.
Some topics encountered during GP training (and that appear in the nMRCGP assessments) are not explicitly mentioned in the 31 supporting statements. Some of these topics are identified in Figure 1.
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So how do you approach the learning of a topic that is not covered by its own curriculum statement? The best thing to do is to refer back to the core domains of competence described in the core statement Being a General Practitioner:
- Primary care management
- Person-centred care
- Specific problem-solving skills
- A comprehensive approach
- Community orientation
- A holistic approach
If you take time to consider how all of these domains apply to a particular topic, you can be reasonably confident that you have identified all the aspects of that topic that you need to learn to succeed as a GP.
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Topics which appear more than once |
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TOPAbstractTopics without their own...Topics which appear more... |
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A number of general practice topics and themes appear in more than one curriculum statement. This is usually because it is important to consider that topic in a specific context or learn about how it applies to a particular group of people. For example, the topic of epilepsy appears in statement 15.7: Neurological problems and also in statement 8: Care of children and young people as there are particular challenges in managing epilepsy in young people which must be considered, such as poor concordance with medication.
Figure 2 details some common GP topics and themes which appear in more than one curriculum statement (this is not an exhaustive list).
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