Professional and Generic Skills
The generic professional skills expected to be acquired during the
Intermediate stage of surgical training (in bold) and those already acquired
from earlier stages of training and which should be maintained (not in bold)
Medical Expert
- Demonstrate the attitudes and the skills necessary to retrieve and
implement the information necessary to provide healthcare services to
patients in meeting the needs and expectations of the community
- Elicit a history that is relevant, concise, accurate and appropriate to
the patient’s problem
- Demonstrate effective consultation skills in presenting well documented
assessments and recommendations in written and/or verbal form in response to
a request from another healthcare provider
- Demonstrate insight into his/her limitations by self assessment
Communicator
- Effective doctor/patient communication
- Establish a doctor/patient relationship characterised by understanding,
trust, respect, empathy and confidentiality
- Gather information about patient’s beliefs, concerns and expectations
about the illness and considers the influence of factors such as patient’s
age, gender, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic background and spiritual
values on that illness
- Deliver information to the patient and family in a humane manner and in a
way that is understandable, encourages discussion and promotes patient’s
participation in decision making to the degree that they wish
- Understand and demonstrate the importance of co-operation with other
healthcare professionals involved in the care, such that the roles of these
professionals are delineated and consistent messages are delivered to the
patient and their families.
- Demonstrate skills in working with others who present significant
communication challenges such as anger or confusion, or an ethno-cultural
background different from the patient’s own
Collaborator
- Develop a careplan for a patient they have assessed, including
investigation, treatment and continuing care, in collaboration with members
of an interdisciplinary team
Manager
- Be able to work effectively as a member of a team or a partnership and to
accomplish tasks whether one is a team leader or a team member
Health Advocate
Demonstrate an understanding of determinants of health and public policy in
relation to:
- Individual patients by identifying the patient’s status with respect to
one or more determinants of health (i.e. unemployment);
- adapting the assessment and management accordingly (i.e. the medical
history to the patients social circumstances); and
- assessing the patient’s ability to access various services in the health
and social system
Scholar
Research
- Pose a research question (clinical, basic or population health)
- Develop a proposal to solve the research question:
- Conduct an appropriate literature search on the research question
- Identify, consult and collaborate with appropriate content experts to
conduct the research
- Propose the methodological approach to solve the question
- Carry out the research outlined in the proposal
- Defend and disseminate the results of the research
- Identify areas for further research that flow from the results
Education
- Demonstrate an understanding of, and the ability to apply, the principles
of adult education, with respect to oneself and others
- Demonstrate an understanding of preferred learning methods in dealing with
students, trainees and colleagues
Clinical
- Pose a clinical question
- Recognise and identify gaps in knowledge and expertise around a clinical
question
- Formulate a plan to fill the gap:
- conduct an appropriate literature search based upon a clinical
question
- assimilate and appraise the literature
- develop a system to store and retrieve relevant literature
- consult others (physicians and other healthcare professionals) in a
collegiate manner
- Propose a solution to the clinical question
- Implement the solution in practice. Evaluate the outcome and reassess the
solution (re-enter the loop at c-i or c-ii)
- Identify practice areas for research
Professional
Discipline-Based Objectives
- Display attitudes commonly accepted as essential to professionalism
- Use appropriate strategies to maintain and advance professional competence
- Continually evaluate one’s abilities, knowledge and skills and know
one’s limitations of professional competence
Personal Professional Boundary Objectives
- Adopt specific strategies to heighten personal and professional awareness
and explore and resolve interpersonal difficulties in professional
relationships
- Consciously strive to balance personal and professional roles and
responsibilities and to demonstrate ways of attempting to resolve conflicts
and role strain
Objectives related to Ethics and Professional Bodies
- Know and understand the professional, legal and ethical codes of the
General Medical Council and any other codes to which the physician is bound
- Recognise, analyse and attempt to resolve in clinical practice ethical
issues such as truth telling, consent, advanced directives, confidentiality,
end-of-life care, conflict of interest, resource allocation, research ethics
etc
- Understand and be able to apply relevant legislation that relates to the
health care system in order to guide one’s clinical practice
- Recognise, analyse and know how to deal with unprofessional behaviours in
clinical practice, taking into account local and national regulations