Mapping of the RCGP
Curriculum against the General Medical
Council’s Good Medical Practice
(2002)
Good Medical
Practice Corresponding paragraphs in
the Curriculum
Good clinical
care
Clinical
care
Domain 1: Primary care
management
1.1To manage primary contact
with patients, dealing with unselected problems
1.2To cover the full range
of health conditions
1.3To coordinate care with
other professionals in primary care and with other
specialists
1.4To master effective and
appropriate care provision and health service
utilisation
1.5To make available to the
patient the appropriate services within the
healthcare system
Domain 2: Person-centred
care
2.1To adopt a person-centred
approach in dealing with patients and their problems,
both in the context of patient’s
circumstances
2.2To use the general
practice consultation to bring about an effective
doctor–patient relationship, always
respecting the patient’s autonomy
2.3To communicate, to set
priorities and to act in partnership
Domain 3: Specific
problem-solving skills
3.1To relate specific
decision-making processes to the prevalence and
incidence of illness in the
community
3.2To selectively gather and
interpret information from history-taking, physical
examination and investigations, and apply it to an
appropriate management plan in collaboration with
the patient
3.3To adopt appropriate
working principles (e.g. incremental investigation,
using time as a tool), and to
tolerate uncertainty
3.4To intervene urgently
when necessary
3.5To manage conditions that
may present early and in an undifferentiated
way
Domain 4: A comprehensive
approach
4.1To simultaneously manage
multiple complaints and pathologies, both acute
and chronic health problems
4.2To promote health and
wellbeing by applying health promotion and disease
prevention strategies
appropriately
Domain 5: Community
orientation
5.1To reconcile the health
needs of individual patients and the health needs of
the community in which they live, balancing these
with available resources.
Domain 6: A holistic
approach
6.1To use bio-psycho-social
models, taking into account cultural and existential
dimensions
Good clinical
care
Keeping records,
writing reports and keeping
your colleagues
informed
Domain 1: Primary care
management
1.3To coordinate care with
other professionals in primary care, and with other
specialists
Domain 2: Person-centred
care
2.3To communicate, to set
priorities and to act in partnership
Good clinical
care
Access, availability
and providing care out of
hours
Domain 2: Person-centred
care
2.4To provide long-term
continuity of care as determined by the needs of the
patient, referring to continuing and coordinated
care management
Good clinical
care
Treatment in
emergencies
Domain 3: Specific
problem-solving skills
3.4To intervene urgently
when necessary
Good clinical
care
Making effective use
of resources
Domain 3: Specific
problem-solving skills
3.3To adopt appropriate
working principles (e.g. incremental investigation,
using time as a tool), and to tolerate
uncertainty
3.6To make effective and
efficient use of diagnostic and therapeutic
interventions
Domain 4: A comprehensive
approach
4.3To manage and coordinate
health promotion, prevention, cure, care,
rehabilitation and
palliation
Domain 5: Community
orientation
5.1To reconcile the health
needs of individual patients and the health needs of
the community in which they live, balancing these
with available resources
Maintaining good medical
practice
Keeping up to date,
and maintaining your
performance
Essential feature 3:
Scientific aspects
4 Being able to develop and
maintain continuing learning and quality
improvement
Relationships with
patients
Providing information
about your
services
Domain 2: Person-centred
care
2.3To communicate, to set
priorities and to act in partnership
Relationships with
patients
Maintaining
trust
Domain 2: Person-centred
care
2.1To adopt a person-centred
approach in dealing with patients and their problems,
both in the context of patient’s
circumstances
2.2To use the general
practice consultation to bring about an effective
doctor–patient relationship, always
respecting the patient’s autonomy
2.3To communicate, to set
priorities and to act in partnership
Essential feature 2:
Attitudinal aspects
1 Being aware of their own
capabilities and values
2 Identifying ethical
aspects of clinical practice (prevention, diagnostics,
therapy, factors that influence
lifestyles)
3 Justifying and clarifying
personal ethics
Relationships with
patients
Avoiding discrimination
and prejudice against
patients
Domain 6: A holistic
approach
6.1To use bio-psycho-social
models, taking into account cultural and existential
dimensions
Relationships with
patients
If things go
wrong
Essential feature 1:
Contextual aspects
1 Having an understanding of
the impact of the local community, including
socio- economic factors, geography and culture, on
the workplace and patient care
2 Being aware of the impact
of overall workload on the care given to the
individual patient, and the facilities
(e.g. staff, equipment) available to deliver that
care
3 Having an understanding of
the financial and legal frameworks in which
health care is given at practice
level
4 Having an understanding of
the impact of the doctor’s personal housing and
working environment on the care that s/he
provides
Essential feature 2:
Attitudinal aspects
1 Being aware of their own
capabilities and values
2 Identifying ethical
aspects of clinical practice (prevention, diagnostics,
therapy, factors that influence
lifestyles)
3 Having an awareness of
self: an understanding that their own attitudes and
feelings are important determinants of how they
practice
4 Justifying and clarifying
personal ethics
Working with
colleagues
Working with
colleagues and working in
teams
Domain 1: Primary care
management
1.3To coordinate care with
other professionals in primary care, and with other
specialists
1.5To make available to the
patient the appropriate services within the
healthcare system
Domain 4: A comprehensive
approach
4.3To manage and coordinate
health promotion, prevention, cure, care,
rehabilitation and
palliation
Working with
colleagues
Referring
patients
Domain 1: Primary care
management
1.3To coordinate care with
other professionals in primary care, and with other
specialists
1.5To make available to the
patient the appropriate services within the
healthcare system
Working with
colleagues
Accepting
posts
Essential feature 2:
Attitudinal aspects
1 Being aware of one’s
own capabilities and values
4 Justifying and clarifying
personal ethics
Teaching and training,
appraising and
assessing
Teaching and
training, appraising and
assessing
Not explicitly covered in
this statement but covered in supplementary RCGP
curriculum statements
Probity
Research
Financial and commercial
dealings Providing references
Essential feature 2:
Attitudinal aspects
1 Being aware of one’s
own capabilities and values
2 Identifying ethical
aspects of clinical practice (prevention, diagnostics,
therapy, factors that influence
lifestyles)
4 Justifying and clarifying
personal ethics
Health and the
performance of
other
doctors
Protecting patients
when your own health or
the health, conduct or
conduct, or performance of
other doctors puts patients at
risk
Essential feature 2:
Attitudinal aspects
1 Being aware of their own
capabilities and values
3 Having an awareness of
self: an understanding that their own attitudes and
feelings are important determinants of how they
practice
5 Being aware of the
interaction of work and doctor’s own private life
and striving for a good balance
between them
1. The consultation
