Tomorrow's doctors
Selections of skills to be considered in the SPWS project
19. Graduates must be able to do the following safely and effectively.
a. Take and record a patient's history, including their family history.
b. Perform a full physical examination, and a mental-state examination.
c. Interpret the findings from the history, the physical examination, and the mental-state examination.
d. Interpret the results of commonly used investigations.
e. Make clinical decisions based on the evidence they have gathered.
f. Assess a patient's problems and form plans to investigate and manage these, involving patients in the planning process.
g. Work out drug dosage and record the outcome accurately.
h. Write safe prescriptions for different types of drugs.
i. Carry out the following procedures involving veins.
i. Venepuncture.
ii. Inserting a cannula into peripheral veins.
iii. Giving intravenous injections.
j. Give intramuscular and subcutaneous injections.
k. Carry out arterial blood sampling.
l. Perform suturing.
m. Demonstrate competence in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and advanced life-support skills.
n. Carry out basic respiratory function tests.
o. Administer oxygen therapy.
p. Use a nebuliser correctly.
q. Insert a nasogastric tube.
r. Perform bladder catheterisation.
20. Graduates must be able to communicate clearly, sensitively and effectively with patients and their relatives, and colleagues from a variety of health and social care professions. Clear communication will help them carry out their various roles, including clinician, team member, team leader and teacher.
21. Graduates must know that some individuals use different methods of communication, for example, Deafblind Manual and British Sign Language.
22. Graduates must be able to do the following.
a. Communicate effectively with individuals regardless of their social, cultural or ethnic backgrounds, or their disabilities.
b. Communicate with individuals who cannot speak English, including working with interpreters.
23. Students must have opportunities to practise communicating in different ways, including spoken, written and electronic methods. There should also be guidance about how to cope in difficult circumstances. Some examples are listed below.
a. Breaking bad news.
b. Dealing with difficult and violent patients.
c. Communicating with people with mental illness, including cases where patients have special difficulties in sharing how they feel and think with doctors.
d. Communicating with and treating patients with severe mental or physical disabilities.
e. Helping vulnerable patients.
26. Graduates must be able to do the following.
a. Manage their own time and that of others.
b. Prioritise tasks effectively.
c. Reflect on practice, be self-critical and carry out an audit of their own work and that of others.
d. Use research skills to develop greater understanding and to influence their practice.
e. Follow the principles of risk management when they practise.
f. Solve problems.
g. Analyse and use numerical data.
h. Take account of medical ethics when making decisions.