In this section you will first find a selection of introductory documents that we encourage you all to read. We have made them so that they are

a) summarise the key points for GP training (including tips and pitfalls)

b) easy to read

c) not too lengthy.

After you have read these, then select the particular specialty you belong to in order to see what the GP competencies actually mean for your specialty; in other words, what our training scheme hopes you will be able to deliver for our GP trainees.

At all times remember that the standard against which the GP trainee is judged is always the level of competence expected of a doctor who is CERTIFIED to practise independently as a general practitioner.

This standard is used throughout the three years of training. This means that in the first two years of training the GPStR is being judged against the standard they should have reached at the end of training. Inevitably there will be less evidence from the application of the MRCGP assessment tools in the first two years of training, and more developmental needs will be identified. This is what the assessment system is designed to do, so that further training experiences can be directed toward the developmental needs of GPStRs.

If you have any suggestions, please email me on rameshmehay@googlemail.com

Ramesh Mehay, Programme Director (Bradford VTS)

* Don't worry about the timing. It is the trainee's responsibility to tell you when they are a) due and b) feel ready for another assessment.

* If a trainee asks you "can we do a CBD please", please don't say "yeah, we'll do it later, I don't have time now". You may be busy but what you should say something like "let's make a date for that; how about next week on Tues morning after the ward round?"

* Because MRCGP is a trainee led process, we have asked all our trainees to "nab" their consultants and "pin them down" for a date for assessments; please don't be offended by this. If they don't get their assessments done on time, ultimately they will not progress to the next stage of their training.

Yes, BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE TRAINED THEM HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY. At the moment, we are seeing too many GP trainees being assessed by specialist registrars who have not been trained in what the competencies mean or how to carry out the assessments. The Royal College would deem this unacceptable and is against the rules.

No surgeon in their right mind would consider allowing their trainee to do say an appendectomy without training them up first......the same applies to these assessments for general practice training. They are important assessments which dictate whether a trainee is safe with patients and we must not forget that.

If you want to know more, then please go back to the home page of this website and click the "MRCGP" section and look through each of the various components. It's really important to grasp a good understanding of what each of these assessments is about because

1. if you carry them out the way they are meant to be done, you will ultimately be able to figure what bits the trainee is good at and more importantly what areas they need to work on

2. a lot of these assessments are similar to those used in foundation year training. No doubt you will have some FY doctors and thus this skill becomes transferable.

3. By practising the way they are actually meant to be done might even fine tune the way you do them with FY docs and give more meaning and usefulness to them

4. your own specialty trainees are likely to start doing these assessments for their college too: transferable skills benefitting all.

So, doing it the right way now means reaping huge rewards later.

• You can find very detailed information on the MRCGP and it's individual bits on our Royal College's website: www.rcgp.org.uk