Specialty specific guidance for CESR in Clinical Genetics
The new Clinical Genetics curriculum was published in July 2021. For a transition period, you can make a CESR application against either the new curriculum or the previous version.
This option is available until the transition deadline of 30 June 2023.
Specialty specific guidance
We’ve produced guidance documents for each version of the curriculum with the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board.
How to apply
You can apply through your GMC Online account. There is one application form which includes sections for both versions of the curricula. You should tell us which curriculum version you wish to be assessed against in sequence one. And only provide evidence in the sections of the application relevant to your curriculum.
2021 curriculum
Our standards for postgraduate medical curricula are Excellence by design and the framework for Generic professional capabilities. These help postgraduate medical training programmes focus trainee assessment away from an exhaustive list of individual competencies, towards fewer broad capabilities needed to practise safely from your first day as a consultant.
As a result, the 2021 physicianly curricula are outcomes based. This means trainees will be assessed against the fundamental capabilities required of consultants in the working week. These include the general skills which all doctors need to have as well as those needed to carry out all the specific day to day tasks undertaken by a consultant physician (Capabilities in Practice – CiPs).
The Clinical Genetics curriculum is made up of 12 CiPs. Six Generic CiPs which are common to all physician specialties and six Specialty CiPs unique to Clinical Genetics.
In Clinical Genetics, two years Internal Medicine Training will replace Core Medical Training as the core training programme. Applicants will be required to demonstrate maintenance of relevant Internal Medicine Stage 1 capabilities.
Content shared between all physicianly specialties
There are six CiPs which are shared between all physicianly specialties:
- CiP 1 - Able to function successfully within NHS organisational and management systems
- CiP 2 - Able to deal with ethical and legal issues related to clinical practice
- CiP 3 - Communicates effectively and is able to share decision making, while maintaining appropriate situational awareness, professional behaviour and professional judgement
- CiP 4 - Is focused on patient safety and delivers effective quality improvement in patient care
- CiP 5 - Carrying out research and managing data appropriately
- CiP 6 - Acting as a clinical teacher and clinical supervisor
Specialty specific content
There are six CiPs which are unique to Clinical Genetics
- CiP 1 - Managing a comprehensive genetic medicine service for both inpatients and outpatients
- CiP 2 - Working within multidisciplinary teams and consultations related to the management and treatment of complex genetic disorders
- CiP 3 - Managing predictive genetic testing and advising on cascade genetic testing in families
- CiP 4 - Managing storage and testing of genetic material in the prenatal and post-mortem settings
- CiP 5 - Interrogating and interpreting genetic data and communicating effectively with laboratory colleagues
- CiP 6 - Contributing to genetic research and clinical trials
Changes in knowledge and skills
There is an increase in genomic variant interpretation that applicants will need to demonstrate. Applicants will need to be able to demonstrate this interrogation and interpret the findings in the context of the patient’s clinical picture.
Applicants will need to demonstrate more MDT working and show the skills necessary for this to be a regular part of practice.
Under the new curriculum, applicants can apply to the specialist register through Clinical Genetics from any core stem where applicants can demonstrate key patient facing skills.
