GPwER in MSK
Over the last few years, the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK has been working to better define, promote and protect GPs working in extended roles in MSK settings.
Coming soon: GPwER in MSK Medicine accreditation
The Faculty are currently running a pilot for the GPwER in MSK Medicine (anticipated to last no more than 12 months) where prospective candidates for accreditation as GPwERs will need to submit evidence of competency using a range of learning approaches and assessments. The portfolio of evidence will be submitted alongside a senior clinical supervisors structured reference to an accreditation panel under the remit of the Faculty. This panel will assess submissions and provide feedback and formal accreditation where acceptable.
Eligibility
Application Eligibility
Any applicant must currently be working in an extended role to undergo the accreditation process. In order to be approved for this process, any candidate must:
- Have successfully sat the FSEM Diploma in Musculoskeletal Medicine.
- Be an existing Diplomate Members of the Faculty.
In time this will then be open to any GP who is a Diplomate member (i.e., a GP that has successfully sat the Diploma exam and become a Diplomate member of the Faculty).
Applications will be sought from potential candidates, which will include an outline of the roles they are currently in, brief description of existing qualifications and provision of a named senior clinical supervisor.
The GPwER curriculum for MSK Medicine is structured into 2 separate high-level learning outcomes, known as Capabilities in Practice (CiPs), namely, working effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team and the ability to deliver comprehensive, community-based management of musculoskeletal problems. More detail on what is included in these is found here.
Built on the foundation of the generic competencies introduced by the GMC in 2017, clinicians working in extended roles are expected to demonstrate that they are currently practising at the level of ‘entrusted to act independently’ in all specialty CiPs.
This has been developed during a significant period of change for musculoskeletal services within the NHS including the development of a new breed clinicians working within and across the traditional boundaries of primary and secondary care. This framework has been designed to support and entrench the important addition that a GP with an extended role makes as a core member of a multidisciplinary team in a community musculoskeletal setting.
There has been little support traditionally for GPs to develop these roles with wide variety of experience and clinical expertise around the country. This accreditation will provide the standard for those GPs to evidence they meet the requirements to work in extended roles in MSK settings providing support for clinicians and employers, promoting excellence in musculoskeletal care, and improving outcomes for patients.
Application
Costs
The full cost of the accreditation process for a candidate is anticipated to be in the region of £850 (this cost will be finalised following the completion of the pilot). Candidates for the pilot were be offered a 50% reduction in recognition of their contribution to supporting the pilot and offering their feedback on the process.
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying, please complete the expression of interest form found below. We will be in touch via email when further information around the accreditation is released.
Please see below some FAQs in relation to the GPwER in MSK Medicine.
An electronic submission of the evidence to demonstrate competence for the role should include the forms below:
- Form 1: Portfolio of evidence – including personal details, record of training and relevant postgraduate qualifications, description of clinical experience and MSK service, involvement in quality improvement activities, complaints/compliments, reflection on colleague and patient feedback and evidence of appraisal.
- Form 2: Mini CEX – checklist of clinical experience
- Form 3: DOPS – for aspiration/injections
- Form 4: Learning diary – including reflections on case-based discussions, learning events
- Form 5a: Patient feedback and analysis – minimum 25 returns
- Form 5b: Patient feedback form
- Form 6: Audit – e.g., of interventions (joint injections with outcomes), diagnostics or similar
- Form 7: Senior clinical supervisor report(s)
- Evidence of successfully passing the FSEM Diploma in MSK medicine (and any other qualifications relevant to role)
- Any other relevant information
The senior clinical supervisor needs to be a senior medical colleague i.e., a medical consultant in a relevant field such as Sport and Exercise Medicine, Orthopaedics, Pain medicine or Rheumatology who has prior experience of supervising trainees. They need to have had regular direct clinical contact with the candidate including clinical input and knowledge of your clinical caseload and scope of practice.
In the fullness of time an online portal will enable the submission of candidate’s evidence to enable it to be accrued over time however for the pilot this will involve an email submission of the relevant forms to the Faculty. Details will be shared with the candidates on selection.
Assessment
Assessment Process
Each portfolio will be assessed by a panel of subject experts comprising of two Sport and Exercise Medicine Consultants and two GPs working in extended roles in Musculoskeletal Medicine.
Should the evidence meet the requisite standards then the candidate would then be accredited by the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK and their name entered on to a register of accredited GPwERs. Further support and guidance for GPwERs is available for Diplomate members of the FSEM and allied organisations.
Yes! To define the curriculum for a practitioner in an extended role in MSK Medicine a committee was convened with members from the Primary Care Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Medicine Society (PCRMM) and the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK to create a syllabus (found here) that covers the most common and important musculoskeletal health issues in primary care.
This syllabus forms the basis of the multi-professional applied knowledge test in the form of the FSEM MSK Diploma exam which sets a benchmark of the entry-level knowledge required to work in an advanced role in community MSK and primary care settings.
Candidates whose portfolio is found lacking in the required evidence would be given feedback on what is required and invited to resubmit when they have addressed any deficits in their submission.
Documents
There is comprehensive information about this process and samples of the submission documents required found below.
Appendix 1 Syllabus DipMSK Jan 2024
Appendix 2 Presentations & Conditions GPwER rheumatology CiPs
Appendix 3 Capabilities in Practice-GPWER
Appendix 4 – Portfolio submission documents (see below)