Professional Competence Areas for Workplace-Based Assessment

WPBA addresses the majority of the curriculum, assessing those parts that are best tested in the workplace. Twelve areas of professional competence have been extracted from the core curriculum statement ‘Being a General Practitioner’. Detailed descriptors of each of the competence areas show the level of achievement required.

Data Gathering and Interpretation
- gathering and use of data for clinical judgement, the choice of examination and investigations, and their interpretation.

Making a Diagnosis/Making Decisions
- a conscious, structured approach to decision-making.

Clinical Management
- the recognition and management of common medical conditions.

Managing Medical Complexity
- aspects of care beyond managing straightforward problems, including the management of co-morbidity, uncertainty and risk, and the approach to health rather than just illness.

Primary Care Administration and Information Management and Technology

- the appropriate use of primary care administration systems, effective record keeping and information technology for the benefit of patient care.

Working with Colleagues and in Teams

- working effectively with other professionals to ensure patient care, including the sharing of information with colleagues.

Community Orientation
- the management of the health and social care of the practice population and local community.

Maintaining Performance, Learning and Teaching

- maintaining the performance and effective continuing professional development of oneself and others.

Maintaining an Ethical Approach to Practise

- practising ethically with integrity and respect for diversity.

Fitness to Practise

- the doctor’s awareness of how their own performance, conduct or health, or that of others, might put patients at risk and the action taken to protect patients.

The relationship between these competence areas and the curriculum is shown in the Blueprint and is described in the ePortfolio.