Diploma in Urgent Medical Care

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Colville Laird, Convener for Examinations in Urgent Medical Care RCSEd, explained: “The diploma is to start the thinking about professional development in this important area of healthcare. For example, the Government has said it wants 15,000 more paramedics. Career progression and professional development in this vital area of healthcare needs support because much of the healthcare patients experience will be delivered by this group of multi-professional practitioners, which includes nurses, paramedics and doctors providing out-of-hours (OOH)/Urgent Care services.”

Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine is an established sub-speciality of medicine provided by a broad range of practitioners: first aiders; paramedics; doctors; nurses; first responders; and emergency service professionals that include the police, fire and armed forces. The role of the RCSEd’s Faculty is to set and maintain clinical standards for practitioners in this evolving specialty. 

The new Diploma in Urgent Medical Care exam will focus on the timely recognition, diagnosis and management of conditions and situations in urgent care settings, which can present a variety of challenges to practitioners.

Practitioners will already have skills equivalent to level 7 of the Skills for Health Career Framework for Health, and be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills to manage complex and atypical cases. The syllabus includes the care of patients from all age groups from neonates to the very elderly.

Students will self-study for the two-day exam supported by an extensive syllabus and study guidance available on the RCSEd website. Day one of the exam is a written paper, and day two oral is a structured oral exam. Applications for the diploma close on 2 November 2018, and the two-day exam takes place at the RCSEd in Edinburgh on 12 and 13 March 2019.

Colville Laird concludes: “We hope that by setting up a post-graduate diploma open to a multi-professional group of healthcare practitioners we will raise the awareness of continuing professional development (CDP) in an essential area of healthcare provision.”