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Background: The NICE guideline for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) emphasises the need for an early diagnosis in primary care with management tailored to patient needs. However, GPs can be reluctant to make a diagnosis and are unsure how to manage people with the condition. Methods: A meta synthesis of published qualitative studies was conducted, producing a multi-perspective description of barriers to the diagnosis and management of CFS/ME, and the ways that some health professionals have been able to overcome them. Analysis provided second-order interpretation of the original findings and developed third-order constructs to provide recommendations for the medical curriculum. Results: Twenty one qualitative studies were identified. The literature shows that for over 20 years health professionals have reported a limited understanding of CFS/ME. Working within the framework of the biomedical model has also led some GPs to be sceptical about the existence of the condition. GPs who provide a diagnosis tend to have a broader, multifactorial, model of the condition and more positive attitudes towards CFS/ME. These GPs collaborate with patients to reach agreement on symptom management, and use their therapeutic skills to promote self care. Conclusions: In order to address barriers to the diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in primary care, the limitations of the biomedical model needs to be recognised. A more flexible bio-psychosocial approach is recommended where medical school training aims to equip practitioners with the skills needed to understand, support and manage patients and provide a pathway to refer for specialist input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All physicians who are training young doctors of the future recognise the current challenge of doing this in the NHS. The recently published Temple Report documents the challenge and some of the solutions. For Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) Deanery, one of the responses was to implement a new structure and process at local level -- the local faculty groups (LFGs) -- to ensure appropriate curriculum delivery. This paper sets out the history, structure and purpose of LFGs, describes what happens during a LFG meeting in both open and closed sessions and presents feedback of learning from two years in action across 11 acute trusts in the South East Coast (SEC) strategic health authority area. The experience of trainers in SEC is that the local faculty group structure and associated processes is one strand in the more effective delivery of education in the current NHS environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of change in medical, educational and regulatory practice, MRCP(UK) successfully modified the international PACES examination in 2009. This brief paper explains the rationale for change and summarises the development and implementation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a pressing need for medical graduates to be fully prepared to take on the responsibilities of prescribing and to be able to respond to continual inevitable rapid changes in therapeutics. The curricula in UK medical schools were greatly influenced by Tomorrow's Doctors, published by the General Medical Council in 1993. This has recently been updated. While it highlights the management of disease and use of drugs as key learning objectives, it offers little specific guidance. In this document we expand on these broad statements, provide a view of how these learning objectives might be achieved, and identify the key elements of a core curriculum in prescribing and therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]