Genitourinary Medicine

Genitourinary Medicine involves the investigation and management of sexually transmitted infections and HIV. It is mostly outpatient based but does include inpatient care of HIV infection. It can also include more specialised services such as young people’s clinics, genital dermatoses, sexual dysfunction and psychosexual medicine, and outreach services for sex workers and drug users.

Essential requirements of a genitourinary physician are enjoying contact with patients, being able to work as part of a multidisciplinary team and good communication skills. It is essential to be non-judgemental and feel comfortable about discussing sensitive issues such as sex.

There is also a public health element to the specialty with the need to perform partner notification (contact tracing), and to collect and report surveillance data in order to detect changing trends of infections.

Due to regular revisions, arising from changes in the training environment and the requirements of the PMETB, the JRCPTB are currently running various curricula for trainees in each specialty.  All relevant curricula are listed at the bottom of this page under Documents.  Use the filter option on the right-hand side, together with the guidance notes below,  to help you select the correct document.  In summary:

• If you are a run-through (Specialty Registrar [StR]) trainee, you will follow the curricula tagged as ST3+

• If you are an ‘old style’ SpR, you are following the curricula tagged as SpR

• If you enrolled prior to 01/01/03, you will be following the original curricula which are no longer available for download, see note below

 
Competence Based Curricula & Assessment – StRs

The PMETB has received the assessment system (blueprint and RITA/ARCP grid) for GUM and it has been approved.

The assessment blueprints show the possible methods that can be used to assess each of the competences in the curriculum. Trainees and trainers should refer to the blueprints for guidance on the appropriate assessment methods for each aspect of the curriculum, and so plan the training programme according to the criteria set by the RITA Decision Aid. It is not expected that all competences will be assessed by all methods, rather that there will be a sampling of competences within a variety of settings, both within formal and workplace-based assessment, from which overall competence acquisition has to be determined.

 Acute care common stem (Medicine) trainees will also follow the ACCS training manual.

Competence Based Curricula – SpR (for trainees enrolling after 1 Jan 2003)

The JCHMT introduced revised curricula for all the medical specialties together with a generic curriculum that applied to all trainees back in 2003. These are competence-based and set out the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be acquired by trainees before they may be awarded a CCT. 

Curricula (for trainees enrolling before 1 Jan 2003)

Training record and ePortfolio for ST3+ trainees in Genitourinary Medicine

The online ePortfolio for GUM trainees will be ready for use from August 2009.  Until that time, trainees can continue to use the old training record.  The forms for the training record are available to dwonload below.  Please be aware that evidence recorded in the training record after August 2009 will cease to be valid for ST3+ trainees.  Trainees will instead have to use the ePortfolio from that point forward.  More information on the ePortfolio can be found here. 

National Mentoring Scheme for GUM physicians

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) runs a mentoring scheme for new consultants in Genitourinary Medicine.  Please see this letter for more details of the scheme.