As previously indicated in our 2 February update we are now in a position to announce that agreement with the HEE Physician Specialty Recruitment Office has been reached and the alternative certificate has been modified to record trainee progression on the acquisition of capabilities rather than an observation of time spent in any particular clinical area. Therefore, an applicant for the group 1 specialties who uses the alternative certificate to demonstrate eligibility for entry to an ST4 post will need the Internal Medicine curriculum defined capabilities in both geriatrics and critical care but will not have to demonstrate a specific time spent in these areas. The consultant signing an alternative certificate must personally have knowledge, or be able to refer to those who do, of the applicant's capabilities.
We hope that this will ease some of the concerns that have been expressed but, in addition, we would like to remind everybody that trainees already in formal Internal Medicine training programmes do NOT have to have a certificate completed as the acquisition of relevant capabilities will have been monitored during the training period. The ARCP reviews act to ensure capabilities have been acquired making the certificate redundant.