title: The Acute Care Undergraduate TEaching (ACUTE) Initiative: consensus development of core competencies in acute care for undergraduates in the United Kingdom.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The care of the acutely ill patient in hospital is often sub-optimal. Poor recognition of critical illness combined with a lack of knowledge, failure to appreciate the clinical urgency of a situation, a lack of supervision, failure to seek advice and poor communication have been identified as contributory factors. At present the training of medical students in these important skills is fragmented. The aim of this study was to use consensus techniques to identify the core competencies in the care of acutely ill or arrested adult patients that medical students should possess at the point of graduation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthcare professionals were invited to contribute suggestions for competencies to a website as part of a modified Delphi survey. The competency proposals were grouped into themes and rated by a nominal group comprised of physicians, nurses and students from the UK. The nominal group rated the importance of each competency using a 5-point Likert scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 359 healthcare professionals contributed 2,629 competency suggestions during the Delphi survey. These were reduced to 88 representative themes covering: airway and oxygenation; breathing and ventilation; circulation; confusion and coma; drugs, therapeutics and protocols; clinical examination; monitoring and investigations; team-working, organisation and communication; patient and societal needs; trauma; equipment; pre-hospital care; infection and inflammation. The nominal group identified 71 essential and 16 optional competencies which students should possess at the point of graduation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We propose these competencies form a core set for undergraduate training in resuscitation and acute care.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. g.d.perkins@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Gavin D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Perkins
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bullock
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Gabbott
authors.forename: Jerry P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Alasdair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Short
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Gary B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.forename: Julian F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bion
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000193:education*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003422:Critical Care; D003479:Curriculum; D003697:Delphi Technique; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006113:United Kingdom