Curricula documents and resources

Below you will find links to the new curricula to be implemented from August 2022. These are the versions approved by the GMC. 

We have drawn together all the information about the new curricula into an eLearning course for you.

Core psychiatry curriculum 2022

• Core psychiatry curriculum (PDF)

Specialty

• Child and adolescent psychiatry curriculum (PDF)
• General psychiatry curriculum curriculum (PDF)
• Psychiatry of learning disability curriculum (PDF)
• Old age psychiatry curriculum (PDF)
• Forensic psychiatry curriculum (PDF)
• Medical psychotherapy curriculum (PDF)

Subspecialty

• Addiction psychiatry curriculum (PDF)
• Liaison psychiatry curriculum (PDF)
• Rehabilitation psychiatry curriculum (PDF)

HLO themes 

HLO 1

• 1.1: Professional relationships
• 1.2: Professional standards

HLO 2

• 2.1: Communication
  
• 2.2: Clinical skills
• 2.3: Complexity and uncertainty
  

HLO 3

• 3.1: Knowledge of legal and organisational frameworks in your UK jurisdiction
• 3.2: Working within NHS and organisational structures

HLO 4

• 4.1: Health promotion and illness prevention in community settings
  

HLO 5

• 5.1: Teamworking
• 5.2: Leadership skills

HLO 6

• 6.1: Patient safety
• 6.2: Quality improvement

HLO 7

• 7.1: Safeguarding

HLO 8

• 8.1: Education and training
• 8.2: Supervision

HLO 9

• 9.1: Undertaking research and critical appraisal
  

The Silver Guide is the College's summary of all of the rules relating to core and higher specialty training. It: 

• sets out the curriculum framework and key features
• explains the education and (formative and summative) assessment methodologies deployed under the framework
• sets out the training pathways available in psychiatry
• explains what happens if you need to have taken time out of training
• details the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders involved in psychiatry training
• guides doctors qualifying outside of the UK through the CESR and equivalence rules
• sets out the recommended numbers of workplace-based assessments that should be completed. 

The GMC has approved the Silver Guide as part of the new 2022 Curriculum Framework.

View the Silver Guide document (PDF)

These are sample PDPs developed by the Specialist Advisory Committee for each Faculty, showing some example activities that trainees could undertake in a placement and the evidence that would be appropriate for each.

Each placement will offer different development opportunities. These are examples of ways in which different key capabilities could be achieved in different placements.

They have been designed to help supervisors and trainees think about the activities that should be planned for each placement.

Learn more about PDPs through our online guide.

Core

Child and adolescent psychiatry placement

• PDP 1: Core CAP PDP for CT2 (PDF)

General psychiatry placement

• PDP 1: Core GA PDP for CT1 (PDF)

Psychiatry of Learning disability placement

• PDP 1: Core ID PDP for CT1 (PDF)
• PDP 2: Core ID PDP for CT2 (PDF)

Old age psychiatry placement

• PDP 1: Core OA PDP for CT1 (PDF)

Forensic psychiatry placement

• PDP 1: Core Forensic PDP for CT3 (PDF)

Medical psychotherapy placement

• PDP 1: Core Med Psych PDP for CT3 (PDF)
  

Addiction psychiatry placement

• PDP 1: Core Addiction PDP for CT3 (PDF)

Liaison psychiatry placement

• PDP 1: Core Liaison PDP for CT2/3 (PDF)

Rehabilitation psychiatry placement

• PDP 1: Core Rehabilitation PDP for CT3 (PDF)

Spirituality SIG example activities

• PDP 1: Core Spirituality PDP (PDF)

Specialty

Child and adolescent psychiatry

• PDP 1: Example higher CAP PDP for ST4 (PDF)
• PDP 2: Example higher CAP PDP for ST5 (PDF)

General psychiatry

• PDP 1: Example higher GA PDP for ST4. (PDF)

Psychiatry of learning disability

• PDP 1: Example higher ID PDP for ST4 (PDF)
• PDP 2: Example higher ID PDP for ST5 (PDF)
• PDP 3: Example higher ID PDP for ST6 (PDF)
• Library of PDP activities (PDF)

Old age psychiatry

• PDP 1: Example Higher Old Age PDP for ST4: Care home liaison (PDF)
• PDP 2: Example Higher Old Age PDP for ST4: CMHR / Memory (PDF)
• PDP 3: Example Higher Old Age PDP for ST6: Liaison (PDF)

Forensic psychiatry

• PDP 1: Example higher PDP for ST4 (PDF)

Medical psychotherapy

• PDP 1: Specialty PDP for ST5 (PDF)

Subspecialty

Addiction psychiatry

• PDP 1: Addiction PDP for ST6 (PDF)

Liaison psychiatry

• PDP 1: Liaison PDP for ST5 (PDF)

Rehabilitation psychiatry

• PDP 1: Rehabilitation PDP for ST5 (PDF)

Dual

Learning disability/Child and adolescent combined curriculum – PDP and guidance (PDF).

This PDP/guidance is for trainees on the LD/CAP dual curriculum with the final combined year. It compares both curricula and suggests those key capabilities that can be accomplished in the LD placements, those in the CAP placements, or in both. Finally, it indicates the capabilities where refinement in the final combined year would be beneficial.

The curricula High Level Outcomes (HLOs) specify the Key capabilities that trainees should have achieved by the end of each stage of training, Core or Higher.

Workplace-based assessments and end of placement / end of year evaluations seek to gauge a trainee's performance at the standard expected at the end of each year of training.

We have produced end-of-year standards guidance in response to trainees and supervisors querying how they know what the expected standard to be achieved at the end of each year looks like. They provide examples of behaviours that should be observable in a trainee performing at the expected standard in CT1, 2 and 3 for Core training, and in ST4, 5 and 6 for Higher training.

These are examples only - not a comprehensive summary, nor a checklist. If these prove to be useful then over time we will develop them for Addiction, Rehabilitation and Liaison subspecialties.

Core

• Core psychiatry (PDF)

Specialty

• Child and Adolescent psychiatry (PDF)
• Forensic psychiatry (PDF)
• General psychiatry (PDF)
• Medical psychotherapy (PDF)
• Old age psychiatry (PDF)
• Psychiatry of learning disability (PDF)

These are designed to assist ARCP panels and have been updated to align with the new High Level Outcomes under the 2022 Curricula.

Core

• Core training ARCP decision aid (PDF)

Higher

• Higher training ARCP decision aid (PDF)

Trainees who have worked under the old curriculum framework for a year may want to look again at their portfolios to identify the learning outcomes that they achieved and to correlate them with new HLOs to ensure that by the end of their third (WTE) year of training, they have adequately covered all nine HLOs to the expected standard.

Under the new curricula framework, the subdomains of each ILO from the old curricula do not map perfectly to the themes of each HLO. Often there is overlap. For example, ILO7a - Management of severe and enduring mental illness, maps clearly to HLO2.3 Complexity and uncertainty. However, but ILO4a (Ability to comprehensively assess and document patient’s potential for self-harm or harm to others in all clinical situations) maps to both HLO2.1 and HLO2.3.

This guide sets out the most likely relationships, but given what we say about HLOs and ILOs matching only imperfectly, trainees should check where their capabilities sit in the new curriculum.

Old and new curricula relationships guidance (PDF)

We are aware that there have been delays in the Medical Psychotherapy and Addiction WPBAs appearing on Portfolio Online. Until such time as you are able to use them within that platform, we would recommend downloading these versions, completing the word documents and then providing them to trainees to upload as evidence. 

Addiction WPBAs

• Addiction ACE (DOC)
• Addiction CbD (DOC)

Medical psychotherapy WPBAs

• Med Psych PACE (DOC)
• Med Psych SAPE (DOC)
• Med Psych CbDGA (DOC)
• Med Psych SAPA - to follow soon