The Medical Council is implementing changes to doctors training and education that will improve patient safety and the performance of doctors.

The first of these changes is the release today of the New Zealand Curriculum Framework for Prevocational Medical Training (NZCF).

The NZCF outlines the learning outcomes to be completed in the two years after a doctor graduates and will build on the skills and competencies gained through medical school.

Mr Andrew Connolly, the Councils chairperson said today, NZCF is a significant leap forward in medical education and will be critical in training doctors to bridge the gap from medical school to hands on medical practice.

Dr John Adams, the immediate past Chairperson oversaw the development of this initiative which I endorse.

A staged implementation of the NZCF will commence in November 2014 for first year doctors.

Mr Connolly says full implementation of the NZCF will not occur until clinical attachments have been accredited, which is scheduled for November 2015. Accreditation of clinical attachments will ensure that every clinical attachment provides quality training and learning opportunities.

However everyone involved in prevocational training will be able to use the learning outcomes in the NZCF as a guide for training and educational programmes.

The NZCF is underpinned by two central concepts, said Mr Connolly.

The first is that patient safety must be at the centre of healthcare and depends on both individual practice and also effective multidisciplinary team work.

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Changes to doctor training underway