PgDip-PgCert Cardiovascular Medicine for Primary Care Physicians
Entry requirementsEntry requirements This course is for GPs working in primary care. You will benefit most if you are in employment at the time as much of the course involves work-based practice. Normally you must have • a basic medical qualification • full registration with the General Medical Council We also expect you to demonstrate your ability to study at postgraduate level.
Academic titlePgDip/PgCert Cardiovascular Medicine for Primary Care Physicians
Course descriptionAs part of a national strategy to improve cardiovascular health, the NHS is developing community cardiology clinics to provide more focused primary care services. These clinics will be run by GPs and specialist nurses.
They will take on many of the tasks currently done in hospital departments, which include
• anti-smoking strategies
• raising awareness of the impact of obesity and lack of exercise
• improving the quality of care and follow up for patients in the community
• implementing treatment strategies for existing vascular disease including using the new range of risk factor modifying drugs
This course provides the extra training many GPs need to work in these clinics. It is work-based with emphasis on applying what you have learned. It involves working with patients to reinforce clinical skills and interpreting the results of cardiology investigations.
You improve your clinical judgement, treatment and management skills through interactive case studies.
We designed the course from the Coronary Heart Disease Collaborative Working Party on GPs with a special interest in cardiology. We then designed each module to provide clear practical guidance for clinical use.
The course has four modules, each equivalent to 150 hours of study, and you must successfully complete all four modules to gain your award. You also attend five study days spread over the two years.
Each study day introduces a theme and we split the day into several seminars covering that theme. Study days are always Saturdays.
Your training relies heavily on pattern recognition, which we support with a series of worked examples using problem solving algorithms.
You have a personal tutor to support you throughout the course.
Associated careers
This course enhances the clinical cardiology skills of GPs working in community cardiology clinics in a primary care capacity.
Course content
Postgraduate certificate
Module 1 – clinical history and examination
Study day one – induction and introduction
Study day two – clinical examination and assessment of participants
Module two – non-invasive investigations
Study day three – interpretation of non-invasive cardiological tests
Module three – echocardiography
Study day four – focusing on echocardiography
Module four – practical therapeutics in daily practice
Study day five – therapeutic approach to patients
Postgraduate diploma
In order to gain a postgraduate diploma you must complete two further modules.
Module 3 – echocardiography (core)
Module 4
One from • practical echocardiography • research methods and critical appraisal • literature review and implications for practice