Personal and Professional Development

Personal and professional development is the foundation of safe, ethical, and compassionate general practice. It is rooted in the values and principles that define good professional practice as outlined by the Irish Medical Council⁽¹⁾. Personal and Professional Development ensures high standards of care for patients and communities.

As a general practitioner, your role goes beyond clinical competence. It involves a commitment to putting patients at the centre of care, treating them with dignity, respect, and compassion, and involving them in decisions about their treatment. Professionalism requires that you act with honesty and integrity, particularly when things go wrong, and that you learn from such events to improve the safety and quality of care.

General Practitioners are expected to work collaboratively with colleagues, fostering respectful, inclusive, and supportive environments. Fairness, non-discrimination, and wise use of healthcare resources are essential in meeting the needs of both individual patients and the wider population. Demonstrating leadership, contributing to a culture of safety and improvement, and supporting others in their roles are all part of your professional responsibilities.

Equally important is caring for your own health and wellbeing. The ability to reflect on your experiences, recognise stress and burnout, and develop resilience is vital for sustaining a long and effective career in general practice. Your conduct should inspire trust from colleagues, patients and the public, reflecting the professionalism expected of a trusted healthcare provider.

• PD1. Provide patient-centred care by prioritizing autonomy, inclusivity, respect, and continuity.
• PD2. Manage undifferentiated illness using an evidence-based approach while considering community prevalence and incidence.
• PD3. Navigate clinical uncertainty by balancing proactive care with avoidance of unnecessary medicalisation.
• PD4. Integrate acute and chronic care to manage patients with complex multimorbidity, promoting long-term health and well-being.
• PD5. Describe the role of the Medical Council in maintaining professional standards, with reference to its Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners.
• PD6. Commit to continuous learning, professional growth, and maintaining high standards of clinical practice and professionalism.
• PD7. Acknowledge the boundaries of your knowledge, skills, and expertise, proactively seeking opportunities for growth through ongoing education, reflective practice, and collaboration with peers and mentors.
• PD8. Promote personal well-being by managing workload, maintaining work-life balance, and cultivating resilience through effective coping strategies and self-care practices.
• PD9. Demonstrate the ability to recognise personal circumstances and professional practice that require support, and apply appropriate strategies to seek timely help, identifying relevant resources, support systems, and communication approaches within the healthcare setting.
• PD10. Demonstrate the ability to recognise signs of concern in a colleague’s health, performance, or behaviour, and respond with compassion and professionalism by initiating timely, respectful communication and seeking appropriate support pathways, while maintaining confidentiality and prioritising early intervention.
• PD11. Recognise the risks of professional isolation and actively engage in professional networks and activities such as CME, faculty meetings, peer groups, and wellbeing initiatives.
• PD12. Demonstrate the ability to recognise, respond to, and recover from adverse events and incidents in clinical practice including violence, aggression, harassment, and traumatic events by applying prevention and de-escalation strategies, supporting patients and colleagues, and engaging in reflective practices that address the emotional impact of care-related harm.
• PD13. Reflect on your leadership style, understand a range of leadership approaches and develop the skills to apply then flexibly across different situations.
• PD14. Foster cultural competence by understanding and addressing the diverse needs of your patient population.
• PD15. Apply the key elements of philosophical medical ethics including virtue ethics, consequentialism, deontology, the four principles approach, care ethics, moral relativism and critical reasoning and demonstrate how these approaches have relevance in everyday clinical practice.

Wherever possible learning resources included here are peer reviewed and externally maintained. This is to ensure that trainees have access to quality assured information that is kept up to date.

Self-Directed

Blended Learning Resources (Education Platform)

 Diabetes and Multimorbidity

·         Inclusion Medicine: Homelessness

Recommended Reading: Oxford Handbook of Medical Ethics and Law; Anna Smajdor, Jonathon Herring, Robert Wheeler.

Useful Websites:

WONCA Europe

Irish College of GPs

Medical Council Guide

Peer Support ICGP

Workplace Based Learning

Workplace-based learning is an important modality for developing the personal and professional attributes required of a general practitioner. Immersed in the realities of patient care, trainees learn to deliver patient-centred care that values autonomy, inclusivity, and continuity, while navigating undifferentiated illness and clinical uncertainty using evidence-based approaches. The integration of acute and chronic care, alongside consideration of sociocultural and community health factors, fosters a holistic approach to managing complex multimorbidity. Through day-to-day practice, trainees deepen their understanding of the GP’s role within the Irish healthcare system and are guided by professional standards set out by the Medical Council. Workplace learning provides continuous opportunities for self-awareness, reflection, and growth; encouraging learners to recognise the boundaries of their expertise, seek feedback, and engage in peer collaboration and CPD. Self-care and resilience are embedded through managing workload, accessing support systems, and responding constructively to the emotional impact of clinical challenges. Leadership is fostered through active participation in team-based care, communication, practice improvement, and patient advocacy. Trainees are actively encouraged to seek opportunities to assist with teaching of medical students in hospital placements and in GP practices where undergraduates are on placement. It is also expected that trainees would attend Primary Care Team meetings in order to gain an understanding of how these meetings are carried out and to learn about the multi-disciplinary aspects of primary care. Ultimately, workplace learning equips GPs to balance their professional responsibilities with their own wellbeing, and to contribute meaningfully to both patient care and the wider healthcare system.

Day Release

Day release teaching provides a structured and supportive environment for exploring personal and professional development outside the clinical setting. Through facilitated group discussions, case-based learning, reflective exercises, and peer support, trainees can critically examine their experiences in practice and develop greater self-awareness. Topics such as ethical decision-making, communication, leadership, resilience, and self-care can be explored in depth, drawing on shared learning and mentorship. This setting encourages open dialogue, reflection on real-world challenges, and the development of strategies for continuous learning and wellbeing, reinforcing the professional values essential to high-quality general practice.

Registrar Tutorials

Registrar tutorials offer a personalised and confidential space to support personal and professional development. These sessions allow registrars to reflect deeply on their clinical experiences, explore challenges, and identify areas for growth with the guidance of an experienced GP trainer. Should a trainee be faced with an adverse clinical event or a complaint, these tutorials offer the ideal space to discuss the event in detail and to guide the trainee through the difficult scenario. Topics such as managing uncertainty, work-life balance, professional boundaries, and responding to adverse events can be tailored to the registrar’s individual needs. The tutorial format also encourages honest conversations about wellbeing, resilience, and ethical dilemmas, helping registrars develop the insight, confidence, and strategies required for sustainable and reflective practice.

Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) underpin workplace-based assessment in this curriculum. Each EPA represents an integrated clinical task that General Practitioners must perform safely and independently, assessed through direct or indirect observation in real clinical settings.

The curriculum and EPA framework are closely aligned: the curriculum defines the required knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours, while EPAs assess their application in practice. Together, they create a coherent approach to developing and demonstrating readiness for independent clinical work.

The examples show how specific activities within general practice & chapters of the curriculum align with particular EPAs.

This area of the curriculum is also assessed in the form of ITER Forms, Primary Reviews and CPCs.

EPA 18: Manage the GP practice and available resources

Engaging in a practice meeting to review workflow, delegate responsibilities, or improve appointment systems demonstrates EPA 18. For example, a trainee might lead a discussion on strategies to improve continuity of care for patients with multimorbidity. This can be recorded using a CBD or reflected on during a tutorial, focusing on leadership, teamwork, and practice management.

Core Knowledge Test (CKT)

• Choosing the most appropriate first step when concerned about a colleague’s fitness to practise.
• Identifying the most appropriate support pathway for a GP experiencing burnout. 

Clinical Competency Test (CCT)

Personal and Professional Development is assessed throughout the CCT examination, below are some more explicit examples of how this area of the curriculum could be assessed.

• A patient presents and proceeds to complain to you about a colleague’s manner during a prior consultation.
• A patient is concerned that their 16 year old son/daughter (also a patient of the practice) is sexually active and requests that you inform them if you have any information about this.
• A colleagues asks if you would prescribe them benzodiazepines for an upcoming transatlantic flight. 

Disclaimer: The examples provided within this section are intended to be indicative only and are included to illustrate how elements of the curriculum may be assessed in the Clinical Competency Test (CCT). 

Examination questions in the CCT test the ability of candidates to integrate knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours across multiple curriculum areas to address the challenges posed by the question. 

The indicative content should therefore be used solely as a general guide as to some of the topics that may be introduced. Actual examination questions will assess a greater depth and complexity of understanding than the illustrative examples provided.

Please note that a number of CCT questions will require candidates to undertake a physical examination of the simulated patient. In some circumstances, for example in the case of an intimate examination, candidates may be required to display their examination skills through use of a manikin or other device.

1. Publications [Internet]. [cited 2025 July 2]. Available from: https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/News-and-Publications/Publications/