Ravindu De Silva

Doctors training in Acute Internal Medicine (AIM) need to provide evidence that they can effectively manage 20 ‘top’ and 40 ‘other important’ acute medical presentations. However, the presentations considered important in the AIM curriculum do not have an empirical evidence base. This study compared real-life presentations against those in the AIM curriculum. Data on all presentations to the acute medical service at The Royal Free Hospital, London, were collected retrospectively for five non-consecutive weeks and prospectively for one week. Five frequently encountered presentations viz: cough, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, hyperglycaemia and lethargy were not amongst those listed as ‘top’ or ‘other important’ in the AIM curriculum. Hence, demonstration of competency in these presentations is currently not an explicit requirement.