The first three common competences cover the principles of history
taking, clinical examination and therapeutics and safe prescribing. These
are competences with which the trainee doctor should be well acquainted
from foundation training. It is vital that these competences are practised
to a high level by all specialty trainees who should be able to achieve
competences in all the descriptors early in their specialty training career.
There are four Descriptor Levels. It is anticipated that early on in their
specialty training trainee doctors will achieve competences to Level 2,
whereas the competences defined by the Level 3 and 4 descriptors will
be acquired in the latter part of specialty training.