Chronic condition self-management support: proposed competencies for medical students

Governments and the medical profession are concerned that there continues to be less than optimal health outcomes despite escalating expenditure on health services from the effect of the ageing population with chronic illnesses. In this context, doctors will need to have knowledge and skills in effective chronic condition management (CCM) and chronic condition self-management (CCSM).

A national workshop of representatives of eight medical schools from the CCSM special interest group (SIG) of the Australian and New Zealand Association on Medical Education met in September 2004, to consider curriculum content in CCM and CCSM.

The workshop recommended that the Committee of Deans of Australian Medical Schools and the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing consider the identification and possible development of a specific curriculum for CCM and CCSM within the curricula of Australian Medical Schools.

Consideration needs to be given to the changing nature of medical practice and that as part of this; doctors of the future will need skills in team participation, continuity of care, self-management support and patient-centered collaborative care planning. Doctors will also need skills to assist patients to better adhere to medical management, lifestyle behaviour change and risk factor reduction, if optimal health outcomes are to be achieved and costs are to be contained.