Medical training in acute specialties: the acute care common stem training pathway

In 2007, the acute care common stem pathway changed the delivery of acute specialty training. Acute care common stem is the core training programme for all emergency medicine trainees, 46% of anaesthetic trainees and a cohort of acute medicine trainees with more than 630 places nationally, the third highest of any core training programme. In their first 2 years of core training (CT1-2), trainees rotate through 6-month rotations in emergency medicine, acute medicine, anaesthetics and intensive care to gain core competencies in the assessment and management of acutely unwell patients, before completing 1 year (CT3) in their parent specialty. Acute care common stem trainees benefit from undertaking rotations in allied acute specialties, which is invaluable when treating complex and comorbid patients in an ageing population. Acute care common stem gives trainees core skills in management of acutely unwell patients, which can be built upon in higher specialty training.