Creating a postgraduate syllabus for a team care diploma examination: a Delphi study

There is no agreed standard assessment of the minimum knowledge and skills that are required to provide healthcare to participants in individual or team sports. This study aims to develop a syllabus for the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) Team Care Diploma examination. This will provide a recognised assessment of the minimum required skills and knowledge for healthcare professionals providing care in an individual and team sport environment.

A modified Delphi approach was used. A syllabus was developed by a purposeful selection of members of the FSEM, all of whom have significant team care experience. This was then reviewed by the Delphi expert panel who were team care practitioners with at least 5 years of experience. A two-round Delphi approach was used to develop a consensus.

The expert panel consisted of 50 individuals, with 46 (92%) completing both rounds. Of the 447 learning objectives (LOs) proposed; 430 (96%) were accepted outright, 17 (4%) were rejected and four new LOs were introduced based on expert panel feedback. The final syllabus contained 434 LOs across 6 modules (clinical governance, safe and effective practice, interdisciplinary teamwork, specific athlete groups, specific health conditions and duties of the medical team).

This standardised syllabus will be used as the basis for the new FSEM Team Care Diploma examination which will aim to provide world-leading standardised assessment of the minimum skills and knowledge required for healthcare professionals across the multidisciplinary team providing care in individual and team sport.