Royal College of General Practitioners - Online Learning Environment

This screencast looks at screening for alcohol use disorders, and highlights particular opportunities that shouldn’t be missed. The assessment of drinking and the use of brief interventions are also discussed, as well as an introduction to the motivational interviewing approach to achieving change.

An educational grant was received by Drinkaware for the production of the screencast. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP. 

This module is aimed at healthcare practitioners who look after patients in contact with the criminal justice system, and those who are starting work in the prison setting.

It will improve understanding of the prison context and key factors that influence patient safety. It will also increase practitioner confidence in managing complexity, safe prescribing, and partnership when working inside a prison.

This course was funded by the RCGP Secure Environments Group. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP eLearning.

This eLearning screencast discusses the DeSTRESS project, which was set up to understand the challenges facing GPs who see patients with mental distress relating to poverty. The screencast explains some of the evidence linking poverty to poor mental health and discusses some of the difficulties that GPs may face when dealing with such patients. It then goes on to give some consultation tips that we can use and ways to make a small difference from one consultation to the next. Finally it reminds us that we are human too and that we need to look after ourselves in order to be able to help our patients.  

An educational grant was received from the University of Exeter for the production of the screencast. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP.

Demand for specialist gender identity services has risen dramatically in the past five years, and since the publication of the Levy report, the only route to referral for adults will be via GPs. For children, referral to paediatrics or child and adult mental health services (CAMHS) is required first. Completing the course will give you confidence in your role in referral, including what to discuss with the patient, knowing what information to include, and the importance of optimising physical and mental health from the point of referral. The course outlines the clinical aspects of providing care related to gender identity - both in specialist centres and in the community, delineating the roles and responsibilities of various services, and how commissioning needs to evolve. The concept of 'active waiting', or 'waiting well' is explored, building on the discussions between the GP and the patient around the time of referral. In recognition of the fact that access times are considerable, various resources are highlighted to support patients whilst they wait for their appointment.

The course looks at the clinical aspects of trans health, such as prescribing, gender dysphoria, screening and co-existing conditions to consider and manage alongside gender care. Prescribing is looked at in some detail, considering the options available, benefits and risks, and elements of monitoring, although it is recognised that this may not always take place in a usual general practice setting. Understanding the key characteristics of the drugs is useful for all GPs, in the context of providing general practice services to this cohort. Non-clinical aspects of trans healthcare are also considered, such as sensitive medical record keeping and legal aspects of gender care, and links to the RCGP position statement and GMC guidance. Two case studies are used to illustrate how the key learning points fit into day to day practice. They also explore some of the ethical and medicolegal challenges around prescribing and monitoring medications, for example when the patient is not under the care of NHS gender services.

This course is for RCGP members only.

Production, editorial, and distribution owned by the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Between 2011 and 2019 tuberculosis cases in the UK were in decline, but started rising since 2019 with a dip in detections during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early diagnosis is vital and GPs play a key role preventing, identifying and treating patients with TB.

Using case studies this course will increase your knowledge and skills in identifying patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary symptoms. It also highlights risk factors, the importance of screening and contact tracing and the benefits and limitations of vaccination.

This course will enable you to develop strategies within your practice to improve the prevention, diagnosis and management of TB.

This course was developed in partnership with TB Alert and Public Health England, with partner funding provided by NHS England.