Abstract

The care of the acutely ill hospitalised patient presents problems for health services worldwide. Each year, an estimated 23,000 preventable in-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK. It is well recognised that, in many of these cases, the signs of clinical deterioration remain undetected or ignored by ward staff or the clinical response is poor. The Acute Care Undergraduate Teaching (ACUTE) project used consensus techniques to develop competencies in the care of acutely ill or arrested patients that medical students should possess at the point of graduation. This process generated 71 core competencies and 16 optional competencies which could usefully be integrated into undergraduate curricula. Whilst aimed primarily at medical undergraduates, we hope that the outcome of this process is relevant to other healthcare undergraduates who acquire responsibility for the care of these patients.