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Competencies arranged by Milestone

Entry

Progressive capability profile of the specialist general practitioner

Table of contents

Last revised: 11 Aug 2025

Competencies at entry level

Capability	Theme	Entry Level Competencies
Communicate effectively with patients and families	Patient-centred communication	Communicate effectively in routine consultations
	Communication where there are language barriers	Tailor communication style to effectively interact with patients where there are language barriers including children and people with disability
	Navigating challenging conversations	Communicate effectively and with empathy in challenging situations to provide factual information
	Shared decision making	Provide information on options to patients in a way they understand
	Therapeutic relationship	Demonstrate empathy and compassion, using language, non-verbal behaviour and active listening to establish rapport
	Navigating transference and countertransference	Knowing about transference and countertransference
Practice culturally respectful, responsive and safe communication	Communicating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples	Demonstrate cultural awareness of appropriate communication and rapport building skills with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
	Communicating with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse peoples	Demonstrate respectful interest and compassion in consultation with patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
Communicate relevant information efficiently to others involved in a patients care	Team communication and handover	Effectively communicate with others in the care team, including verbal and written communication
	Communication with others in the practice	Effectively and respectfully communicate with clinical and non-clinical staff

The specialist GP as a clinician

Capability	Theme	Entry Level Competencies
Provide person-centred and comprehensive care, using a biopsychosocial approach	Person-centred approach	Discuss whole person-centred culturally appropriate care, and its interface with the biopsychosocial approach
	Comprehensive care with continuity	Identify opportunities for, and potential benefits of, comprehensive care and continuity of care
	Strengths based approaches with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples	Respect and support the self-identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and identify specific cultural and health needs required to deliver whole-person care.
	Trauma-informed	Understand the health and wellbeing impacts of trauma, including intergenerational trauma and the effect on the therapeutic relationship
Conduct consultations to effectively facilitate care	Consultation management	Elicit the patient’s agenda and have a structured approach to consultations
Apply expert medical knowledge and skills in assessing and diagnosing conditions	Clinical information gathering	Obtain relevant history, examination and investigations to inform diagnosis and care
	Diagnostic reasoning	Use hypothetico-deductive reasoning to make diagnoses
Manage the full range of presentations including providing first contact access	Urgent, emergent, time sensitive care	Assess presentations for red flags, identify when acute management is required and provide basic life support when needed
	Management planning	Formulate safe and evidence-informed management plans, seeking timely help from colleagues
	Prescribing	Prescribe safely for common presentations
	Procedures	Safely undertake procedures under appropriate supervision
Manage uncertainty and assess undifferentiated presentations	Management of uncertainty	Recognise that uncertainty is a factor to be addressed in diagnosis and management
	Assessment and management of undifferentiated presentations	With support, assess and manage presentations and seek assistance as required
Promote health and deliver preventive care	Promoting health and wellbeing	Identify individuals with risk factors for common preventable conditions and opportunities to encourage health promoting behaviour and actions
	Health education and health literacy	Identify opportunities to provide patients or carers with health information including about normal life stages
	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples	Identify and understand the health patterns for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and recognise relevant opportunities for health promotion.
	Public health	Recognise common health issues that may impact public health and any reportable disease requirements

The specialist GP as a health advocate and leader

Capability	Theme	Entry Level Competencies
Advocate for access to care	Advocate for individual patients	Identify barriers to healthcare for patients
	Addressing health inequality and inequity	Identify the determinants that contribute to poorer health outcomes in population groups
	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health	Identify some factors contributing to the health inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
	Systemic causes of inequity, including discrimination and racism	Recognise that there are systemic healthcare barriers that discriminate against specific population groups resulting in health inequity
Coordinate care and lead healthcare teams	Working within a multi-disciplinary team	Work respectfully and collaborate effectively with colleagues in healthcare teams
Coordinate care and lead healthcare teams	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health	Recognize and respect the unique knowledge and perspectives of identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health experts including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners/ workers/ liaison officers, nurses, psychologists, specialists other culturally relevant allied health experts
Responsibly steward healthcare system utilisation	Rational use of Australian healthcare system	Understand the Australian healthcare system structure and the concept of resource limitations
Promote practice quality, safety and viability	Technology	Understand that effective use of technology and eHealth systems can optimise patient care
	Practice systems	Understand systems-based approaches to safe quality care
	Near misses and adverse events (including critical incidents)	Identify, report and debrief with a supervisor after near misses and adverse events (including critical incidents)
	Quality improvement initiatives	Understand the principles of quality improvement
	General practice as a business	Recognise key differences between the business elements of general practice and hospitals
	Safe workplaces	Identify issues that can arise in ensuring physical, mental and cultural safety of the work environment as it applies to staff as well as patients

The specialist GP as a professional 

Capability	Theme	Entry Level Competencies
Behave in a professional and ethical way	Professional behaviour	Integrate professional codes of conduct into practice
	Therapeutic boundaries	Recognise and respect therapeutic boundaries, seeking assistance when needed
	Ethical issues	A strong commitment to ethical practice, including seeking advice from senior colleagues when needed
Practice self-care	Self-care	Recognise the importance of self-care
Engage in reflective practice and ongoing learning	Feedback and learning	Seek feedback with a willingness to change, identify learning needs and address these
Engage in reflective practice and ongoing learning	Reflective practice	Engage in reflective practice during interactions, demonstrating self-awareness
Understand own professional competency	Self-evaluation to enhance care provision	Identify professional limitations and seek appropriate help as required
Understand own professional competency	Cultural competency	Understand that a clinician’s cultural lens impacts on patient care and respect different cultural perspectives
Meet legal and duty of care responsibilities	Legal obligations	Respect and understand key legal principles such as privacy, confidentiality, certification, duty-of-care and informed consent
Meet legal and duty of care responsibilities	Medical records and reports	Maintain accurate and thorough clinical records

The specialist GP as a scientist, educator and researcher

Capability	Theme	Entry Level Competencies
Integrate best available scientific evidence into practice	Critical appraisal and integration of evidence	Access clinical guidelines to assist in clinical decision-making. Understand the importance of appraising research evidence critically
Support learning and improvement through education, mentoring, and engagement with research	Educator and mentor	Identify opportunities to mentor and support peers
	Research literacy	Understand the importance of robust research methods in delivering trustworthy evidence
	Research engagement	Identify benefits of patient and practitioner participation in research
	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research	Understand the historical impact of research on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and recognise the importance of culturally safe research, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led research.

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