Entrustable Professional Activities

EPA 11: Clinic management

EPA 11

Clinic management

Manage an outpatient clinic

This activity requires the ability to:

  • manage medical procedures and treatments
  • manage specialty clinic services across a variety of settings, including residential aged care, in-home care, and telehealth
  • oversee quality improvement activities
  • communicate with patients
  • liaise with other health professionals and team members
  • demonstrate problem-solving skills
  • use public resources responsibly

Professional practice framework domain

Medical expertise

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • use a comprehensive geriatric assessment to assess and manage
  • effectively identify and address current clinical concerns as well as longer-term clinical objectives, as appropriate to patients’ context
  • evaluate environmental and lifestyle health risks, and advocate for healthy lifestyle choices
  • create an accurate and appropriately prioritised problem list in the clinical notes or as part of an ambulatory care review
  • update documentation in a time frame appropriate to the clinical situation of patients
  • identify lifestyle modification to improve both perioperative and long-term health outcomes

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • demonstrate understanding of the importance of prevention, early detection, health maintenance, and chronic condition management

Communication

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • help patients navigate the healthcare system to improve access to care by collaboration with other services, such as community health centres and consumer organisations
  • link patients to specific community-based health programs and group education programs

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • wherever practical, meet patients’ specific language and communication needs
  • facilitate appropriate use of interpreter services and translated materials

Quality and safety

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • practice health care that maximises patient safety
  • adopt a systematic approach to the review and improvement of professional practice in the outpatient clinic setting
  • identify aspects of service provision that may be a risk to patients’ safety
  • ensure that patients are informed about fees and charges

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • take reasonable steps to address issues if patients’ safety may be compromised
  • understand a systematic approach to improving the quality and safety of health care
  • participate in organisational quality and safety activities, including clinical incident reviews

Teaching and learning

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • evaluate their own professional practice
  • demonstrate learning behaviour and skills in educating junior colleagues
  • contribute to the generation of knowledge
  • maintain professional continuing education standards

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • recognise the limits of personal expertise and involve other professionals as needed to contribute to patients’ care
  • use information technology appropriately as a resource for modern medical practice

Research

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • obtain informed consent or other valid authority before involving patients in research
  • inform patients about their rights, the purpose of the research, the procedures to be undergone, and the potential risks and benefits of participation before obtaining consent

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • allow patients to make informed and voluntary decisions to participate in research
  • consult current research on investigations

Cultural safety

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • apply knowledge of the cultural needs of the community serving and how to shape service to those people
  • mitigate the influence of own culture and beliefs on interactions with patients and decision making
  • adapt practice to improve patient engagement and health care outcomes

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • acknowledge the social, economic, cultural, and behavioural factors influencing health, both at individual and population levels

Ethics and professional behaviour

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • identify and respect the boundaries that define professional and therapeutic relationships
  • respect the roles and expertise of other health professionals
  • comply with the legal requirements of preparing and managing documentation
  • demonstrate awareness of financial and other conflicts of interest

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • understand the responsibility to protect and advance the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities
  • maintain the confidentiality of documentation, and store clinical notes appropriately
  • ensure that the use of social media is consistent with ethical and legal obligations

Judgement and decision making

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • integrate prevention, early detection, health maintenance, and chronic condition management, where relevant, into clinical practice
  • work to achieve optimal and cost-effective patient care that allows maximum benefit from the available resources
  • recognise when to refer to a rehabilitation clinic

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • understand the appropriate use of human resources, diagnostic interventions, therapeutic modalities, and health care facilities

Leadership, management, and teamwork

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • prepare for and conduct clinical encounters in a well-organised and time-efficient manner
  • work effectively as a member of multidisciplinary teams or other professional groups
  • ensure that all important discussions with colleagues, multidisciplinary team members, and patients are appropriately documented
  • review discharge summaries, notes, and other communications written by junior colleagues
  • support colleagues who raise concerns about patients’ safety

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • attend relevant clinical meetings regularly

Health policy, systems, and advocacy

confident
Ready to perform without supervision

Expected behaviours of a trainee who can routinely perform this activity without needing supervision

The trainee will:

  • demonstrate capacity to engage in the surveillance and monitoring of the health status of populations in the outpatient setting
  • maintain good relationships with health agencies and services
  • apply the principles of efficient and equitable allocation of resources to meet individual, community, and national health needs
  • understand billing requirements for outpatient clinic assessments

direction
Requires some supervision

Possible behaviours of a trainee who needs some supervision to perform this activity

The trainee may:

  • understand common population health screening and prevention approaches