Key presentations and conditions
Basic Trainees will have a comprehensive depth of knowledge of these presentations and conditions.
Presentations
- Adrenal crisis
- Hypoglycaemia
Conditions
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Diabetes:
- type 1
- type 2
- Diabetic ketoacidosis
- Disorders of growth
- Disorders of puberty
- Hypo- and hyperthyroidism
- Rickets
For each presentation and condition, Basic Trainees will know how to:
Synthesise
- recognise the clinical presentation
- identify relevant epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical science
- take a relevant clinical history
- conduct an appropriate examination
- establish a differential diagnosis
- plan and arrange appropriate investigations
- consider the impact of illness and disease on patients1 and their quality of life
Manage
- provide evidence-based management
For less common or more complex presentations and conditions the trainee must also seek expert opinions - prescribe therapies tailored to patients’ needs and conditions
- recognise potential complications of disease and its management, and initiate preventative strategies
- involve multidisciplinary teams
Consider other factors
- identify individual and social factors and the impact of these on diagnosis and management
Less common or more complex presentations and conditions
Basic Trainees will understand these presentations and conditions. Basic Trainees will understand the resources that should be used to help manage patients with these presentations and conditions.
Conditions
- Addison disease
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- Cushing syndrome
- Disorders of sexual differentiation
- Endocrine bone disease
- Endocrine consequences of childhood cancer survivorship, such as late effects
- Gender dysphoria and management of transgender patients
- Hypo- and hypercalcaemia
- Hypo- and hypernatraemia
- Hypogonadism
- Metabolic syndrome
- Monogenic diabetes
- Neuroendocrine tumours
- Obesity
- Panhypopituitarism
- Parathyroid disease
- Pituitary disease
- Thyroid abnormalities
For each presentation and condition, Basic Trainees will know how to:
Synthesise
- recognise the clinical presentation
- identify relevant epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical science
- take a relevant clinical history
- conduct an appropriate examination
- establish a differential diagnosis
- plan and arrange appropriate investigations
- consider the impact of illness and disease on patients1 and their quality of life
Manage
- provide evidence-based management
For less common or more complex presentations and conditions the trainee must also seek expert opinions - prescribe therapies tailored to patients’ needs and conditions
- recognise potential complications of disease and its management, and initiate preventative strategies
- involve multidisciplinary teams
Consider other factors
- identify individual and social factors and the impact of these on diagnosis and management
Epidemiology, pathophysiology and clinical sciences
Basic Trainees will describe the principles of the foundational sciences.
- Autoimmunity and genetics as they relate to hormone disease
- Corticosteroid therapy
- Drug interactions
- Embryology, anatomy, and physiology of the endocrine system
- Inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs)
- Process of sexual differentiation, growth, development, puberty, reproduction, and ageing
- Pubertal development; normal and abnormal progression
- Secretion, transport, and feedback control of hormones
- Structure and function of hormones, hormone receptors, second messengers, and hormone action
Investigations, procedures and clinical assessment tools
Basic Trainees will know the indications for, and how to interpret the results of these investigations, procedures, and clinical assessments tools.
Basic Trainees will know how to explain the investigation, procedure, or clinical assessment tool to patients, families, and carers.
Investigations
- Basic endocrine testing:
- diabetes diagnostic tests
- gonadotrophins
- synacthen test, including androgen profile
- thyroid function tests (TFT)
- Biochemical investigations:
- bone and mineral densitometry
- dynamic growth hormone tests
- screening for causes of hypoglycaemia
- screening for causes of short stature
- water deprivation test
- Bone age
- Tests of bone and mineral metabolism
Clinical assessment tools
- Anthropometric assessment:
- body mass index (BMI)
- waist to hip ratio (WHR)
- Growth charts
- Height measurements
- Orchidometry
- Pubertal staging
Important specific issues
Basic Trainees will identify important specialty-specific issues and the impact of these on diagnosis and management.
- Comorbidities, psychosocial factors, environmental influence, and socio-economic factors in relation to short stature and type 1 diabetes
- Complications of long-term steroid use
- Role of DXA bone scans in the assessment of osteoporosis
- References to patients in the remainder of this document may include their families or carers.