D1.44 - Primary care allergy and clinical immunology fellowship: A Delphi study of core competencies

The rising burden of allergic disease is met with a paucity of specialist healthcareservices and training. General Practitioners with a special interest (GPwSI) or extendedrole (GPwER) in allergy have been identified as a key bridge between primary andspecialist care; however, clinical training to fulfil this role is needed. The purpose of thisstudy is to establish a consensus on the core competencies for a clinical fellowship inthis field, creating a framework for structured training to address this need.

A two-phase modified e-Delphi was conducted. In Phase 1, an existing framework wasincorporated into a narrative literature review to generate an initial list of competencystatements. Phase 2 engaged a diverse expert panel in a two-round Delphi study.Participants rated the statements on a 7-point Likert scale. Competencies rated ≥ 6 by70% of the participants achieved consensus.

Phase 1 identified 78 competency statements from the literature and the existingframework. 12 participants completed both rounds of the Delphi study, agreeing on 49core competency statements for a fellowship curriculum. Core skills such as initialdiagnosis, investigation, and management of allergic conditions and anaphylaxis, andwhen to refer to a specialist were addressed.

This study successfully established an evidence-based competency framework for aclinical fellowship in primary care allergy. The findings provide a robust foundation for anadvanced training curriculum. By incorporating these findings into curricula tailored tolocally available services and allergy needs, GPwSI/GPwER can be equipped to providemore effective and comprehensive allergy care.