Generic competencies in postgraduate medical training:their importance illustrated by a doctor’s narrative on competency-based practice

Medical education programmes worldwide are becoming competency-based, aiming to provide training in allaspects relevant to the future practice of physicians. These involve competencies that exceed the sole domain ofmedical expertise and skills, beholding i.e. communication, collaboration, ethics, and management. Although thenecessity of these so called ‘generic’ competencies has become clear in investigations into workplace and societalneeds, recognition of the importance of these competencies by the medical profession is sometimes challenging.In this article, the relevance of generic competencies to daily practice is illustrated by two narratives from obstetricsgynaecology.Subsequent reflection on these narratives illustrates the importance of the incorporation of genericcompetencies in medical training.