Higher specialist training in rheumatology.

Higher specialist training in rheumatology, as in other specialties, has recently been subjected to major reforms. In the mid 1990s, Sir Kenneth Calman, then Chief Medical Officer, set out to bring the British system of specialist training into line with the requirements of the European Medical Directives. He chaired a working party that recommended combining the registrar and senior registrar grades into a unified specialist registrar (SpR) grade and defining the entry criteria, curriculum and minimum training period for each specialty. Successful completion would lead to a certificate and admission to the specialist register w1x. Features of the new system were set out in A guide to specialist registrar training w2x and included educational objective-setting, training agreements and induction at the start of each placement, rotational placements designed to offer spe- cified experience, regular feedback and annual assess- ments. Transition to the new system for the medical specialties took place in 1997.