Abstract
Conscious of its responsibilities to its Fellows and Members who are paediatricians, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is anxious to play its part, along with others, in maintaining and improving standards in paediatrics. Recognising the importance and prominence of the specialty within the generality of specialist medicine, and alongside general internal medicine, it has established a Paediatric Board, reporting directly to Council, which will deal with and advise on all matters concerning paediatrics and child health, and thus enhance the autonomy and influence of the specialty both within the College and on medical affairs in general. It will do this in close association with the British Paediatric Association (BPA) which will nominate members of the Board. In particular the RCP will continue to set standards in paediatrics through examinations, accreditation, representatives on consultant advisory appointment committees, and its membership of the GMC and the Conference of Medical Royal Colleges and their Faculties, to which the Paediatric Board will make a substantial contribution. The network of regional paediatric advisers to the RCP will ensure that the Board is kept in touch with paediatric opinion throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Relationships with Scottish paediatrics and paediatricians will be important, for example, in the organisation and development of the MRCP(UK) examination and its paediatric Part II. Links with paediatricians in the Irish Republic exist through the Joint Committee on Higher Medical Training.
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