Capabilities in leadership and team working

Why this matters on day one

Followership and speaking up are the parts of this domain that matter at FY1. In an arrest or a deteriorating patient, the useful person is often the one who says the thing nobody has said — "has anyone checked the glucose?" — regardless of grade.

What the domain requires

1. 1Team working. Know your role and everyone else's, hand over safely, and use the expertise around you. Nurses and pharmacists prevent most of your errors.
2. 2Followership and speaking up. Support the person leading, and voice concerns clearly using a graded assertion — state the observation, state your concern, propose an action, and if unheard, escalate.
3. 3Human factors. Understand fatigue, task saturation, fixation error and the value of checklists and structured communication in reducing them.
4. 4Leading when it falls to you. You may be the first and only doctor present. Take charge of the ABCDE, allocate tasks explicitly by name, and call for help early.

What evidencing it looks like

• A case where you escalated against resistance and were right to.
• MDT feedback on team working.
• Leading or coordinating something concrete — a ward round, a handover, a teaching session.

What falls short

• Assuming leadership means seniority and therefore not contributing.
• Hinting at a concern instead of stating it — "are we happy with that potassium?" is not an escalation.
• Task-saturating silently rather than asking for help.

Demonstrated by