TY - JOUR T1 - The JCPTGP: the passing of an era JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 970 LP - 971 VL - 55 IS - 521 AU - Brian Keighley Y1 - 2005/12/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/55/521/970.abstract N2 - On 30 September 2005 the medical regulatory body with a famously forgettable acronym, the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice, was gently and sadly laid to rest.GP educators universally referred to this UK-wide organisation, which for a generation held pole position in quality assurance of general practice, as the ‘Joint Committee’. It was, however, never accorded its alphabetic or historical seniority when bracketed with its sister organisation, the Specialist Training Authority (STA); both being competent authorities for assuring medical training under the European medical directives (specialist training under Article 3, and general practice under Article 4).The JCPTGP was a unique body that brought together not only the then divided tribes of general practice (it was a joint committee between the Royal College of General Practitioners [RCGP] and the General Practitioners Committee [GPC]), but also had representation from GP education directors, postgraduate deans, specialists, doctors in training, the Departments of Health and, latterly, the laity.The leadership of the JCPTGP alternated between chairmen appointed by its two parents, the RCGP and GPC, and had two medical joint honorary secretaries, one from each. Its signal achievement was to unite disparate medical organisations under a single banner of excellence within … ER -