High-quality training is a prerequisite to teaching future general practitioners. To inspire and guide all countries to implement General Practice (GP) specialist education and training and bring it to the highest standards, we aimed, within the European context, to produce a collaborative document entitled 'Educational Requirements for GP Specialty Training'. Through an iterative process existing documents from the European Academy of Teachers in GP and Family Medicine (EURACT) and the World Organization of Family Medicine Doctors (WONCA) were collated. Other reports, grey literature about specialty GP training and requirements for trainees, trainers and training institutions were included. State-of-the-art GP specialty training 'core' competences, characteristics and essential features of GP are described. General principles and specified tools for training and assessment are summarised. Recommendations on the duration and place(s) of training and selection of trainees are provided. Trainers should be accredited teachers and quality training institutions are essential. New insights, existing gaps and issues for debate have highlighted areas for further research. This document was produced in the specific context of Europe but its general principles are relevant to GP training in all countries.

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There has been recent concern about both the care of dying patients and the adequacy of the preparation that most doctors receive for this task. The role of the doctor in palliative care is discussed and the educational needs of medical students in palliative care are suggested. A palliative care course for fifth‐year students at the Austin Hospital–Repatriation General Hospital Clinical School, University of Melbourne, is described. This course recently has been adopted by the Victorian Palliative Care Council as a model for undergraduate palliative medicine education, and has been recommended to the University of Melbourne and Monash University Medical Schools for incorporation in each Clinical School curriculum.

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