doctor-patient communication; doctor-patient relationship faculty of medicine working group was to define the content of medical communication training and determine the necessary communication skills to be mastered and expected competencies for each level of medical education. Methods: A group of medical educators from departments of family medicine, medical and surgical specialties, as well as pedagogy and communication experts and a student representative have met regularly since 2007. Together they developed a framework of medical communication. To ensure coherence throughout the medical curriculum, the committee members based their work on published research in the fields of communication as well as pedagogy. Results: The committee produced a framework of the necessary knowledge and skills necessary to acquire competence in medical communication. The resulting representation suggests a systematic and progressive approach to communication training. Thus, medical trainers now have a theoretical framework as well as a training tool in the form of a competence wheel that allows them to combine different communication elements relevant to diverse clinical situations that physicians encounter in their practice. Discussion: This document will serve as the basis on which medical educators and teachers can organize communication training with respect to their specialty.