Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

Acceptable primary medical qualification

This guidance provides information for students, doctors and employers about acceptable primary medical qualifications for the purpose of obtaining GMC registration with a licence to practise. This information was last updated on 23 December 2009.

Contents

  1. 1. International Medical Graduates
  2. 2. Acceptable primary medical qualifications
  3. 3. Private, UK based, medical colleges

1. International medical graduates

We use the term "international medical graduates" to describe:

  1. Doctors who have an acceptable overseas qualification and who are nationals of countries outside the UK, the EEA and Switzerland

and

  1. Doctors who have an acceptable overseas qualification and are UK nationals.

2. Acceptable primary medical qualifications

All international medical graduates must possess an acceptable primary medical qualification in order to apply for registration with a licence to practise. In addition, international medical graduates will be required to demonstrate their medical knowledge and skills, knowledge of English, and fitness to practise before they are registered with a licence to practise.

The GMC defines an acceptable primary medical qualification as meeting the following five criteria. The primary medical qualification must have:

  • Been awarded by an institution listed on the Avicenna Directory (formerly the WHO Directory of medical schools) or otherwise accepted by the GMC. (Please note: the GMC does not accept all primary medical qualifications that are listed on the Avicenna Directory. See below for more information).
  • For those on the Avicenna Directory, been awarded by an institution that has a physical address included in the Avicenna Directory.
    Been awarded after a course of study comprising at least 5,500 hours (or four years full time equivalent study).
  • Not involved a course of study undertaken wholly or substantially outside the country that awarded the primary medical qualification.
  • Have not involved a course of study undertaken wholly or substantially by correspondence.

The GMC regards most, but not all, of the primary medical qualifications listed in the Avicenna directory of medical schools as acceptable for the purposes of obtaining GMC registration with a licence to practise.

Please check in this guidance for details of the Avicenna Directory primary medical qualifications that are not accepted by the GMC, and those that are accepted on a case-by-case basis. The GMC may exclude the primary medical qualifications from any school listed in the Avicenna directory at any time.

Primary medical qualifications not accepted by the GMC

The following medical schools are currently listed in the Avicenna Directory of medical schools. The GMC, however, is not satisfied that the qualifications issued by these schools meet all five criteria for an acceptable overseas qualification. At the present time, the GMC is not registering or issuing a licence to practise to graduates who hold primary medical qualifications obtained from the medical schools listed below. Graduates from these schools are not permitted to make a booking for or to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test.

  1. Belize
     St Matthew's University School of Medicine
    Grace University School of Medicine
  2. Cook Islands
    St Mary's Medical School
  3. Liberia
    Saint Luke School of Medicine
  4. Senegal
    St Christopher Ibrahima Mar Diop College of Medicine
  5. Seychelles
     University of Seychelles American Institute of Medicine (USAIM)
  6. St Lucia
     Spartan Health Sciences University
    St Mary's Medical School

Primary medical qualifications which may be accepted by the GMC

Primary medical qualifications obtained from the following medical schools may be acceptable for the purpose of obtaining GMC registration with a licence to practise. Doctors graduating from the following schools seeking registration with a licence to practise are advised to contact the GMC as applications will be dealt with on a case by case basis. Any doctor who applies for registration with a licence to practise with a primary medical qualification from one of these schools may be required to submit additional information, such as transcripts and details of clinical rotation arrangements, before a decision is made on whether they have an acceptable primary medical qualification.

Please note: If you are thinking of booking the PLAB test and are the holder of one of these primary medical qualifications we strongly recommend that you contact the GMC before booking the test to ensure that your qualification is acceptable.

  1. Antigua
    American University of Antigua
  2. Aruba
  3. All Saints University of Medicine (this only applies to graduates who transferred to All Saints following a period of study at another medical school)
  4. Xavier University School of Medicine (this only applies to graduates who transferred to Xavier following a period of study at another medical school)
  5. Cayman Islands
    St Matthews University School of Medicine
  6. Commonwealth of Dominica
    All Saints University School of Medicine
  7. Guyana
    American International School of Medicine
  8. Netherlands Antilles 
  9. American University of the Caribbean (this only applies to graduates who transferred to the American University of the Caribbean following a period of study at another medical school)
  10. St James's School of Medicine, Bonaire (this only applies to graduates who transferred to St James's following a period of study at another medical school)
  11. University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine
  12. Philippines
     University of the East Ramon Magasaysay Memorial Medical Centre
  13. Russia
    St Petersburg State Medical Academy
    St Petersburg State I.P Pavlov Medical University
    St Petersburg State Pediatric Medical Academy
  14. Samoa
    Oceania University of Medicine
  15. St Kitts and Nevis
    Windsor University School of Medicine
    International University of Health Sciences
    St Theresa's Medical University
    University of Medicine and Health Sciences
  16. St Lucia
    Destiny University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (formerly known as the College of Medicine and Health Sciences)
  17. Tanzania
    Hubert Kairuki Memorial University
  18. Uganda
    Kigezi International School of Medicine  (this school is now believed to have closed down)
  19. Ukraine
    Lugansk State Medical University (this only applies to graduates who transferred to Lugansk following a period of study at another medical school)

Acceptable primary medical qualifications which are not on the Avicenna directory of medical schools

There are a number of additional primary medical qualifications which are not currently listed on the Avicenna Directory of medical schools (formerly known as the WHO Directory of Medical Schools) but are regarded as acceptable for the purposes of obtaining registration with a licence to practise. Acceptance of these qualifications is approved by the GMC's Registration directorate and is not an alternative to a school being listed in the Avicenna Directory. This acceptance is approved only in exceptional circumstances.

If your medical school is not listed in the Avicenna Directory and does not currently appear on the list of additional primary medical qualifications accepted by the GMC you will need to contact your medical school in the first instance and ask them to contact the relevant Ministry of Health with a view to requesting Avicenna Directory listing for the school.

3. Private, UK-based, medical colleges

There are a number of private, UK-based medical colleges that claim that the course of study undertaken substantially or wholly in the UK leads to a primary medical qualification awarded by an overseas University.

Whilst the overseas university may be listed in the Avicenna directory of medical schools based on its recognition by the country's government, the GMC is not satisfied about the status of the schools' programmes in the UK, specifically the schools' recognition by the government nor is the GMC assured that the schools are subject to adequate quality assurance arrangements. The overseas universities and their UK base are not subject to any quality assurance arrangements by the GMC. In addition, students are not entitled to apply to the student loans company for government funding towards the cost of the tuition fees.

The GMC does not register or grant a licence to practise to graduates who have been awarded primary medical qualifications in such circumstances. Graduates from these schools are not permitted to make a booking for or to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test.