Approvals: Undergraduate education

The GMC approves all UK primary medical qualifications against the standards set out in Tomorrow's Doctors.

The standards and outcomes for undergraduate medical education and training, including curricula and assessment systems, are set out in Tomorrow’s Doctors 2009 which applies from the academic year 2011-12. To help medical schools implement the requirements in Tomorrow's Doctors (2009), the GMC has provided medical schools with additional advice on four themes.

The GMC approves all UK primary medical qualifications against Tomorrow’s Doctors (2009) standards and makes sure schools are following the standards through a rolling quality assurance process that also identifies innovation and good practice and seeks to resolve any issues of concern.

Every UK medical school completes an annual monitoring return to report to the GMC on progress and change in the last 12 months.

Schools are visited by GMC appointed teams at least twice in every ten years to quality assure delivery of medical education. Team members include experienced hospital clinicians, GPs, students, lay people and others skilled in medical education. Teams investigate how delivery matches with documentary evidence presented by each school and confirm that graduating students have the appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour to enter Foundation Year One. Interviews with staff, clinicians and students at all levels are a crucial part of this process and findings are reported on the GMC website.