Education news from the GMC - July 2012
Education news from the GMC is a regular e-bulletin which contains the latest news and developments in medical education and training from the GMC.
To receive the update, please send an email to education@gmc-uk.org.
In this issue:
Recognition and approval of trainers
Earlier this year we consulted on new proposals for the recognition and approval of trainers. We have reviewed the 270 responses and now have a plan to implement this work.
Importantly, the plan for the recognition of trainers does not change our standards for trainers – it is very much about local processes. The successful implementation of these processes will depend on the continued support of postgraduate deaneries, medical schools and local education providers.
The implementation plan was recently agreed by our Council and we look forward to sharing it with you as soon as possible. For now, please go to our web pages on the recognition and approval of trainers for the latest updates as they happen and to read about the progress we’ve made so far. You can also read the summary paper to Council about the outcomes of the consultation on recognising and approving trainers (pdf).
Work to support doctors and trainees with disabilities
We want a career in medicine to be open to as many people as possible who have the skills to be great doctors. Doctors with health conditions or disabilities can bring unique insights and understanding to patient care and it's important they don't face unreasonable barriers. That's why we've begun a review looking at the issues they face at all stages of their education and training.
To get the review started, we held a roundtable meeting (pdf) with disabled students and doctors to hear about the issues they face and ideas for improving support. Some of the participants went on camera to share their experiences and you can watch these here: Experiences shared: short films about health and disability.
We've also published a statement on disability in medical education and training (pdf) for key interest groups, summarising recent legal advice on disability in medical education and training. This was produced in response to some medical schools and postgraduate deaneries asking for more clarity in this area.
What are the key questions?
We've set up a working group to oversee the review - see their terms of reference (pdf) here. The group includes student and trainee representatives, medical school and postgraduate deans representatives, and GMC Council members. The group will consider a wide range of questions.
- How can we promote effective support and clearer transitions so that students and trainees with disabilities can progress?
- How should reasonable adjustments work in practice and are these administered equally across the UK?
- What is the impact of our Gateways to the Professions guidance, and are all disabled medical students able to complete foundation and specialty training?
- How can we strike the right balance between protecting the rights and expectations of students and trainees while maintaining standards and protecting patient safety?
- Are advice, occupational health services and other support accessible to students and trainees, including those with longstanding disabilities and those who become disabled during their education and training?
- What mental health issues do medical students have, and how can they be supported and the risks be addressed?
Next steps
The working group, which met for the first time in May 2012, will report to Council with conclusions and recommendations in December 2012.
Before then, we'll be holding a wider meeting with disabled students and trainees, patients, employers, educators, and others to test some of the conclusions and recommendations the group is considering.
As the work progresses, we will update the webpage we have developed for the review of health and disability in medical education and training. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact us on 0161 923 6602 or education@gmc-uk.org.
New CPD guidance now available
We have launched new guidance on continuing professional development to provide a framework for doctors when they are considering how to maintain and improve their professional practice. All doctors have a professional duty to keep their knowledge and skills up to date throughout their working lives – this guidance will help them meet that duty and to gather information for their appraisal and revalidation.
The guidance describes how doctors should plan, carry out and evaluate their CPD activities. Doctors have to reflect on their learning needs based on our core guidance Good Medical Practice, and they must take account of the needs of their patients and their healthcare teams when considering their own learning needs.
The guidance was developed in cooperation with doctors, medical royal colleges, employers, patients and the public, following widespread public consultation earlier this year.
Quality update
Regional visit reports
In 2011/12, we piloted a regional approach to quality assuring deaneries and medical schools. This joined-up approach involved visiting all medical schools and deaneries within Wales and the West Midlands at the same time to gain a clearer picture of medical education and training in that region or country. Joined up visits aim to reduce the burden on local education providers which might otherwise receive a separate visit for each stage of training.
We have published visit reports for the schools and deaneries in Wales and the West Midlands, which includes their formal response to the report. This contains an action plan outlining how they will meet any requirements or recommendations, and share areas of good practice identified in the report. For the first time we have also published regional visit reports, which draw together some of themes that emerged from the visits across the region.
Find the 2011/12 visit and regional reports here: Regional review reports.
Our review of quality assurance – workshops held in June
We committed to a comprehensive review of how we assure the quality of medical education and training in our Education Strategy 2011-2013 (pdf). The review started in early 2012 and will conclude towards the end of 2013. In June we held three workshops in London, Manchester and Edinburgh to gather ideas about how our quality assurance arrangements should operate in the future and what changes are need to achieve that.
These workshops will feed into the wider review and we will publish a report summarising our findings from the three workshops on our website at this page: reviewing our approach to the quality assurance of medical education and training in August.
Other GMC news
Our Council is changing
The Department of Health has consulted on changes to reduce the size of our Council from 24 members to 12 and to appoint, rather than elect, the Chair. The terms of office for our current Council members end in December, so the Council will be reconstituted from 1 January 2013. As now, there will be an equal number of medical and lay members, and at least one member from each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The reduced number of Council members will mean that we need to make some changes to working methods and the governance framework. We will develop options for these changes in the coming months for the reconstituted Council to consider.
If you are interested in applying for a role as a Council member (closing date 31 August), you can find more information at GMC Council appointments.
Law Commission's consultation on the regulation of healthcare professionals
We responded to the Law Commission’s recent consultation on their proposals to establish a streamlined, transparent and responsive system to regulate healthcare professionals. This would involve simplifying and modernising the law around regulation.
The consultation raised questions on:
- the registration and renewal of registration of professionals, student registers, registration appeals, protected titles and protected functions
- how the regulators oversee the quality of education and training before and after registration
- how the regulators set standards for professional conduct and practice, and ensure ongoing practice standards (for example, through revalidation)
- the investigation and adjudication of fitness to practise cases
- the role of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence
- the regulation of business premises and activities
- the governance arrangements of the regulators, including the size and composition of councils
- the systems through which the regulators can be held to account, including the roles of the Privy Council, Government and Parliament, and their duties to consult the public.
Our response
We broadly welcomed the proposals to allow regulators greater freedom to adopt their own approach in regulating education. We also welcomed the emphasis on the importance of cooperation between regulators and the other bodies involved in education and training.
But we believe there is much work still to do to ensure that the principles and proposed approach described in the consultation are translated into an effective legal framework for the future regulation of education and training. You can read our full response at the GMC's responses to consultations page.
Next steps
The consultation closed at the end of May and its outcomes will be published in August. Following this, regulators will work with the Law Commission to refine proposed legislation and prepare themselves for new a legislative framework in 2015.
You can find out more about the consultation on the Law Commission’s website.
New guidance on child protection
We have issued new guidance to every doctor in the UK to help them protect children from abuse or neglect. The guidance, Protecting children and young people: the responsibilities of all doctors, is aimed at supporting doctors who have to deal with a wide range of complex child protection issues.
It makes doctors’ responsibilities in this area clear and advises where they can turn for support.
- If doctors are treating an adult patient, they must consider whether the patient poses a risk to children or young people. Doctors must be able to identify risk factors in their environment that might raise concerns about abuse or neglect.
- Doctors should get support if they have concerns that a child or young person may be at risk of abuse or neglect. Every trust has a named or designated professional or lead clinician (Scotland) and all doctors should know who they can turn to if they need advice.
- In sharing concerns about possible abuse or neglect, doctors must remember that they work within a wider team of professionals, all of whom have a responsibility to keep children safe from abuse.
We have produced additional learning materials, including short guides for doctors who treat adult patients and for GPs. We have also developed a set of case studies that highlight and explore some of the principles covered in the new guidance. We hope that they will help doctors and others to understand how the principles apply in practice. Find out more about the guidance and these learning materials at: Protecting children and young people: the responsibilities of all doctors.
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