Education news from the GMC - December 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:
The state of medical education and practice in the UK: 2012
In September, we launched our second annual edition of The state of medical education and practice in the UK. This report gives a picture of changes to the medical profession and medical education over the past year and outlines challenges for the future.
Drawing on the data we hold, as well as evidence from other sources, the report covers three main areas.
- Changes in the medical profession since last year (chapter 1) updates on key indicators about the profession from last year’s report, and reflects on significant changes.
- Medical practice at different stages of doctors’ careers (chapter 2) looks at how types of complaints vary as doctors progress through their career.
- Doctors in the workplace (chapter 3) assesses the variability of practice across different settings, and considers how these factors can constrain and support good medical practice.
The final chapter, Overcoming barriers to good medical practice, considers the changes that may be required to meet existing and future challenges.
We hope that by sharing this information we will stimulate an informed and practical debate about the nature of the medical profession and the future of medical education in the UK today. We very much welcome your views on the report and its implications, together with any areas that you think need further analysis.
Access the report, an interactive data application and provide your feedback on our website at The state of medical education and practice in the UK report: 2012.
Equivalence routes – consultation recommendations
Between March and June this year, we ran a public consultation on the equivalence routes to the specialist and GP registers. The results of the consultation have been considered by our Council, which has agreed the framework for a new approach to evaluating equivalence applications. The full list of agreed recommendations (pdf) is now available.
The consultation attracted great interest from across the sector, with over 400 responses. Respondents broadly supported proposals to change the way in which we assess equivalence applications, moving away from the current paper-based evaluation of documentation to an evaluation focused on performance in practice.
But there is much work still to do before we can fully implement all the recommendations and we will be updating on the progress of this in future issues of this bulletin.
You can read the full consultation analysis (pdf) on our website, with background details about the review of the routes to GP and specialist registration.
National training survey: helping to ensure patient safety
In this year’s national training survey we asked trainees, for the first time, to tell us if they had any concerns about patient safety in their training environment. We did this because we want trainees to feel empowered to report concerns, and to recognise the part they can play in helping to deliver safe and effective care for patients.
The results showed that around 5% of trainees had a concern that they wanted to raise. We were encouraged that so many trainees felt able to report their concerns. It was also encouraging to see that the proportion of concerns is generally similar throughout the UK, with no significant difference in reporting across the four nations, and that while some were new, many had already been identified through local clinical and educational governance systems.
Most of the concerns could be grouped into two main areas: inadequate staffing out of hours and more general service delivery issues. In response to the results of the survey, deaneries have investigated concerns in their area and have reported that they were already aware of most issues raised. They have told us what action they are taking to address the issues, and we will monitor progress by continuing to work closely with the deaneries in the coming months.
You can read a short summary of the results of the survey (pdf).
Shape of Training review – progress update
The independent Shape of Training review continues to make good progress. We are co-sponsoring the review and providing secretariat support.
Seminar places still available
A series of seminars is taking place to discuss the key themes from the review, which are:
- the balance of generalists and specialists in the medical workforce
- flexibility in training
- the balance between work and training
- the needs of patients
- the breadth and scope of training.
The seminars are aimed at individuals responsible for postgraduate medical education and training eg colleagues at deaneries, colleges and local education providers.
The first seminars took place in Cardiff on 15 November, and in London on 7 December. Seminars are taking place in Edinburgh (10 December), Manchester (8 January) and Belfast (23 January). There are a few places still available – contact the Shape of Training events team at ShapeEvents@gmc-uk.org to reserve your place.
Site visits and emerging themes
In addition to the seminars, a series of site visits will be used to gather views and experiences from people at the frontline of training. Two visits have taken place so far: Professor David Greenaway visited Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Northern Ireland on 11 October, and Dr Vicky Osgood visited Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton on 22 November.
Both visits have prompted some very interesting discussions and emerging themes from participants, and summary reports will soon be available on the Shape of Training website.
Call for written ideas and evidence now open
The review is supported by an expert advisory group – so far the group has met twice, most recently on 24 October. A call for ideas and evidence was launched on 8 November and will run until 8 February 2013.
You can find out more and take part in the call for evidence on the Shape of Training website.
Health and disability in medical education and training
We have undertaken a review of the challenges that disabled medical students and trainee doctors face at all stages of education and training. This review will inform how the regulatory framework should develop.
To support the review, we set up the Health and Disability in Medical Education and Training Working Group earlier this year. You can find more information about this work in the terms of reference of the working group (pdf) and on our website at review of health and disability in medical education and training.
The group has examined a range of key questions.
- Should we change legislation to allow different categories of registration that would make disabled trainees exempt from performing certain practical procedures?
- How can occupational health assessments for students and trainees be strengthened?
- How can we better disseminate good practice on reasonable adjustments?
- How can we better advise students who aren’t able to complete their medical education on their career choices, including exit options?
The group reported to our Council on their discussions on 5 December. Council endorsed the group’s recommendations that we should not, for now, introduce a form of restricted registration for trainee doctors with disabilities. Council also agreed that further work on other issues should be taken forward in 2013.
Moratorium on new subspecialties
Following a recent decision by the UK Scrutiny Group to impose a moratorium on the approval of new specialties until the Shape of Training review has reported, the GMC has agreed a similar moratorium on new subspecialties.
Other GMC news
Revalidation launches
Earlier this year the Secretary of State for Health confirmed to Parliament that revalidation should commence from 3 December 2012. As of this date, every doctor registered with a licence to practise is now legally required to revalidate on a regular basis.
We believe that this decision marks an important day for doctors and patients. We expect that revalidation will make a significant contribution to patient safety and also make sure doctors stay up to date and fit to practise.
We have now begun to tell doctors when they will revalidate for the first time. We expect to tell every licensed doctor their revalidation date by the end of January 2013.
To help doctors prepare for revalidation, we have produced a short leaflet (pdf) explaining what they need to do now to get ready. Revalidation processes for doctors in training are slightly different – you can find more information on our website for doctors in training and doctors not in a training programme.
New Council will lead the GMC from January 2013
The new, smaller GMC Council has now been appointed. With 12 members, including an appointed chair (Professor Sir Peter Rubin) the new Council will set the GMC’s strategy for the next four years and hold the organisation to account for delivering it.
The six medical Council members are: Professor Sir Peter Rubin, Dr Shree Datta, Professor Michael Farthing, Professor the Lord Ajay Kakkar, Professor Deirdre Kelly and Professor Jim McKillop.
The six lay Council members are: Lady Christine Eames, Baroness Helene Hayman, Dame Suzi Leather, Dame Denise Platt, Mrs Enid Rowlands and Dr Hamish Wilson.
Read more about the new Council members (pdf).
Being fair – challenges and opportunities conference
In September, we held our first conference on equality and diversity issues. Being fair and objective in our work is a core part of being an effective regulator. The conference explored issues that are fundamental to maintaining public confidence in our work including:
- dealing with concerns and complaints
- progression in medical education and training
- raising standards through revalidation.
We invited delegates with an interest in equality and diversity issues from across the medical education and training sector. This was a highly interactive event with panel discussions, speakers, workshops and the audience voting on key issues. The points raised in the discussions will have an important influence on our future work.
You can see more on our website about the conference on fairness, including the programme, videos and workshop discussion guides.
If you would like to find out more about our equality and diversity work, please email Aishnine Benjamin.