March 2011 Student News
Fee cut for you
We have recently announced a reduction in the fees for newly qualified doctors in recognition of the challenging financial circumstances faced by many doctors. The cut will benefit around 14,000 doctors as they enter the profession.
Newly qualified doctors are to save £225 in their first years of registration after the GMC announced that fees will be reduced for those at the start of their career. Provisionally-registered doctors will pay £100 a year, down from £145, and the cost of the first year of full registration has been halved to £210. These changes take effect from 1 April 2011.
Fourteen thousand doctors will be helped by this change next year, saving a combined total of around £1.8 million.
The fee reduction is part of a package of measures agreed by the GMC’s Council in recognition of the challenging financial circumstances many doctors face, particularly those who recently qualified or who are at the lower end of the income scale.
Any doctor whose total income is less than £26,000 will qualify for a 50% discount in their annual retention fees from 1 April 2011.
The main Annual Retention Fee is being frozen at £420 for 2011/12.
Getting to know…
This month doctor, Captain Nick Dennison described his life working in a busy A&E department, his deployment with the army to Kenya, his inspiring charity work and some top tips for surviving medical school.
Captain Nick Dennison
CV: Nick graduated from Sheffield Medical School in 2006. He went on to work as a junior doctor in both Sheffield and Doncaster before starting his commission in summer 2008. He hopes to become an anaesthetist.
Describe your average day?
I currently work as a civilian doctor in a busy A and E department at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. If you’d have asked me this question six months ago, my answer would have been very different! I was in Kenya serving with the Royal Armoured Corps. My job was to keep the troops fit and well. Being a doctor in the army poses challenges and problems that are simply implausible to people living in the civilian world.
What made you choose a career in the army?
After I finished A-levels, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. My dad was a GP so going to medical school seemed the right thing to do! But I had always wanted to join the army, so after I had qualified I decided to apply. The application process is rigorous, with medical assessments, fitness tests and formal interviews.
Tell me more about your charity work?
Working in dangerous environments has made me more aware of the dedication and sacrifice made daily by our troops, which is why I decided to do my bit and raise some money to help those who had been affected. I did a 1700 mile unsupported row around Britain which was gruelling, but it was worth it in the end - we raised £20,000.
What are your top tips for surviving medical school?
Training to be a doctor can be very stressful and intense, and it’s important to have interests outside of medicine. For me it was sport. The benefits are not just physical - exercise stimulates the brain and increases the release of endorphins.
3rd year shadowing
In November 2009 students from Barts and the London conducted a study that considered the advantages of shadowing Foundation Year doctors (FY1) in the third year of medical school. Find out how they got on…
In November 2009 Barts and the London medical students conducted a study that considered the advantages of shadowing Foundation Year doctors (FY1) in the third year of medical school. The GMC currently recommends that final year students should, wherever practicable, shadow the F1 whose post they will take up.
Eighteen students spent one day each shadowing an FY1, holding their bleep and carrying out their duties under direct supervision. Questionnaires based on GMC expectations of an FY1, were completed assessing students’ confidence and experience before and after their shifts.
Quantitative results showed a significant increase in students’ level of experience in all three of the domains tested. Students also reported a significant increase in confidence in various different clinical tasks including answering the bleep, prioritising jobs, venepuncture, writing drug charts, writing in patient notes and developing management plans. Qualitative results secured a positive reaction from every student, with the overwhelming opinion that shadowing should be made compulsory part of the Year 3 curriculum. One participant said “It's good to see how things fit together.” The doctors involved also found it increased their knowledge and teaching skills by having a student shadowing them.
This study may have implications for the future of medical training. If incorporated into the year 3 curriculum, compulsory shadowing would give students a structured one-on-one learning experience focusing on clinically relevant skills that they can build upon in later placements. As one student said “‘I felt like I could contribute more to care other than solely observing or only clerking”. By shadowing a doctor so closely, they will also learn first hand how to interact professionally with patients and other healthcare workers; a skill difficult to teach at medical schools.
Are hearings necessary?/A quicker way?/How should we investigate?
We are proposing major changes in the way the GMC handles cases involving concerns about doctors and would like to know what you think.
The proposals recommend that doctors could accept sanctions, including suspension and erasure, without their cases going to a hearing. The aim is to deliver a quicker system while still maintaining fairness to doctors and patients.
Patient protection would be the driving force behind the new system but where possible it would avoid subjecting doctors and patients to long, stressful and sometimes harrowing public hearings. It would also be transparent - even when a case did not end with a hearing, the concerns and any sanctions would still be published on the GMC website.
For those doctors who do not accept the sanction proposed by the GMC or where there is a significant dispute about the facts, cases would still be referred for a hearing..
The consultation document also proposes a more speedy process for dealing with doctors convicted of serious crimes, such as murder and rape,– the GMC argues that those who have committed such crimes are not fit to be doctors.
To take part in the consultation, which runs until 11 April, visit www.gmc-uk.org/ftpreformconsultation.
Medical students: professional values in action
What would you do if your supervisor arrived at work apparently still intoxicated from the night before? Would you a) have a quiet word with them and explain your concerns? b) say nothing, hoping it is a one-off incident? c) report the incident to your medical school?
To find out what Jasdeep does visit: www.gmc-uk.org/studentvalues