Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

The GMC calls on doctors to share their views on medical training

Press Release

01 Jun 2011

More than 80,000 postgraduate trainees and trainers across the UK are being asked for their views on the quality of medical training in the General Medical Council’s 2011 National Training Surveys.

The surveys are one of the important ways we track what is working and what needs to be improved. The results should help everyone involved raise standards and make sure junior doctors receive the training they need to become world-class practitioners.

Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the GMC

The surveys provide an important part of the picture of medical training as they reveal the perspectives of both trainers and trainees by country, deanery, specialty, foundation programme, graduating medical school and local area.

Last year’s surveys were completed by 47,000 trainees (88% of the total surveyed) and 17,000 trainers (49% of the total surveyed). Overall trainees and trainers last year reported high levels of satisfaction with their education but also raised a number of concerns – some suggested that there was not enough time for training and others said they were being asked to take on tasks beyond their competence. 

Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the General Medical Council said,

“Feedback from trainees and trainers provides a valuable insight into medical training. It is vital that as many doctors take part as possible and that they are frank and open in their responses. The surveys are one of the important ways we track what is working and what needs to be improved. The results should help everyone involved raise standards and make sure junior doctors receive the training they need to become world-class practitioners, delivering high quality care.”

The vast majority of trainers and trainees should now have received their invitations to take part in the survey, which opened at the start of May and closes on 22 July.

For more information visit www.gmc-uk.org/nts. 

Notes to editors:

Trainers are defined as:

  • All clinical supervisors – trainers who are selected and appropriately trained to be responsible for overseeing a specified trainee’s clinical work and providing constructive feedback during a training placement.  
  • All educational supervisors – trainers who are selected and appropriately trained to be responsible for the overall supervision and management of a specified trainee’s educational progress during a training placement or series of placements. The educational supervisor is responsible for the trainee’s Educational Agreement. 
  • All approved GP trainers and GPs with trainees (including Foundation Programme trainees). 

Trainees are defined as:

  • Foundation trainees (F1 and F2 trainees on a foundation programme)
  • Core trainees
  • Higher specialty training, including SpR and GP trainees
  • FTSTA trainees (we will need to know the level associated with the trainee’s current role)
  • LAT trainees (we will need to know the level associated with the trainee’s current role)
  • Military trainees – all military trainees working with the service on all approved programmes
  • Trainees in Clinical Lecturer and Academic Clinical Fellowship posts approved by the GMC (we will need to know the level associated with the trainee’s current role)
  • Trainees working for non NHS organisations. For example, occupational medicine, pharmaceutical medicine and palliative medicine. 

The following trainees do not need to take part:

  • Trainees on maternity leave on the census date
  • Trainees on Out of Programme Training (OOPT) or Out of Programme Research (OOPR) on the census date
  • Dentists
  • Doctors who have been awarded their CCT but are awaiting a consultant post
  • Public health practitioner trainees who are not medically qualified. 

Last year, 35,628 trainers and 53,448 trainees were written to in order for them to take part in the National Training Surveys. Trainers and trainees can find more information about the surveys here on our website www.gmc-uk.org/nts  

Read the results from last year’s surveys (pdf).

For further information please contact the Media Relations Office on 020 7189 5454, out of hours 020 7189 5444/ 07920 461497, email press@gmc-uk.org, website http://www.gmc-uk.org/.

The General Medical Council registers and licenses doctors to practise medicine in the UK.

The law gives us four main functions:

  • keeping up-to-date registers of qualified doctors
  • fostering good medical practice
  • promoting high standards of medical education and training
  • dealing firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is in doubt