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Features: PMETB merger

25 May 2009

Review seeks to maximise benefits of PMETB merger.

Meetings to discuss the future regulation of medical education and training in the UK have been taking place across the country. Lord Naren Patel, supported by the GMC and PMETB, has been getting together with those with a particular interest in medical education as the merger of PMETB with the GMC draws closer.

Lord Patel’s independent review is looking at the regulatory framework for medical education with the aim of ensuring doctors receive the highest standard of education and training across the whole of their careers and ensuring it is as easy as possible for doctors to demonstrate that they are fulfilling all that is required of them. The review is being supported by an advisory group drawn from the GMC Council and PMETB Board and there will also be a wider reference group drawn from undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and training, the NHS and independent sector, patients and the public.

Discussions in the meetings held to date have considered:

• how the regulation of medical education needs to develop to reflect better the needs of patients, doctors and employers
• what the GMC’s approach should be to specifying standards and determining content in education and training
• how we can ensure quality in medical education and training
• the principles which should underpin and shape the future continuum of medical education
• what the priorities for the new regulatory structure should be.

Postgraduate Board member, Professor Jane Dacre, said of the review: ‘The discussions so far have highlighted a wide range of potential issues. Building on these initial discussions, the review will identify those aspects of the regulation of education and training that are working well, those that require strengthening or modification, and those areas where there are significant gaps in the current arrangements.’

GMC Council member and PMETB member, Dr Johann Malawana, told GMCtoday: ‘It is important that the review looks across the continuum of education and training. We have been seeking to ground the work of the review within the education and training functions of the GMC, but making sure that we continue to benefit from PMETB’s expertise.’