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News: GMC calls for investigation at medical school

28 September 2009

Four medical students have been wrongly told they had passed their final exams and gone on to practise in hospitals.

The junior doctors had been practising at four hospitals across South Wales for up to 10 days before it was discovered they had failed a module of their degree. The four students were suspended from their jobs and the GMC has been liaising closely with Cardiff Medical School following the incident and we have been in touch with the students involved.

Professor Jim McKillop, Chair of GMC Undergraduate Board, told GMCtoday: ‘We have asked Cardiff Medical School to conduct an impartial investigation into the incident and to demonstrate to the GMC that they will take appropriate action to prevent a reoccurrence. We will remain in close contact with Cardiff Medical School until this situation is resolved.’

In a letter to the school, Professor McKillop wrote: ‘The GMC must be assured that medical schools have systems in place that ensure only those students who have met the outcomes in Tomorrow’s Doctors and are otherwise fit to practise are allowed to graduate.’

The ‘clerical error’ came to light after another student who failed the module appealed against the decision, and on re-examination of the data, was found to have passed.

A spokesman for the University said: ‘Given the seriousness of the situation, an exam board, including independent external examiners, was immediately convened to review and ratify student marks for the module
in question.’