Reports and reviews

Medical school reports

Medical schools provide annual reports to us which aim to give us assurance that the quality management processes and quality control in place locally meet our standards.

The reports should confirm that medical schools take prompt and effective action (where appropriate) in response to all quality activity.

Progression reports

As part of our quality assurance framework, we report annually on the progression of doctors across the UK. We report on key stages in their training including, specialty examinations, application and entry into specialty training and more.

Deans’ reports

Deans provide an update on concerns and good practice on an ongoing basis, which they manage online through GMC Connect.

The system provides reassurance that the quality of postgraduate medical education and training is meeting our standards.

Enhanced monitoring

When deaneries and local offices are concerned about the training of doctors, they need to work with trusts and health boards to make improvements. 

If the situation doesn’t improve, they tell us. We then work with all the organisations involved to improve the quality of training through what we refer to as our enhanced monitoring process.

Thematic reviews

We check and monitor the education and training that doctors receive by carrying out reviews focused on particular aspects of training. Thematic reviews can include small specialty reviews, risk-based spot checks and can focus on specific issues such as bullying.

Annual specialty reports

The annual specialty reports (ASRs) give us an overview of medical specialty education and training from the perspective of the medical royal colleges or faculties who represent the profession and have a key role in managing and improving the quality of specialty training for doctors.

The reports feed into our quality assurance processes. We review them in conjunction with annual reports provided by deans and medical schools as well as evidence from our visits, surveys and other sources. We use concerns raised in the ASRs to inform our quality assurance activities, including regional reviews, check visits, small specialty reviews and enhanced monitoring. Issues in the ASR may also inform our education policy developments.

Regional and national reviews

We carry out regional reviews in England and national reviews in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

On a regional review we visit every medical school and the deanery or local office in a geographical region or country. This helps us to make judgements about each individual organisation against our standards.

Training pathways

Recently, we’ve been exploring how doctors move in and out of training, to help those working in postgraduate medical education and training understand how doctors progress through the training pathway. Using quantitative and qualitative data, we’ve looked at the scale and extent of training breaks, as well as the reasons, motivations and experiences of doctors who’ve taken one. We’ve primarily focused on those taking a break on completion of the foundation programme (F2) as this is the most common time to take a training break.