Update
New Doctor brings all
the news that affects you
Focus: GMC in 2010 NEWS IN BRIEF
A look at what your regulator will be up to Proposed cuts to training
threaten patient care
in this forthcoming year
The BMA’s Junior Doctor Committee
(JDC) says that Department of Health
L
ast year, in between answering Launch of new guidance plans to cut training funding could
230,000 calls and granting on end-of-life care cut millions of pounds from junior
11,000 initial registrations, the Last summer, the GMC consulted on doctor training. The review of the Multi
GMC made changes that affected all draft guidance on end-of-life treatment Professional Education and Training
new doctors. Will they turn the heat and how to foster good practice in Levy is currently underway. It will
up in 2010? Some of the highlights set decision-making. It is aimed at doctors, decide the future of how NHS funding
to rank highly on the agenda include: but it may also help patients and other for undergraduate education and
care staff understand what is expected postgraduate training of all healthcare
PMETB and GMC to merge from doctors involved in caring for dying workers is distributed.
in April patients. Due to be launched in the spring. Dr Shree Datta, Chair of the JDC,
From April, the regulation of all stages said: “Fully-trained doctors don’t grow
of medical education will be the Preparing for transfer of on trees and the Department of Health
responsibility of a single organisation. fitness to practise cases needs to be very careful that they don’t
Last year, following a From April 2011, the adjudication of end up making the training of doctors
recommendation from Sir John fitness to practise cases involving so unattractive, or the funding system
Tooke’s inquiry into “Modernising doctors will transfer from the GMC to so unstable, that hospitals no longer
Medical Careers”, the government a new body called the Office of the want to do it. Training is seen as a soft
announced that the Postgraduate Health Professions Adjudicator (OHPA). target, but it is crucial to maintaining
and Medical Education Training Board The GMC will be working with OHPA high standards of patient care.” Source:
(PMETB) and the GMC would merge. this year to prepare for the transfer. www.bma.org.uk
The GMC will offer equivalent The GMC will remain the regulator
certification routes, such as the for doctors, continuing to set the Attempts to widen access to
CCT, CEST and the CEGPR. These standards for professional practice and medicine failing
certificates will be processed at the receiving and investigating allegations
GMC offices at Euston Road. The about their fitness to practise. Despite increased government
GMC has agreed to fix the 2010/2011 investment of £392 million, attempts to
fees as per the 2009/2010 rates. Develop “Good Medical widen access to the medical profession
Also, the PMETB and the GMC Practice in Action” are failing. According to the BMA’s
will deliver the annual postgraduate Launched last year, the interactive Equality and Diversity in UK Medical
trainee and trainer surveys from website has proved very popular Schools report, which examines
April. For the first time, these national with new doctors. Each month, successful applications to UK medical
surveys will run concurrently. 1,500 web users visit the site. schools between 2003 and 2008, the
It is made up of a series of number of students from low-income
Rollout of Tomorrow’s tutorials exploring common real- backgrounds has risen by only 1.7%.
Doctors life medical and ethical dilemmas, Furthermore, only one in seven successful
Over the next year, the GMC will which explain how doctors should applicants are from the lowest economic
be liaising closely with medical tackle them using GMC guidance. group, despite those groups making up
schools and stakeholders to The scenarios deal with more than just under half the UK population.
ensure that the new standards that one dilemma at a time, to reflect the Professor Bhupinder Sandu, Chair
medical students will have to meet, challenges that doctors face. Log on of the BMA’s Equal Opportunity
are being rolled out correctly. to www.gmc-uk.org/gmpinaction Committee, blames a combination of
Significant changes include more to find out what you should do. complex problems. Professor Sandhu
practical training, by way of student said: “There are clear underlying
assistantships – where students issues within education at school
undertake new placements shortly level, not just in the poor academic
before entering their F1 year. performance amongst low income
students, but also in low aspirations,
Revalidation with many seemingly feeling a career
A key focus for the GMC is furthering in medicine is simply unattainable.”
a major programme of work that The report is accessible at: www.bma.
will ensure that revalidation can org.uk/employmentandcontracts/
be introduced from 2011. A major equality_diversity/
consultation on revalidation is equalityanddiversityinukmedschools.jsp
expected to be launched in this year.
4 NEW DOCTOR | VOLUME 3 - ISSUE 1 | 2010 www.mps.org.uk
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