Background: Together with the Medical Schools Council, we have reviewed our guidance for medical students and medical schools on professional values and fitness to practise. We’re now asking those involved or interested in these issues for their views.
There are two draft guidance documents:
- Medical students: professional values - a document for medical students providing guidance on standards of professional behaviour
- Medical students: professionalism and fitness to practise - a document providing guidance on fitness to practise processes, aimed at medical school staff, but also relevant for medical students
We welcome views on either or both documents from anyone who has an interest in the topic.
Background:
Medical students are working towards joining a trusted and regulated profession. Their studies will put them in contact with patients and members of the public, who may often be vulnerable. Because of this, we expect medical students to display high standards of professional behaviour.
The GMC helps to protect patients by setting standards of professional behaviour for registered doctors in Good medical practice. Our new draft guidance, Medical students: professional values, outlines what Good medical practice means for medical students and sets out the standards of professional behaviour expected of them.
It is important that medical students with serious fitness to practise problems do not put the safety of patients or members of the public, or public trust in the medical profession at risk. If a student’s behaviour is a cause for concern and their ability to continue on a medical course or to practise as a doctor after graduation is in doubt, then schools and universities must have formal procedures in place to address these issues.
Our draft guidance Medical students: professionalism and fitness to practise provides a framework for dealing with medical students’ behaviour and health issues.
Both documents are a product of our review of our existing guidance, Medical students: professional values and fitness to practise.
As part of this review, we sought views from users of the guidance at events in all four UK countries. We asked them what works well and what it would be useful to include in revised guidance. We also conducted a survey of medical students to find out their views on professional values and received 2,500 responses.
You can read more about the review, including the report of the findings of our student survey on our website.
