International Queries
GMC Registration
On the 19th of October 2007, the GMC abolished Limited Registration and replaced it with a system of full or provisional registration.
International Medical Graduates (IMGs) applying for either full or provisional registration must satisfy the GMC that:
- They hold an acceptable primary medical qualification
- They have the requisite knowledge and skills for registration
- Their fitness to practise is not impaired
- They have the necessary knowledge of English
Doctors may demonstrate their medical knowledge and skills in one of the following ways:
- A pass in the PLAB test
- Sponsorship by a medical Royal College or other sponsoring body for further postgraduate training
- An acceptable postgraduate qualification
- Eligibility for entry in the Specialist or GP Register
The requirement of ‘an acceptable postgraduate qualification' replaced the system of Basic Specialist Training (BST) recognition provided by the College and comes under the remit of the GMC. Further information on the new registration system can be found on the GMC's website:
Important information for doctors with overseas training who wish to undertake further training in the UK
As you may be aware, there have been important changes to medical training in the UK from the start of 2007. This guidance note is aimed at those doctors who wish to know whether their overseas training and qualifications are equivalent to the MRCP and UK training for the purposes of acquiring:
- GMC Registration
or:
- Further specialty training in the UK
Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) will affect these two aims in different ways and it is therefore very important that you read the following information carefully.
Further specialty training in the UK
From 1 January 2007 NO OVERSEAS TRAINING CAN BE COUNTED TOWARDS THE AWARD OF A CCT whether or not such training has been confirmed as equivalent to UK training prior to this date. This does not affect SpRs who had already commenced their training.
As of November 2006, the PMETB (now subsumed by the GMC) stated that if a trainee has completed any part of their 2 years postgraduate training in General Internal Medicine outside the European Economic Area and has an overseas qualification they could slot into UK run-through training at Specialist Training Year 3 (assuming a successful appointment following an application in open competition) but at the end of their training they WILL NOT be awarded a CCT. In order to gain an entry on the UK Specialist Register they will need to apply to the GMC via Article 14 of the General and Specialist Medical Practice [Education, Training and Qualifications] Order 2003. For further information on Article 14 please visit the GMC website. This does not affect existing SpRs who have had overseas General Professional Training approved and who are enrolled with the JRCPTB.
From 2007 the only overseas training that can be accepted, towards a CCT, must be undertaken as part of run through training and which has been prospectively approved by the Deanery and JRCPTB.
Please note that neither the JRCPTB nor the Royal Colleges of Physicians are at liberty to vary these conditions.
ST3 recruitment for international applicants
The JRCPTB no longer has the authority or the resources to judge the nature of postgraduate examinations other than the MRCP(UK). Additionally, the MRCP(UK) Office are firmly of the opinion that the MRCP(UK) standards (of exam validity, consistency, fairness etc) are not matched by any other examination for medical trainees at core level.
If you wish to apply to ST3 using an ‘equivalent' examination or qualification to the MRCP(UK), it is your responsibility to demonstrate its equivalence to any deaneries/specialties to which you apply.
Essentially, if you will have gained Core Medical Training competences before commencing ST3 training, then the postgraduate examination associated with that training is likely to be deemed as acceptable.
However, we should stress the final decision regarding whether a particular qualification can be accepted as eligible will rest with the deanery considering your application.
If you wish to gain more information, please see mrcpuk for information about the MRCP(UK) examination, ST3 recruitment for information about recruitment and JRCPTB's ST1+2 pages for information about CMT.
Additionally, there is a list of frequently asked questions on the RCP ST3 recruitment site relating to the requirements for candidates to have gained the MRCP(UK) prior to taking up a ST3 post.