GMC unveils blueprint for better medical training

The General Medical Council have released a new document “Adapting for the future: a plan for improving the flexibility of UK Postgraduate medical training”.

They were asked to carry out a review into the flexibility of training at the request of government and professional bodies during talks to resolve the junior doctor contract dispute in England in 2016.

The plan identifies five key barriers to improving training flexibility:

• Transferring between specialties is difficult without doctors going back to the start – often referred to as the ‘snakes and ladders’ effect. This is caused by the complex legal framework controlling UK postgraduate training
• Training in other ways is not recognised – work overseas and experience gained in non-training grade posts are not counted;
• More career support is needed to help doctors who want to refocus their training without starting from square one;
• Postgraduate training is slow to adapt to changes in patient demand
• Rigid training structures can make rota gaps worse.

You can access the document here http://www.gmc-uk.org/news/30721.asp