General Medical Council

We have written to #PhysicianAssociate (PA) and #AnaesthesiaAssociate (AA) employers to update them on our plans for when registration begins in December 2024. Read the open letter on our website https://t.co/omwIzXYAH1 It highlights: – How and when PAs and AAs should apply for registration depending on whether they’re on the relevant voluntary register or not – That we welcome their support in encouraging PAs and AAs to apply at their earliest opportunity when regulation begins – Our expectations for employers and their role in supporting PAs and AAs during the process. Regulation is a vital step towards strengthening patient safety and provides assurance that PAs and AAs have the right level of education and training, meet our standards and will be held to account if serious concerns are raised. We’ll continue to keep employers and other stakeholders updated on our progress in the lead-up to regulation. 

Setting up a mentoring scheme comes with many questions 🤔   Fortunately, Dr. Eliza Lewington-Gower's mentoring toolkit has the answers. Created during her time as a Marx Clinical Fellow with us, this toolkit is designed to help training and healthcare organisations establish formal mentoring programmes https://lnkd.in/euuwC4Xg   In her blog, written specially for #NationalMentoringDay yesterday, Dr. Lewington-Gower explains how having a mentor during her time with us - something she hadn't had throughout her medical career - inspired her to create this toolkit. She also explores how formal mentoring programmes can help address disparities in mentorship access, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds or who completed their medical training abroad.   Read Eliza's blog on the importance of #mentoring https://lnkd.in/ewdRPb8d.

Congratulations to Tista Chakravarty-Gannon, our Head of Outreach Operations, on receiving the President’s Award at the British International Doctors Association National Conference last Saturday.   Tista was recognised for leading her team's work on Equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) - you can read the latest on that part of our wider ED&I programme in our recently published report https://lnkd.in/eZDv9nti. Tista was also recognised for her role in helping to implement the updated version of Good medical practice, and strengthening the induction programme for International medical graduates (IMGs) entering the UK. She spoke about these three topics in a speech after receiving the award.    You can read more about our work to help improve induction programmes for IMGs in our latest blog, from Tista herself! https://lnkd.in/edemX33D #InternationalMedicalGraduates #InclusivityMatters

This #SpeakUpMonth, it’s been inspiring to see a range of organisations sharing resources and hosting a variety of activities! Earlier this month, we highlighted the resources we have to help doctors feel confident in raising concerns - take a look at these on our website https://lnkd.in/e6KEZPwF But what are we doing internally to foster a culture of speaking up? One key initiative is our Freedom to speak up champions, and we're excited to introduce you to 11 dedicated colleagues who have just taken on the role! (Though as much as we'd love them to be, Peggy and Dott, the adorable dogs pictured, sadly aren't part of the team). The Freedom to speak up initiative was born out of a recommendation from Sir Robert Francis’ 2013 inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. With these champions in place, our colleagues always have someone outside of their immediate team to talk to in a supportive, judgment-free environment. Fully trained in our policies and different ways to raise concerns, these 11 champions play a vital role in promoting the importance of speaking up while lending an ear to their colleagues. Best of luck to our 11 new champions: Amanda (pictured), Bethany, Jessica, Joanna, Kevin (pictured), Kim (pictured), Lyndsey (pictured), Mark, Miranda (pictured), Paul, and Rebecca!

It’s fantastic to see the great work that's being created for next month’s Neurodiversity Festival, which will be hosted internally. Organised by our Disability Staff Network, the festival aims to enhance understanding and awareness of neurodiversity throughout the organisation.

Following on from #SASweek24, we had a great time today celebrating SAS doctors and welcoming them to our SAS Advocates away day in London.  Jo Wren, Head of GMC London, explained more about how Good medical practice can support SAS doctors throughout their careers and our commitment to assure fairness in all processes. We also shared information on how to apply for specialist registration. Geeta Menon, NHS England, spoke about inclusive and integrated careers for doctors.  Thank you to everyone who attended! We had a great time meeting you all 😊

We recently introduced new resources, created in collaboration with advocacy groups, which will help us better support those affected by sexual misconduct. Alongside these efforts, we’ve been working closely with our staff to ensure cases are handled with consistency and care, creating a safe and supportive environment for anyone who comes to us with concerns of this nature. A key part of this initiative has been our partnership with Purple Leaf, a training provider with over 35 years of experience in supporting survivors of sexual misconduct. Their team developed and delivered specialised training for leaders across the organisation, focusing on raising awareness of sexual violence and providing tailored support for staff who handle distressing cases. Their Chief Executive, Jocelyn Anderson has written a blog for us reflecting on this work. Head to the comments section to read it ⤵️ #SupportSurvivors #EndSexualViolence #YouAreNotAlone

Earlier this year, we updated our guidance for decision makers when violence and dishonesty may represent a lower risk to public protection. This is to support a fair and proportionate approach to minor violence and dishonesty. We continue to take all allegations of violence and dishonesty seriously and we will act where there’s a risk to patients or to public confidence in doctors. The changes reflect the wide range of behaviour that can be categorised as violent or dishonest and its varying degrees of seriousness and risk. Morwenna Hook, one of our Senior Case Examiners, tells us more in this blog - https://lnkd.in/dhNqt_Ge In this video, Liz Jenkins, Assistant Director of our Legal team talks about the ongoing work to ensure fairness in our fitness to practise processes.

🇬🇧 Since launching the new Good Medical Practice from General Medical Council they have shared it has great support for including a duty on sustainability, in recognition that reducing the impact of climate change benefits public health. Read more in the latest Casebook ➡️https://bit.ly/3U9AQRq