Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland - Protecting you since 1902
1 July 2008
New draft guidance from the General Medical Council recognises that poor health can affect a medical student's fitness to practise either directly or by contributing to misconduct.
The GMC and the Medical Schools Council (MSC) have launched a consultation on a new section for inclusion in the guidance document ‘Medical students: professional behaviour and fitness to practise’. The original guidance was published in 2007 and advised medical students about the professional behaviour expected of them, as well as making recommendations to medical schools on developing robust and consistent fitness to practise procedures. This next phase of consultation will include information about what action should be taken when students’ health problems could impact on patient safety.
The new section of the guidance asks that students be aware that their own health problems may put patients and colleagues at risk. The guidance also calls on medical schools to provide medical students with the opportunity to seek support before poor health becomes a fitness to practise concern.
The consultation will also ask for views about how the GMC can support the implementation of the guidance and how to improve the consistency of decision-making on student fitness to practise within and between medical schools.
The consultation runs until 19 September 2008. Respond online at the GMC website.
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