Training fundamentals
General Medical Council (GMC)
The GMC is an independent organisation whose primary role is to protect patients, whilst supporting medical education and practice across the UK.
Registration and fees
List of registered medical practitioners
British Medical Association (BMA)
The BMA is an independent trade union and professional body for doctors and medical students in the UK. Becoming a member of the BMA is not a mandatory requirement of working in the UK, however, there are recognised benefits of being a member.
Get to know Good UK Medical Practice
Good UK Medical Practice sets out the standards of care and behavious expected of all medical professionals
Interactive learning materials, decision tools and case scenarios
Free ‘Welcome to UK practice’ workshops
National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
NICE provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care. They are a non-departmental public body and independent of the government.
British National Formulary (BNF)
The BNF aims to provide prescribers, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals with sound up-to-date information about the use of medicines. It includes key information on the selection, prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines.
The BNF for children (BNFC) provides practical information on the use of medicines in children of all ages from birth to adolescence.
Also see BNF information for dental practitioners
General Dental Council (GDC)
The GDC is an independent organisation which regulates dentists and dental care professionals in the UK.
Employment Contract
Throughout England there is a national contract specifically for doctors in training that governs their terms and conditions of service, including such areas as work rostering, salary and leave arrangements amongst others. You can find out more about this contract on the NHS Employers’ website. Generally, doctors in training are employed by the trust at which they are rotated to work at as part of their training programme. Some training programmes use a different ‘Lead Employer’ model, where doctors and dentists in training are employed by one NHS trust, but move to different locations for their training programme. It is important to check which employment model you are on, as there can be some minor differences in policy and processes between the two models.
Medical Indemnity
As a doctor working in the UK, it is a legal requirement that you hold adequate and appropriate indemnity cover. The GMC has the power to check this. There are differing arrangements in primary and secondary care and for locum or private work. You can find out more about the different requirements here.
Medical Protection Society (MPS)
Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS)
Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service
Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service and what we do
Department of Health and Social Care
The DHSC supports ministers in leading the nation’s health and social care to help people live more independent, healthier lives for longer. Read more about what they do here
Key Figures in your training
Educational Supervisor and Clinical Supervisor
As a doctor in training you will be allocated a clinical supervisor for each post, who is usually a consultant working in the same department as you and can provide supervision for the clinical work you undertake in your role. You will also be assigned an educational supervisor, who will help you develop a personal development plan and will monitor your education and professional development in training. Sometimes these posts may be held by the same person. You may keep the same educational supervisor for some time throughout your training programme or even for the whole of your training programme. You can find out more about the role of clinical and educational supervisors here.
You will be expected to have regular discussions with your supervisors regarding your progress and outstanding learning needs. The discussions should also include summarising and reflecting on strengths and weaknesses, and significant achievements or difficulties, which will usually encompass information on significant events, and complaints and compliments.
Training Programme Director (TPD)
This is a senior consultant or GP who works for NHS England in overseeing training for a specialty in a region. They report to a region’s ‘Head of School’ who will be the doctor in charge of specialty training for that specialty. The exact roles and responsibilities of TPDs will vary depending on the specialty school they sit within.
Director of Medical Education (DME)/Clinical Tutor
This will normally be a consultant within a hospital or NHS trust who is responsible for overseeing the delivery of medical education in the trust. This may be both undergraduate and postgraduate or solely postgraduate medical education.
Education Lead/College Tutor
This is usually a person within a specialty at a particular trust or hospital site who leads on overseeing education and training within that particular department.
Royal Colleges
There are a number of royal colleges and faculties that form the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. Each Royal College or faculty represents a specialty (some specialties e.g. surgeons and physicians may have more than one college each) and the AoMRC brings these organisations together. It is Royal Colleges and faculties who set postgraduate exams for doctors in training.
NHS England
NHS England (which includes the former Health Education England) supports the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvement to the patients and public of England by ensuring that the workforce of today and tomorrow has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours, at the right time and in the right place. See: https://www.england.nhs.uk/
Eportfolio and Assessments and Revalidation
ePortfolio
As a doctor in training, whichever training programme you are on, you will be required to complete a portfolio. The portfolio is typically an electronic portfolio (eportfolio). You will be provided with a username and password by either the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) for Foundation training or the Royal College to which your training programme is aligned for Core and Higher Specialty training.
Every specialty will have a slightly different e-portfolio affording to the differing curriculum requirements of each training programme.
Foundation Training – doctors completing Foundation training will be expected to complete the Horus ePortfolio. Further explanation and guidance surrounding the use of this e-portfolio should be provided in the Trust induction. You can also find out more about Horus by reading the Horus Frequently Asked Questions Website.
Specialty and GP Training – every specialty has its own e-portfolio that is expected to be completed by their trainees. These eportfolios are usually run by the Royal college aligned to your specialty training programme and you will need to be a member of the relevant royal college to be provided with access to the relevant eportfolio. You will usually receive further explanation and guidance about how to use the relevant eportfolio when you receive induction to your training programme. There will also usually be further guidance on the website of the relevant royal college about eportfolio use. You may also need to keep an electronic logbook to record procedures and you should receive information about that from your training programme.
Non-training or Trust doctors – doctors who are not on a training programme do not have access to a specific e-portfolio. Many royal colleges have a membership option for non-training doctors that can include eportfolio access, but this is not always the case, so it is worth exploring with the relevant royal college. However, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has the BMJ Portfolio, which is a free, online portfolio tool that can be helpful for planning and recording continuing medical education. There are also several online and app-based free or low-cost logbooks you can also use if you want to record procedures undertaken.
Workplace Based Assessments
As part of your training, you will be expected to complete a minimum number and variety of assessments. These can include: workplace-based assessments (WPBAs), case-based discussions (CBDs), mini clinical examinations/encounters (mini-CEXs) and direct observation of procedures (DOPs) amongst others assessments defined for your training programme. Details of these assessments should be given at the induction to your training programme and can be found on your relevant e-portfolio or associated royal college/training programme website. If you encounter any difficulty completing these assessments, it advised that you contact your clinical and/or educational supervisor in the first instance. You will likely have guidance from the UKFPO or Royal College about how many assessments of the different types you need to complete and when these need to be done by.
Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP)
Whilst in a training programme you will have an Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) (this is similar to the appraisal process for non-training doctors). You can find out more about ARCP here. The ARCP process is the means by which doctors in training are reviewed each year to ensure that they are offering safe, quality patient care, and to assess their progression against standards set down in the curriculum for their training programme.It is also the process through which their full scope of work review is undertaken to satisfy revalidation requirements.
Doctors who go onto complete their training must participate in an annual appraisal and use supporting evidence to demonstrate their ongoing fitness to practice, irrespective of specialty or branch of medicine. It is a key opportunity to focus on professional development needs. The process involves a facilitated self-review supported by information gathered from the full scope of the doctor’s work. It is an important source for agreeing and monitoring personal development objectives.
Revalidation
This is the process by which all licensed doctors are required to demonstrate on a regular basis that they are up to date and fit to practise in their chosen field and able to provide a good level of care. It provides doctors with the support to maintain and develop their practice throughout their career and ensures that they have the opportunity to reflect regularly on how change and improvements can be made to their practice. Doctors in training revalidate through the Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP). A recommendation for revalidation will be made to the GMC on behalf of the doctor in training by the Responsible Officer connected to their designated body. Your Responsible Officer will be in the organisation that is supporting you with revalidation. This organisation is called your designated body. If you are a doctor in training in England, your designated body is your Local Education and Training Board (LETB). As a trainee in the Midlands, your designated body is NHS England. As a doctor in training, you will be generating the supporting information required for revalidation by meeting the requirements of your curriculum and training programme. You will also be in regular discussion about your progress and any outstanding learning needs with your supervisors. Completion of the above will mean that you are ready for revalidation by ARCP. Further information about the revalidation process can be found on the GMC website.
The GMC have some guidance on supporting information for revalidation which sets out the broad areas that all doctors are expected to address and the responsibilities of both doctors and employers in the process. During their appraisals, doctors will discuss their practice and performance with their appraiser and use supporting information to demonstrate that they are continuing to meet the principles and values set out in Good medical practice.
Study Leave
Study leave policy and guidance:
East Midlands: https://eastmidlandsdeanery.nhs.uk/policies/Study_Leave
West Midlands: https://www.westmidlandsdeanery.nhs.uk/support/trainees/study-leave
As a doctor in training you will be entitled to study leave and to claim study leave expenses to attend courses and events relevant to your learning. There may also be the opportunity to use study leave for personal study. There are some differences in study leave availability for Foundation doctors, but within core and specialty training you will be able to take leave to attend courses and events relevant to your training and that enable you to meet your personal development plan. You can also claim expenses for the cost of the course and any associated travel/accommodation costs. You need to check who you need to claim study leave expenses through as it may vary depending on your employer model. Also, aspirational and international study leave requests need to be approved via NHS England.
It is best practice when requesting study leave to plan early so you can get the leave and costs approved in advance (retrospective requests are usually refused). You also need to plan the leave in conjunction with your rota and let your rota coordinator know. It is also courteous to plan leave in conjunction with colleagues. There may be instances where many colleagues want to attend the same educational event and it may not be possible for all to go or attendance may need to be split and shared.
Last updated: July 2024