News

SPONSORSHIP OF INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES (IMGs) APPROVED BY GMC

Thursday 25 March 2010

We are delighted to announce that the University Of Buckingham School of Medicine has recently been approved by the General Medical Council (GMC) as a sponsor for the purpose of enabling international medical graduates (IMGs) to apply for full registration with a licence to practise in the UK without the need to pass the PLAB test.

As a sponsor approved by the GMC, the School of Medicine may now sponsor eligible students who are engaged on the postgraduate clinical MD programme, to obtain full registration with a licence to practise in the UK. This will clearly provide an educational advantage for selected postgraduate students, as it will facilitate enhanced patient contact during the course of the teaching programme.

The sponsorship process provides a mechanism for certain IMGs to demonstrate evidence of their medical knowledge, skill and experience, in support of an application for full registration. An offer of sponsorship by the School of Medicine, during engagement on the clinical MD course, may only be made subject to certain specific, GMC prescribed requirements being met.

The necessary level of clinical performance required to meet the exacting standards of the GMC will be assessed through a process which will involve an initial teleconference interview and close review of the application details of candidates who are enrolled on the course. In addition to this, a detailed and systematic assessment of individual candidate's performance during the initial induction period of the clinical MD programme will take place, prior to an offer of sponsorship.

Candidates who are successful in obtaining an offer of sponsorship must also satisfy the further criteria for full registration. Full details of these criteria and details of the alternative pathways through which a doctor may gain registration with the GMC are available on the GMC website (external link).

For further details of the sponsorship scheme and full requirements for eligibility to be considered for this scheme, please contact Professor Rajat Mathur (rajat.mathur@buckingham.ac.uk or Professor Jayantha Arnold (jayantha.arnold@buckingham.ac.uk).

Report by Professors Rajat Mathur and Jayantha Arnold