Gap between graduation and internship and GMC registration.
OMAR ALAM·SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2018
Gap between graduation and internship and GMC registration.
I see that GMC has become quite the stickler for rules as of late. And therefore they have rejected many application for this very reason.
I applied for my GMC registration in late Aug, 2018, and they refused to accept my internship for the following reason.
“As you completed your internship more than 24 months after you were awarded your primary medical qualification, you do not meet our requirements.”
My timeline: I graduated in May, 2014 and returned to my home country. As the medical council in my home country does not accept internship done outside, I had to sit for the boards and do my internship in my country in order to obtain full registration. It’s a 3 part exam which I subsequently appeared in, in Nov 2014, and March and May 2015. I was granted provisional registration in June 2015. I had to wait till the next intern intake in Nov 2015 to begin my internship. Therefore, I completed a 12 month internship in Nov 2016.
I was given the alternative of taking the 2 year postgraduate experience route for registration.
“However, we notice from your application that you have postgraduate experience.
Please can you send us evidence of any post-graduate experience you have which has lasted for at least two years and includes at least one area of medicine and one area of surgery. These two areas must be at least three months continuous duration each.”
As you can see it doesn’t state that the 2 years have to be continuous, it only states that the period in the respective departments have to be continuous. But I can’t advise you if you have a break in practice, as I personally haven’t been in a similar situation, as my experience was continuous.
This is the form they require to be filled.
https://www.gmc-uk.org/…/template-form---eea---evidence-of-…
You can read regarding the requirements that need to be met here.
https://www.gmc-uk.org/…/Guidance_for_decision_makers___GDM…
Even though it specifies that this needs to be carried out in a public hospital, I know friends who worked in private settings and still got their registration.
This can include your intern year.
As I continued to work in the same hospital, the director of the hospital signed the form. My hospital did not have an official email address per se. Upon calling GMC they advised that it can be mailed via post along with a letter on a letterhead which carries the official email address. I couriered the documents as per their request. They then contacted the hospital via the yahoo mail address stated in the letterhead, to verify that the letter was issued by the hospital. However they paradoxically stated in the same email that they cannot accept verification via an unofficial webmail (yahoo/gmail/hotmail) address and that if that were the case the verification needed to be faxed from the official fax number stated in the letterhead. My hospital admin both replied to the email and faxed the documents subsequently. I was then granted full registration.
However you also have the option to appeal if your application is rejected. You may do this with the help of a barrister/ solicitor who specializes in cases of GMC registration. You may seek their help prior to application if you think your case might be complicated. I personally don’t know any, but I had read in the “International Medical Graduates” facebook page about those who had successfully appealed.
I am unable to answer how GMC would look at your case per se, as each case is dealt with on an individual basis. I can only speculate, therefore it would be best if you sort solid legal advice, or advise of those who have been in the exact same situation.
This group has been incredibly helpful throughout my journey. So I’m just paying your kindness forward. I hope this helps.
Good luck.