Like many other university degrees, UK medical schools design and deliver their own in-house assessments. This practice is different from, for example, the United States, where a national licensing examination has been in place for over 20 years. Each UK undergraduate summative assessment in medicine is subject to the scrutiny of a formally appointed external examiner. In 2003 a number of UK medical schools began to work together to increase quality assurance activities in the area of assessment as part of the Universities Medical Assessment Partnership. UMAP is a collaborative item banking project seeking to build a quality assured written assessment item bank suitable for high-stakes examinations at all UK medical schools.
Qualities assurance of the undergraduate medical education
The UKGeneral Medical Council has the ability to reverse its endorsement of any medical undergraduate training course as part of its regular visiting schedule should a course fall short of the expected standards. Due to the UK code for higher education, first degrees in medicine comprise an integrated programme of study and professional practice spanning several levels. The final outcomes of the qualifications typically meet the expectations of a higher education qualification at level 7 . These degrees may retain, for historical reasons, "Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery" and are abbreviated to MBChB or MBBS.
Following completion of medical school, junior doctors then enter a vocational training phase. In the UK a doctor's training normally follows this path: Newly qualified doctors enter a two-year Foundation Programme, where they undertake terms in a variety of different specialities. These must include training in General Medicine and General Surgery but can also include other fields such as Paediatrics, Anaesthetics or General Practice. Following completion of the Foundation Programme a doctor can choose to specialise in one field. All routes involve further assessment and examinations. To train as a general practitioner, after completing the Foundation Programme, a doctor must complete eighteen months of posts in a variety of hospital specialities - often including paediatrics, psychiatry, geriatrics and obstetrics & gynaecology. The trainee also has to spend eighteen months as a General Practice Speciality Registrar - a trainee based in a GP practice. After completing this training and the relevant exams, the doctor can become a GP and can practise independently. Hospital doctors are promoted after sitting relevant postgraduate exams within their chosen speciality and a competitive interview selection process from SHO to Specialty Registrar and eventually Consultant on completion of the CCT, which is the highest level in a speciality. The competition is significant for those who wish to attain consultant level and many now complete higher degrees in research such as a Doctorate of Medicine , which is a thesis-based award based on at least two years full-time research; or PhD, which involves at least three years of full-time research. The time taken to get from medical school graduation to becoming a consultant varies from speciality to speciality but can be anything from 7 to more than 10 years. In the United Kingdom, doctors' training will rapidly evolve in the next twelve months, with the introduction of run-through training. A doctor, after completing their two foundation years, will apply for a single speciality and be trained solely in that speciality for a fixed period of years before being awarded a CCT. These changes will take place in accordance with the government-instituted plan for Modernising Medical Careers.
NHS medical career grades
Continuing medical education
is now mandatory for all doctors, under guidelines from the General Medical Council and Clinical governance.
