GMC Education and Training Advisory Board 20 October 2016 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

GMC Education and Training Advisory Board 20 October 2016 Potential areas for discussion on health and disability

Entry into undergraduate medical education - perspective  What are the challenges for prospective medical students with health and disability issues?  What improvements would you like to see in the current processes?  What would you prioritise?  How can we implement these improvements?  What can the GMC do?  What can other organisations do?  What are the next steps?

Entry into undergraduate medical education Frequently raised issues:  University policies do not reflect specific needs of Medical Schools and specific circumstances of applicants to Medicine  Adjustments and support that may be available to medical students may differ from those considered reasonable by HEOPS, GMC or potential employers

Entry into undergraduate medical education  What are the challenges for prospective medical students with health and disability issues?  Already concerned about the selection process, compounded by concern about their health or disability hampering them further  No central source of information. Impression of lack of consistency

Entry into undergraduate medical education  Lack of consistency because..:  HEOPS guidelines not easy to find for potential applicants  HEOPS guidelines not written for potential applicants  University policies may differ from Medical School policies or from HEOPS guidelines  Selectors uncertain about impact of disability on medical school career or subsequent career as a doctor

HEOPS (Higher Education Occupational Physicians)  Medical Students – Standards of medical fitness to train  First published 21/10/2010  Current version 09/02/2016

Medical Students – Standards of medical fitness to train  Standards are defined by GMC & DH  HEOPS document provides guidance to those assessing fitness to train and to meet required standards by graduation.  Testing for immunity and infection  Assessment of functional capacity  Health screening questionnaire and the occupational health process

HEOPS (Higher Education Occupational Physicians)  General guidance on adjustments for students training in regulated professions  First published 15/08/2016  Current version 02/09/2016

General guidance on adjustments for students training in regulated professions  Training institutions are obliged to assess all students entering regulated professions for fitness to train at enrolment. This includes fitness to practise in the relevant discipline after graduation.  Assessment of fitness to meet competencies is undertaken by assessing function, not by diagnosis.

General guidance on adjustments for students training in regulated professions  Application by a regulator of a competence standard to a disabled person is not disability discrimination, providing the competence standard is a proportionate means for achieving a legitimate aim.  Example of a competence standard:  Literacy and numeracy

 “..obtaining, recording and interpreting a comprehensive patient history, communicating appropriately and effectively with and about patients, the public and colleagues”  “All students must be able to prescribe drugs safely and effectively, calculate accurate drug doses, keep accurate, legible and complete medical records”

 What adjustments can we make to these mandatory standards of literacy and numeracy for candidates with disability?  None. This would breach the Equality Act and put patients at risk.

Unreasonable adjustments:  Extra time in clinical examinations which are real-time assessments of clinical skills and knowledge relevant to patient safety  Provision of a personal assistant to read or write on behalf of the student  Provision of a personal assistant to undertake numerical calculations on behalf of the student  Provision of a personal assistant, qualified to practise in the relevant discipline, to undertake mandatory practical procedures listed by the regulatory body as mandatory competencies for the discipline  Permission to be absent permanently from training placements  Exemption from any mandatory competencies published by the statutory regulatory body

Entry into undergraduate medical education  What are the challenges for prospective medical students with health and disability issues?  What improvements would you like to see in the current processes?  What would you prioritise?  How can we implement these improvements?  What can the GMC do?  What can other organisations do?  What are the next steps?

What can/should be done:  Produce guidance targeted at applicants  Part of UCAS application process  Incorporate short questionnaire - based on above guidance – into UCAS application  Screen all returned questionnaires by OH nurses  Select those who require detailed OH assessment, which may result in decline or a Health Clearance certificate

 Mental Health problems reported more frequently and cause greater difficulty in the assessment of Fitness to Practice

Thank you Any questions?