Nearly half of all EU doctors failed the GMC regsitration because of poor language skills
Nearly half of all EU doctors failed the GMC regsitration because of poor language skills
Italian and French doctors fail the most on language reasons, Polish and Hungarian MDs do well. It has never been harder to get a GMC registration figures show.
Nearly half of all EU doctors who sought work in the UK in the past year were turned away because they failed to prove their English was good enough, the medical regulator has revealed.
As The Guardian based on GMC stats drew up to statistics in its article:
“GMC figures show only a third of 245 Italian doctors who applied since the new rules came in have been given a licence for the UK. Four in 10 of 174 doctors from Greece were successful, as were only 10 of 46 doctors who applied from France. Polish doctors, 69 of 114, and applicants from Germany, 53 of 79, were however better at proving they could speak good English.”
Moreover according to the hungarian regional news agency, Videk.ma
52% of doctors who obtained their medical qualification in Romania did not provide the language evidence required. 142 doctors who qualified in Romania have applied to the GMC for a licence to practise since June 25 2014 and 68 of those doctors were granted a licence to practise. The remaining 74 doctors were granted registration with the GMC but were not given a licence to practise because the language requirement could not be met. 52 doctors who obtained their medical qualification in Hungary applied for a licence to practise with the GMC. Of that figure 57.7% of doctors were granted a licence to practise. Thirty doctors were granted a licence and 22 doctors were granted registration but were not given a licence to practise.
In all, 779 doctors – 45% of those who applied – did not give evidence of their language skills to the General Medical Council (GMC), and were therefore refused a licence to practise, between 25 June 2014 and 6 July this year.
Medlines.org made a table that compares those written above. As it was easy to see, Italians and French doctors produce the worst numbers, whereas Polish and Hungarians do well.
(Click for larger size)
New era from June 2014- here are te reasons why number have dropped
Doctors from outside the EU have undergone competence checks, as well as English tests, for years. They must pass written knowledge exams and a series of practical tests.
Doctors from the EU who seek work in the UK must take an international English language test – known as IELTS. The GMC cannot tell how many of the medics from the EU who were turned away from the UK took this test and failed and how many simply did not provide evidence that they had passed the test.
The GMC now requires a score of 7.5 out of nine on the test – up from the 7 it used to demand from those applying from outside the EU. Candidates must provide a certificate to show they have passed the test within the previous two years.
Further more doctors already on the GMC’s register can be forced to undergo an English test, if a relevant serious complaint is made about them. The GMC can indefinitely suspend those without sufficient English language skills to treat patients safely.
Source: The Guardian/ Videk.ma/ GMC of the United Kingdom
My advice for the GMC from UK is to change politic of requirement and to leave private employers to chose the doctors, in specially based on high medical scientific level, no initially, only on English skill. This very good level of speaking English, can come very quickly if candidates live in a country with native English.
Dr. Aurel.