The Independent Route
Many members working overseas will consider
this route, but it does require quite a lot of self sufficiency and
we feel a certain degree of familiarity with concepts of medical
education to fulfil the requirements. To use this route you have to
demonstrate to the GMC that you are adopting the principles of
“Good Medical Practice” within your professional practice and that
you are undertaking appropriate continuing medical education or
professional development. You will have to draw on what you have
actually done in your particular work during the period of
revalidation and provide the various evidences under each of the
headings of Good Medical Practice, for which we would also
recommend Good Medical Practice for General Practitioners. Many of
our Members working overseas are working in isolation,
geographically, culturally or professionally and will have to think
imaginably how the various criteria and standards in these
documents can be translated to their particular context. For
instance, the portfolio you will produce will need to be orientated
to those members of the GMC who will assess this, perhaps including
a non medical reader. They will need to understand the context of
the work that you are undertaking both in terms of geography,
culture, health systems, language and so forth, thus your portfolio
might include quite descriptive accounts of your situation as well
as any epidemiological and morbidity data as well as the role of
the general practice or family doctor in that particular setting,
which may be quite different from the UK. You will then need to
work through the various headings described and interpret these in
context of your work and provide as much evidence as it possible
that you have addressed the standards of “the excellent GP”. We do
think you are going to have think widely and imaginatively about
this. Unfortunately, at this early stage, there are not clear
guidelines in the General Medical Council as to what evidence you
actually need to provide. This will no doubt become clearer in the
light of the implementation of the revalidation
process.