The General Medical Council (GMC) has produced comprehensive revalidation guidance and resources for doctors, physician associates (PAs) and all those involved in supporting revalidation.
As there are an extensive number of documents and resources available, we have created this simple guide to signpost you to the appropriate information and clarify any areas of uncertainty. You can also find quick links to each guidance document on the right-hand side of this page.
Common queries
Alongside their general revalidation guidance, the GMC has compiled a list of frequently asked questions on revalidation, covering queries around connections and specific points in your career cycle. This includes tips for doctors who are new to UK practice, or are considering working overseas, retirement or a break in practise.
Good medical practice
Last updated in 2024, the GMC’s Good Medical Practice Framework sets out the standards of patient care and professional behaviour expected of all doctors in the UK, across all specialties, career stages and sectors.
These standards underpin the revalidation process, so it is essential that you keep up to date with this guidance and embed the principles of good medical practice into your work.
GMC's 'Good Medical Practice' (2024)
Connection
Your connection refers to the organisation or person who oversees your appraisal and revalidation procedures. Practising doctors are usually connected to a designated body (typically the organisation that employs you) and will be assessed by a responsible officer (RO) − an experienced senior doctor at the same designated body.
If you do not have a connection with a designated body, you can usually be connected instead to a suitable person who takes on the role of an RO.
The way you revalidate will depend on your revalidation connection type. If you're unsure, the GMC have created a useful connection tool to determine this.
Appraisals, CPD and supporting information for revalidation
The GMC has produced guidance that sets out the requirements for the supporting information that licensed doctors must collect and reflect on for revalidation.
Please use this guidance to answer any queries around appraisals, continuing professional development (CPD), and meeting revalidation requirements.
GMC guidance for supporting information for revalidation
Fitness to practise, remediation and your licence to practise
Fitness to practise is an assessment of a doctor’s ability to practise safely and effectively. It includes considering a doctor’s overall ability to perform their individual role, their professional and personal behaviour, and the impact of any health condition on their ability to provide safe care.
Every licensed doctor must revalidate to show they are up to date and fit to practise. The GMC has produced guidance for doctors on the relationship between revalidation and the license to practice.
Unfortunately, there will be occasions when pathologists fall short of the standards required for successful revalidation and may require remediation of their practice.
Remediation is defined as ‘the overall process agreed with the practitioner to redress identified aspects of underperformance’. It covers a broad spectrum of activities, from informal agreements to carry out a specific area of re-skilling, to more formal programmes that include supervised and comprehensive retraining and/or rehabilitation.
The College cannot be directly responsible for the support and guidance processes necessary for the remediation of doctors. This responsibility usually lies with the doctor’s employer (or designated body) and the organisation’s RO. In turn, they may require advice and input from the GMC and the Practitioner Performance Advice (formerly NCAS). Wherever possible, initial remediation and support should be provided at a local level.
It is apparent from Practice Performance Advice data that most remediation issues in pathology disciplines are generic and relate to behavioural, personality and health concerns. Deficiencies in knowledge and technical ability are much less common. When these are a factor, it is likely that College advice will need to be highly individualised according to the specific circumstances of each case.
GMC guidance on licence to practise
Doctors returning to practice
The GMC answer several common queries around taking a break from practice, both planned and unplanned, in their revalidation FAQs. They have also produced guidance around giving up and restoring your licence or registration.
Many doctors may return to practice after a period of absence, perhaps due to illness, or after working in a different area of clinical practice.
It is the duty of all doctors to ensure that they are safe to return to practice. The College endorses the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges' Return to Practice Guidance for doctors in this position. All doctors who have been absent for 3 months or longer should refer to this guidance, including in all cases where a licence to practise has been surrendered and then restored by the GMC.
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) guidance on returning to practise
Concerns
The GMC oversees investigations made over concerns about whether a doctor is fit to practise. If serious concerns are raised about a doctor’s behaviour, health or performance, the GMC can investigate to determine whether patient safety, or the public’s confidence in those we regulate, is at risk.
The GMC have produced guidance around what and how they conduct investigations into concerns raised. They also provide information on how to raise a concern, and the support available to doctors under investigation.
GMC guidance on revalidation concerns
