Medical education
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To assess the views of the general public and general practitioners (GPs) on the General Medical Council's Good Medical Practice. ⋯ GPs and the general public have similar views on good medical practice, although the degree of concern shown by the public is greater than that registered by doctors. Both groups show similar patterns of variation in their perception of the importance of some duties compared with others.
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From July 1997, the General Medical Council (GMC) has had the power to investigate doctors whose performance is considered to be seriously deficient. Assessment procedures have been developed for all medical specialties to include peer review of performance in practice and tests of competence. Peer review is conducted by teams of at least two medical assessors and one lay assessor. ⋯ High fidelity is achieved through the use of actors who simulate third party interviewees and trained doctors who role play the assessee. A subgroup of assessors, selected to lead the assessment teams, undergo training in handling group dynamics, report writing and in defending the assessment report against legal challenge. Debriefing of assessors following real assessments has been strongly positive with regard to their preparedness and confidence in undertaking the assessment.
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To investigate the reproducibility of peer ratings of consultant radiologists' reports, as part of the new General Medical Council (GMC) Performance Procedures. ⋯ Any assessment of performance of technical abilities in this field will need to use multiple assessors, basing judgements on an adequate sample of reports.
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Modernization of medical regulation has included the introduction of the Professional Performance Procedures by the UK General Medical Council in 1995. The Council now has the power to assess any registered practitioner whose performance may be seriously deficient, thus calling registration (licensure) into question. Problems arising from ill health or conduct are dealt with under separate programmes. ⋯ The approach is feasible, has been implemented and has stood legal challenge. The assessors judge and report all the evidence they collect and may not select from it. All their judgements are included and the voice of the lay assessor is preserved. Taken together, the output from both phases forms an important basis for remediation and training should it be required.
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The UK General Medical Council's Performance Procedures were introduced in 1997. This study aimed to assess the changing knowledge and attitudes about the procedures in British doctors at the time of their introduction and in the following 2 years. ⋯ Although doctors became more aware of the procedures, that increasing awareness was not accompanied by an increasing agreement with the procedures' underlying principles or their wider implications.