Update on GMC Medical Licensing Assessment

Please find below an update on the GMC's Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA). We are pleased to highlight the ‘content map’ and the coverage that preoperative medicine has received.
 
The GMC have published the content map for the Medical Licensing Assessment, which sets out the topics and areas that it could cover. They have also refreshed their website pages to provide updated information – these include specific sections to help medical schools, medical students and international medical graduates access the information they need to prepare for the MLA’s introduction.

Preparing for the MLA

From early 2023, international medical graduates who would have sat the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test will start to take the MLA, if they are applying for a license to practise in the UK. UK medical students graduating in the academic year 2023-24 – and beyond - will need to have a degree that includes passing the MLA before they can join the medical register.
 
The MLA content map shows the professional skills, knowledge and behaviours that could be covered in the applied knowledge test or the clinical and professional skills assessment. It is based on Good medical practice(GMP), Outcomes for graduates(2018) and the Generic professional capabilities framework(2017) and has six sections, called domains:

• Areas of clinical practice, such as mental health and surgery.
• Areas of professional knowledge, such as biomedical sciences and medical ethics and law.
• Clinical and professional capabilities, such as assessing and managing risk and safeguarding vulnerable patients.
• Practical skills and procedures, as set out in the list of practical skills and procedures that supplements our Outcomes for graduates (2018).
• Patient presentations, which relates to signs, symptoms, investigation results and other relevant patient-related issues typically seen by doctors in a first appointment within the UK Foundation Programme. For example, a chronic rash or breast lump.
• Conditions, which are pathophysiological diseases or clinical diagnoses typically seen by doctors in a first appointment within the UK Foundation Programme. For example, asthma and eating disorders.

The GMC is requesting views on the presentation of the content map, to ensure it is accessible and clear for medical schools and future candidates. If you have any feedback on this, please let them know via this short survey.

Supporting international medical graduates 

The introduction of the MLA has been designed to avoid disruption to the flow of doctors into the UK. The updated website pages include a dedicated section for international medical graduates, to help them plan ahead for their journey into the UK workforce.

Next steps

The GMC look forward to introducing this assessment to establish a common threshold for safe practice, giving patients and employers greater confidence in doctors new to the register, wherever they were educated or trained. They are committed to working closely with all relevant organisations to make sure everyone is supported and well prepared for this change, and will continue to provide future candidates with resources and advice about the MLA.