GMC proposes single test for all doctors wishing to work in UK

All doctors who wish to work in the United Kingdom will have to sit a standard test to determine whether they are fit to practise, the General Medical Council has announced.

The test, called the UK medical licensing assessment (UKMLA), would replace the current Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test taken by overseas medical graduates. However, UK trained graduates would also be expected to sit the test to gain a place on the medical register.

Terence Stephenson, chair of the GMC, said that the assessment was still in the early days of development, with much detail to be worked out, but added that it would ensure a “straightforward and transparent route” to …