GMC announces new guidance

Calling all doctors! You have three months to familiarise yourself with the new General Medical Council guidance.

Coming into effect on 18 December 2024, the GMC has recently launched it’s updated guidance that combines 'Good practice in research' and 'Consent to research'.

We spoke to Lead Employer Medical Director, Professor Andrew Rowland who explained the important role our trainee doctors have in supporting research and unlocking its benefits. He said: “I’d encourage colleagues, who are regulated by the GMC, to familiarise themselves with this guidance before it comes into effect on 18 December 2024. Doctors, at all stages of their careers, can play an important role in supporting research and unlocking its benefits. To be able to do that effectively you need to ensure you are aware of the updated GMC guidance in this area and I hope this will encourage you to promote broader participation in research throughout your careers”.

The GMC hope its focus on promoting broader participation in research, particularly among under-represented groups, will help tackle some of the barriers to research that undoubtedly remain.

About the updated guidance

We’ve updated the content to:

• Incorporate relevant principles outlined in Good Medical Practice 2024 and our 2022 position statement, Normalising research – Promoting research for all doctors
• Reflect changes in the organisations, legal frameworks and governance arrangements that underpin research in the four countries of the UK
• Include more detailed expectations around identifying, declaring and addressing conflicts of interest
• Reference the importance of the UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research, which applies in each of the four UK countries, and provides a single set of operational requirements and principles for research.

For the updated guidance in full, please visit: More detailed guidance - GMC (gmc-uk.org)