Medical students in the UK are expected to skip clinical trials and fast-track registration as licensed doctors.
Fast-tracking requirements of graduating medical students in the UK
The recent crisis on the COVID-19 outbreak is pushing medical schools in the UK to push through in a hasty manner the accreditation of graduating medical students to be able to help the National Health Society (NHS). The number of incidents in the UK is just medically impossible to be catered to with limited medical personnel.
In an announcement by the Medical Schools Council in the UK (MSC), it is urging the 42 medical schools in the UK to hasten the qualifications of graduating medical students, skipping clinical trials, to accredit them as full-fledged doctors.
The General Medical Council (GMC) will accredit these graduating students in order to function as licensed doctors to help out in the field in fighting off the COVID-19 outbreak. The move is duly acknowledged by the NHS, to fill out the huge gap in the medical personnel shortage.
Skipping clinical trials
The University of Cambridge has informed its students that clinical learning will be canceled, with the approval of the GMC. The university worries that students being exposed to a huge number of patients that are potentially infected with COVID-19 will make the scenario even worse for everyone.
Universities are worried that exposing their medical students in clinical trials associated with the COVID-19 outbreak will cause an adverse effect on the medical field. Instead of having them do the clinic duties, which only consumes more medical staff to guide them, why not skip the clinic hours and proceed to the next step for their accreditation.
The MSC is expecting graduating students to help NHS in dealing with COVID-19 patients. When the clinic duties are discontinued, the medical staff assisting the students can now help full time with NHS in manning the hospitals.
As soon as the students are cleared off and duly accredited as doctors, they will have the option to assist in hospitals, affiliated with COVID-19 cases or not, depending on their preference. But as much as possible, the NHS urge them to use their medical knowledge in helping deal with the worsening case of COVID-19 in the country.
Featured image by Churchill College Cambridge
