Good Medical Practice (2024)

Summary

Good Medical Practice is the core statement of what the General Medical Council expects of every doctor registered in the UK. The 2024 edition is organised into four domains: knowledge, skills and development; patients, partnership and communication; colleagues, culture and safety; and trust and professionalism. Compared with the previous version, it places more weight on the culture doctors create around them — treating colleagues with respect, challenging and reporting bullying, harassment and discrimination, and supporting a fair and inclusive workplace. It strengthens expectations around partnership with patients, including sharing information in a way people can understand and supporting them to make decisions. It also asks doctors to be honest when things go wrong, to protect patient data, to look after their own health, and to work within the limits of their competence. The standards are written as professional duties rather than legal rules, but serious or persistent failure to follow them can put a doctor's registration at risk.

Key takeaways

• Four domains: knowledge and skills; patients and partnership; colleagues, culture and safety; trust and professionalism.
• Doctors are responsible for the workplace culture they help create, not just their own clinical work.
• Honesty and openness when things go wrong is a professional duty.
• Patients are partners in decisions, not passive recipients of care.
• Doctors must recognise and work within the limits of their competence and look after their own wellbeing.

How to use it

Cite a domain when discussing professionalism, teamwork, honesty or a colleague's poor behaviour — e.g. 'GMP expects doctors to act on concerns about a colleague's conduct because patient safety comes first.'

Questions it helps with

• Why do you want to be a doctor?
• If you want to care for patients, why not become a nurse or a physician assistant instead?
• What do you think are the biggest downsides of a career in medicine, and how would you cope with them?
• What qualities make a good doctor, and which do you think is the most important?
• Did you see anything during your work experience that you thought could have been done better?
• Tell me about a time you worked in a team that faced a problem. What was your role, and what did you learn?
• Describe a time you showed leadership. Why is leadership important for doctors?
• Tell me about a time you disagreed with someone you were working with. How did you resolve it?
• You are a medical student on placement. You notice that a junior doctor you are working with smells strongly of alcohol at the start of a morning shift. What would you do?
• A fellow medical student posts a photo on Instagram from their hospital placement. A patient's name is visible on a whiteboard in the background. What would you do?
• Resident doctors in England have taken strike action over pay and training posts. Is it ever right for doctors to strike?
• There has been a lot of debate about the role of physician associates in the NHS. What do you understand about this, and what is your view?