Fitness to Practise

In 1998 all universities offering a medicine programme were recommended by the General Medical Council to ensure they had in place mechanisms to bar from professional qualification students who are unfit to practise medicine. In response to this recommendation, the Faculty of Medicine has implemented a Fitness to Practise policy: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/secretariat/governance/charterandstatutes/regulations/ftp/

In essence, if any student’s conduct and/or state of health is felt to be sufficiently extreme as potentially to make him/her unfit to practise medicine, then his/her record will be considered by the Student Progress Group. If this Group decides that there is a potential case to answer, then the College will convene a Fitness to Practise Panel. Any student who is deemed by the Panel to be unfit can, in certain circumstances, appeal against that decision.

This means that medical students at Imperial College London are treated differently from students of other disciplines at the College, but it is a necessity in view of the unique and caring nature of their future profession.

Terms of Reference for the Student Progress Group: TOR SPG