The cost of GMC registration

Editor - The GMC has come under a good deal of criticism lately, with the recent vote of no confidence in its proposals for revalidation, as well as media scrutiny over its management of high profile cases such as Harold Shipman and Rodney Ledward. However, one other aspect of its activity has not received such publicity, even though it will certainly affect medical students earlier in their careers than revalidation will.

Those of us who have recently completed our training are required to apply for provisional registration with the GMC before we can start our first house jobs in August. Until the end of last year the fee for this was \P45, but on 1 January this year the cost for provisional registration jumped to £80-an increase of 78%. Most of us were unaware of this until we came to apply for registration, on last year's forms with a separate scrap of paper informing us that the amount stated was wrong and we had to fork out an extra £35. The GMC has been reported as having a current deficit of £3 million, but I am unhappy if the extra money demanded of us is simply being creamed off to fund the GMC's debt. There has been no indication of why this large increase was warranted, and I would be very interested to hear exactly what I am getting for this extra money, apart from another extension on my already substantial overdraft.

Hannah Gibbs, final year medical student, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff
Email: hannahg@doctors.org.uk


studentBMJ 2000;08:303-346 September ISSN 0966-6494