General Medical Council (GMC)
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Overview and Purpose:
The General Medical Council is the statutory regulator for doctors in the United Kingdom. GMC registration confirms that a doctor has completed an approved medical degree and meets the standards required to practise medicine safely, ethically, and competently.
GMC registration represents a foundational professional qualification within healthcare. It establishes legal authority to practise medicine and provides the professional base upon which further clinical training and specialisation may be built.
Commencement:
Expires:
Regulatory or accrediting body:
The General Medical Council is established under the Medical Act 1983 and operates as an independent regulator accountable to Parliament. Its role is to protect the public by setting standards for medical education, training, professional conduct, and fitness to practise.
The GMC maintains the medical register and oversees revalidation, appraisal, and professional accountability for doctors.
Scope of recognition:
GMC registration confirms completion of an approved medical qualification and authorisation to practise as a doctor. It provides the professional foundation for medical practice across a wide range of clinical environments.
However, GMC registration alone does not confer competence in aesthetic medicine or procedural aesthetics. As with other healthcare professions, additional education and training are required to undertake aesthetic treatments safely and lawfully.
Standards and core requirements:
To remain registered, doctors must meet ongoing professional requirements, including:
Completion of an approved medical degree
Compliance with Good Medical Practice
Participation in appraisal and revalidation
Maintenance of continuing professional development
Adherence to professional, ethical, and legal standards
Accountability to fitness to practise processes
These requirements establish a robust professional baseline comparable in structure to other regulated healthcare professions.
Relationship Between Medical Registration and Aesthetic Practice
Aesthetic medicine is not a core specialty of undergraduate or postgraduate medical training. Like surgery subspecialties or other advanced clinical roles, it requires additional, procedure specific education beyond the foundational professional qualification.
Across healthcare professions, including medicine, nursing, dentistry, and HCPC regulated roles, the model is the same:
A regulated professional qualification provides the foundation
Specialist or aesthetic practice requires additional training
Competence is defined by education, supervision, and experience
Scope of practice is based on capability, not professional title
Aesthetic qualifications are commonly delivered at Levels 3 to 7, depending on complexity and scope. These qualifications sit on top of the core professional registration and are required regardless of whether the practitioner is a doctor, dentist, nurse, or allied health professional.
This reflects a multidisciplinary model of practice rather than a professional hierarchy.
Relevance to patient safety and public assurance:
To remain registered, doctors must meet ongoing professional requirements, including:
Completion of an approved medical degree
Compliance with Good Medical Practice
Participation in appraisal and revalidation
Maintenance of continuing professional development
Adherence to professional, ethical, and legal standards
Accountability to fitness to practise processes
These requirements establish a robust professional baseline comparable in structure to other regulated healthcare professions.
Relationship Between Medical Registration and Aesthetic Practice
Aesthetic medicine is not a core specialty of undergraduate or postgraduate medical training. Like surgery subspecialties or other advanced clinical roles, it requires additional, procedure specific education beyond the foundational professional qualification.
Across healthcare professions, including medicine, nursing, dentistry, and HCPC regulated roles, the model is the same:
A regulated professional qualification provides the foundation
Specialist or aesthetic practice requires additional training
Competence is defined by education, supervision, and experience
Scope of practice is based on capability, not professional title
Aesthetic qualifications are commonly delivered at Levels 3 to 7, depending on complexity and scope. These qualifications sit on top of the core professional registration and are required regardless of whether the practitioner is a doctor, dentist, nurse, or allied health professional.
This reflects a multidisciplinary model of practice rather than a professional hierarchy.
How the clinic meets these requirements
Where doctors practise within the clinic’s governance framework, the clinic ensures that:
GMC registration is current and verified
Revalidation and appraisal requirements are maintained
Practice remains within defined scope and competence
Appropriate aesthetic training has been completed
Professional indemnity and insurance are in place
Practice is aligned with governance, consent, and safeguarding policies
This approach treats professional registration as a foundation, with additional competence layered on according to role and training.
Monitoring, review and ongoing compliance:
Professional registration and scope of practice are reviewed as part of routine governance oversight, including:
Verification of current GMC registration
Review of revalidation status
Review of training and competence records
Monitoring of scope of practice
Governance audit and assurance activity
This ensures continued compliance and safe practice.
Transparency and verifications:
GMC registration can be verified through the public medical register using the practitioner’s name or GMC number.
Further information regarding professional governance arrangements may be requested via the clinic’s governance contact routes.
Transparency and verifications url:
