Refusal to grant provisional General Medical Council registration to U.K. medical graduates

In the last five years, 2010-2014, there have been 17 instances when an application for provisional registration by a U.K. medical graduate was refused by the General Medical Council because the Registrar considered that the applicant's fitness to practise was impaired. While this number is small, the fact that this can happen is largely unappreciated by medical students and their teachers, the prevailing false assumption being that passing finals and graduation is the final hurdle before taking up a Foundation Programme post. It is a poorly recognised fact that just because a university fitness to practise committee has concluded that a student is fit to practise there is no guarantee that the General Medical Council will come to the same decision. This paper explains the reasons for these refusals and makes suggestions for students and medical schools.