As an organisation the Medical Schools Council occupies a unique position embracing medical undergraduate education, health related research, and a critical interface with the health service and postgraduate education and training. Recent and current work priorities include Foundation Programme Option Appraisal commissioned by the Department of Health, promoting clinical academic careers, Admissions, Student Fitness to Practise and Safe Prescribing. The Medical Schools Council, in partnership with the GMC, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the British Medical Association, and the Kings Fund, PMETB, NHS Employers, and the Department of Health organised a high profile conference in October 2008 to celebrate 150 years of the Medical Act and to try to gain consensus on the Role of the Doctor. The consensus statement is now available from the Medical Schools Council website.

Aims

1. To be the authoritative voice of all UK Medical Schools.
2. To develop a close working relationship with NHS partner institutions and to facilitate the development of academic medical centres.
3. To explore proactively the role of the doctor in the future and to pursue educational solutions for workforce requirements involving doctors.
4. To work to improve and maintain quality in medical education and to facilitate the transition between undergraduate and postgraduate environments.
5. To promote clinical academic careers.
6. To enhance clinical leadership and develop leaders within Medical Schools.
7. To promote the conduct of high quality, health related research in all Medical Schools, recognising that the nature and scale of such research will differ between institutions.
8. To take due account of the views of the public on society’s needs of a doctor.

For more information visit the Medical Schools Council website.