Medicine: Health & Fitness to Practise
No health condition or disability by virtue of diagnosis automatically prohibits an individual from studying or practising medicine.
GMC - Welcomed and Valued: Supporting Disabled Learners in Medical Education and Training
disabilities
The University views applications from students with disabilities, or those with special support needs, in exactly the same way as those from other applicants, so you should not be apprehensive about declaring such difficulties.
Applications from students with disabilities will be assessed against the same selection criteria as everyone else. Adjustments will be made for tests and interviews where required.
Medical students are expected to demonstrate that they can meet all the General Medical Council's Outcomes for Graduates before they graduate at the end of the final year, regardless of the specialty or career path that they may eventually pursue. The Medical School must make reasonable adjustments to support students with disabilities in achieving these outcomes. Although adjustments cannot be made to the outcomes themselves, reasonable adjustments can be made to the method of learning and the assessment by which the student demonstrates those skills.
Students with disabilities are therefore strongly encouraged to register with the University Disability Advisory Service after they have received their offer, so that adjustments and support can be put in place from an early stage.
HEALTH
Oxford conforms to the Higher Education Occupational Physicians/Practitioners requirements regarding standards of medical fitness to train, and the UK Department of Health's requirements regarding immunisation status and screening for blood borne viruses. For more information, please see our Occupational Health Department's pages on immunisation, blood borne viruses and infection control requirements.
All medical students coming to Oxford are asked to fill in a confidential medical questionnaire before the beginning of the course. This is assessed by either the University Occupational Health Service (for offer-holders to A100 Medicine) or the OUH Trust Occupational Health Department (for offer-holders to A101 Graduate-Entry Medicine) to establish Fitness to Study. Students are also required to provide evidence of rubella, BCG (for tuberculosis) and hepatitis B vaccination.
The University Occupational Health Service and the OUH Trust Occupational Health Department provide support to students in assessing any risks that arise from their clinical duties, advice on risk avoidance and immunisation for placements abroad.
FITNESS TO PRACTISE
Fitness to practise refers to behaviour, attitudes, values, health and skills in addition to academic standing. The University is required by the General Medical Council to ensure that students who graduate with degrees of BMBCh are fit to practise Medicine. Students are expected to adhere to the expectations outlined by the GMC and the Medical Schools Council. The University is responsible for monitoring students' fitness to practice and ensuring that any concerns raised are dealt with in a supportive, transparent and fair manner.
The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences' Health and Conduct process and Fitness to Practise process provide a framework for supporting and managing concerns around behaviour, professionalism and health. On very rare occasions, concerns may be so significant that medical studies are terminated and students are not able to graduate with a medical degree, nor go on to study medicine elsewhere.
Disclosure and Barring Service Bureau check
In accordance with Department of Health guidance, all medical students are asked to register with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). If you are offered a place then the DBS will be asked to check your details on police and government records. This check is known as an enhanced disclosure and a copy is sent to the applicant. The designated persons in the Medical School is informed when an applicant has been cleared or not, although they do not see the full details. For further information on the DBS see the Disclosure and Barring Service website.
Offer-holders who have never lived in the UK will be required to complete a self-declaration form and provide original documentation from the police authority (or other relevant authority) in their country of residence detailing the status of their criminal record.