The General Medical Council is a public organisation that works to keeps patients safe and improve medical education in the UK by setting and maintaining standards that doctors must comply with. Its role is achieved in many ways.

As a doctor in the UK you must be aware of the processes in the UK designed to maintain standards. You will need to be aware of what regulations you need to comply with. The GMC provides key documents to help you understand what standards are expected of doctors. Good medical practice is one of these documents.

Registration

 The medical register can be joined when the requirements set by the GMC are met. You're individual circumstances will dictate what route you take to be approved to join  the national register. You will be recommended to join with either provisional or full registration. Provisional registration is for those who have not completed an internship and are joining at foundation year 1 level. 

More senior doctors who will be taking up a consultant post will need Specialist registration. A general practitioner will need to join the GP register. 

A License to Practice

The license to practice allows registered practitioners to carry out certain activities such as prescribing, signing death certificates etc. To work in the NHS you must hold a licence to practice. 

Revalidation 

To maintain your medical practice you must demonstrate that you have continued to keep your knowledge up to date and that you are fit to practice. You will need to revalidate every 5 years to maintain your license. A key part of revalidation will be having annual appraisal. This should evidence your whole scope of practice. Revalidation requirements are detailed here.