Should UK membership exams be held overseas? No

While membership exams from UK medical colleges and faculties are an integral part of training for UK doctors, we believe that they are rarely appropriate and may be damaging in the long term when taken overseas.

All but one of the colleges run membership exams abroad, predominantly in Asian Commonwealth countries.1 From a historical perspective, this practice is understandable because medical training in many of these countries is based on the UK model. In the past, it was common for doctors to come to the UK for further postgraduate training, where many took the membership exams. Membership status thus gained reputational value in originating countries, leading to continued demand for these exams today. So the colleges’ decision to transport the exams overseas could be viewed as a natural progression, with financial benefits for the colleges and convenience for local candidates.

However, UK membership exams are no longer the necessity they once were. Many of these countries have developed their own postgraduate training and examinations,2 which better reflect local context. In this changed world, we believe that UK colleges should not run their membership exams …