Assessment of Medical and Dental Competence Policy
Introduction
In the last five years the MDCG has received applications for registration from doctors and dentists with primary qualifications from institutions whose graduates have never worked in the Gambia. Although the existing MDCG systems can verify applications from countries in general, Council is unable to assess the quality of training provided by institutions in countries without reciprocal primary medical and dental education.
It is in this light that Council is instituting an assessment system to objectively assess the competence of applicants to ensure that medical and dental care is consistent with standards set by the Council.
In the administration of this assessment, Council reserves the right and discretion in the selection of the countries and facilities whose applicants will be subjected to such assessment.
Purpose
This Policy has been established to assess the knowledge and skills of doctors and dentists with a primary medical or dental qualification from countries where the Medical and Dental Council of The Gambia (MDCG) has no prior experience of assessing the competence of doctors and dentists graduating from medical/dental Training Institutions within these countries.
The assessment of such graduates is to ensure that their competence is in line with the overall mandate of the MDCG to ensure the safety and quality of services provided to the public in The Gambia.
The Assessment
The assessment will consist of three parts:
i. Written Examination
This will consist of a single paper with 200 multiple choice questions on basic and clinical sciences. The clinical sciences include internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, general surgery, therapeutics and dentistry (if the candidate will practice dentistry). This part of the assessment will last 3 hours.
ii. Assessment of Clinical skills
The applicant will review 10 clinical cases. For each case, s/he will be asked to demonstrate specific clinical skills and respond to relevant questions for each case (2 hours duration).
iii. Oral assessment
A Panel of Assessors will interview the applicant on how to manage different clinical scenarios.
The assessment will be undertaken by a Panel authorized by Council and will present the results and recommendations for registration to Council.
Marks Required For Registration
An applicant will only be invited to participate in parts 2 and 3 of the assessment if he/she scores 50% or more in the written assessment.
The Medical and Dental Council of The Gambia will provide a Certificate of Competence to an applicant who passes all three parts of the assessment at a pass mark of 50% for each part.
If an applicant fails the assessment, he/she will only be allowed to re-sit the assessment after six months. An applicant may have unlimited attempts at the assessment.