title: Doctors who pilot the GMC's Tests of Competence: who volunteers and why?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Doctors who are investigated by the General Medical Council for performance concerns may be required to take a Test of Competence (ToC). The tests are piloted on volunteer doctors before they are used in Fitness to Practise (FtP) investigations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To find out who volunteers to take a pilot ToC and why.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective cohort study. Between February 2011 and October 2012 we asked doctors who volunteered for a test to complete a questionnaire about their reasons for volunteering and recruitment. We analysed the data using descriptive statistics and Pearson's χ(2) test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  301 doctors completed the questionnaire. Doctors who took a ToC voluntarily were mostly women, of white ethnicity, of junior grades, working in general practice and who held a Primary Medical Qualification (PMQ) from the UK. This was a different population to doctors under investigation and all registered doctors in the UK. Most volunteers heard about the General Medical Council's pilot events through email from a colleague and used the experience to gain exam practice for forthcoming postgraduate exams.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reference groups of volunteers are not representative of doctors under FtP investigation. Our findings will be used to inform future recruitment strategies with the aim to encourage better matching of groups who voluntarily pilot a ToC with those under FtP investigation.
authors.affiliation: Division of University College London Medical School, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mehdizadeh
authors.affiliation: Division of University College London Medical School, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sturrock
authors.affiliation: Division of University College London Medical School, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Gil
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: Centre for Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Yasmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Khatib
authors.affiliation: Division of University College London Medical School, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dacre
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005550:Foreign Medical Graduates; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: MEDICAL EDUCATION & TRAINING