The scene

A final-year medical student contacted the MDU for advice on whether to disclose an overseas drug offence in her GMC registration application.

She had attended a country music festival in Nashville, USA, the previous summer, and been arrested after she was found to have a small amount of marijuana on her.

While many US states have legalised or decriminalised marijuana, the state of Tennessee maintains some of the strictest marijuana laws in the US, imposing criminal penalties for possession, distribution, and related offences.

The student had a clean criminal record, and because the amount was less than half an ounce, she was convicted with the misdemeanour of simple possession.

This was settled with a $1,000 fine. She wasn't sure if this met the threshold for notifying the GMC, especially as the incident had occurred abroad.

MDU advice

Understandably, the prospect of a criminal record is traumatic for medical students and doctors, regardless of the nature of allegations.

Many students and resident doctors are also surprised to learn that their behaviour in their personal lives, even abroad, can have an impact on their career.

Telling your medical school

First, the student was advised to review her medical school's policy on disclosing criminal convictions to them as she would also need to adhere to this. Most medical schools will require students to notify the school if they're charged with, or convicted of, an offence.

As such, students should inform the medical school as soon as possible. This might result in a Health and Conduct Committee meeting and possibly lead to a fitness to practise (FTP) hearing. It's important for the student to engage with these processes, reflecting on what has happened and showing insight into any concerns.

Concerns about honesty and probity can exacerbate these processes, so it's important that students disclose information to the medical school promptly when required to do so.

Notifying the GMC about a drug conviction

It's also important that medical students disclose information to the GMC during the pre-registration process. The GMC's guide on what to declare - along with its 'What to tell us when you apply' tool - is especially relevant if you have a drug conviction.

The GMC is clear that students need to inform it about formal convictions unless they are protected by law in the UK. It clarifies that a conviction is the result of a person being found guilty of a crime by a court and includes convictions for a criminal offence in the UK or in another country. This applies to drug-related convictions overseas, such as offences at festivals or while studying abroad.

The student asked whether her conviction might be protected. The MDU adviser explained that cautions or convictions can be protected, but it depends on several factors - including:

the age of the person when they received it
the severity of the offence
the time that has passed since it was received.

A key point worth highlighting is that, regardless of where in the world the conviction or caution was given, the GMC applies the law of England and Wales to determine whether it is protected.

This is important to understand because you won't be able to rely on a more favourable overseas law to justify not informing the GMC of a caution or conviction, even if it would be considered spent or protected overseas.

Applying the GMC guidance to this case, a conviction is protected only if all of the following apply:

it is not for a 'listed offence'
you didn't receive a custodial sentence
more than 11 years have passed since the date of conviction (or more than five years and six months if you were under the age of 18 when convicted).

Since her conviction was less than a year ago, it would not be deemed to be protected, even if it was not a listed offence. A listed offence is one that will never be filtered from a DBS certificate. Here's a full list of these offences.

Other police actions and penalties

In the UK, there are various other actions and penalties for more minor offences, and these can cause confusion for medical students and doctors when deciding what needs to be reported to the GMC.

For example, sometimes members receive a community resolution order (CRO) for drug possession and are unsure whether they need to inform the GMC. This is a common concern for medical students with minor drug offences.

The GMC's guidance on other police actions and fixed penalties is clear that CROs do need to be disclosed, and failure to do so could impact GMC registration or fitness to practise assessments.

On the other hand, fixed penalty notices generally do not need to be declared, but you will need to confirm that you have not been given a 'penalty notice for a disorder'. These should be declared to the GMC if they were issued for an upper-tier offence.

In this case, an upper-tier penalty notice for disorder can be given for possession of a class B controlled drug (such as cannabis or cannabis resin), which means it would still trigger the need to declare it to the GMC.

Getting more advice

As these examples show, the rules around reporting convictions and police actions to the GMC can be complex - especially when it comes to minor offences and what counts as a reportable criminal record.

If you've been involved in a criminal process and are unsure of your reporting obligations, even after using the GMC's online tool, remember that MDU members can contact us for further advice on reporting requirements for medical students or doctors under investigation.

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