Are you interested in healthcare education? Would you like to know more about how the General Medical Council regulates education and training in your profession? If so, please consider applying to become one of our student associates.  

The role of the GMC in overseeing UK medical education and training

The GMC is the independent regulator for doctors Physician Associates (PA) and Anaesthesia Associates (AA) in the UK. Our purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of these professions.

As part of the GMC’s work, the Quality Assurance – Monitoring and Improvement team conducts regular quality assurance activities with medical schools, course providers and postgraduate organisations across the UK. This could be regular face to face or virtual visits to a new course, document reviews, or observations.

Our associates provide expert advice and help us make judgements about how organisations are meeting our standards. Your role will be to work with a team of other associates and GMC staff, and offer the perspective of a current student, commenting on an organisation’s processes. The opinions of our student associates are just as important as the rest of the associate team, and we come together to make joint decisions about whether standards are being met.

Who are we looking for?

Applicants should be pursuing an undergraduate or postgraduate PA/AA degree at a UK course provider. We are only accepting applications from Year 1 students.

We do not require applicants to have any experience in quality assurance or knowledge of medical education: instead, we will look for evidence of applicants’ excellent communication and team working skills, alongside the ability to analyse complex data and draw logical conclusions.

We offer a daily fee of £325 with reasonable expenses and the flexibility necessary for you to fulfil your other commitments. The role will involve desk-based reviews, conference calls, and some travel to GMC offices as well as other non-GMC locations. Annual time commitments will vary considerably, but associates can expect around six days of GMC work per annum. Please note that we may not ask you to work each year of your four-year contract.

As an organisation we are committed to the diversity of our workforce. We seek and actively encourage applications from a wide range of people including those from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and disabled candidates. We believe that equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) are an integral part of our work as a regulator, and as an employer. Our ED&I commitments are driven by our ambition to make progress in tackling persistent issues related to inequality, and to achieve positive changes and outcomes for the diverse groups we work with and for. Find out more about our strategy and commitment to EDI and inclusion.

Please refer to the Information for Applicants document and the Guidance Notes for more details. 

Closing date: 1^st December 2025

Interview dates: January 2026