UKPIN Statement on findings of GMC Review of Training in Allergy and Immunology

UKPIN welcomes and supports the recent recommendations from the General Medical Council’s Review of Training in Allergy and Immunology.  

There is lack of exposure to allergy and immunology in core medical training, which has led to challenges in recruitment into the training and difficulty for trainees in obtaining competencies across curriculum.  

The solution recommended by this review was that training programmes consider introducing a common two-year training period for both allergy and immunology before further specialisation recognising the shared scientific foundations of both specialties and represents the best way forward for ensuring the training of our future clinical leaders is rigorous and fit for purpose.  This proposed programme will allow trainees more flexibility in their career paths, increasing their skill sets to meet the needs of patients with allergy and immune-mediated disease and thus improves their future employability.

We look forward to working with the Special Advisory Committees in Allergy and Immunology at the Joint Royal College of Physicians Training Board to explore this possibility further and develop a strategy to ensure allergy and immunology medical training meets the needs of patients in our healthcare system in the years ahead.

Tomaz Garcez

Chair, UKPIN