English language requirements

The GMC requires evidence that you can communicate in English at the level the job demands. There is more than one way to provide it, and two of them are language tests.

The two tests

IELTS — the Academic version, not General Training. It is a general academic English test: the reading and listening material is not medical, and the speaking test is a conversation with an examiner about ordinary topics.

OET — the Medicine version. Every task is set in a clinical context: the writing task is a referral letter, the speaking tasks are role-plays with a patient. Candidates who find general academic reading harder than clinical reading often prefer it.

The GMC publishes the scores it accepts, in each test, including the minimum in each individual component. Read them on the page linked above — a score that meets the overall requirement and misses one component does not qualify, and that is the most common way this step goes wrong.

What to think about before booking

• The scores are per component. Plan for the weakest one.
• Results have a validity window, and so does the rest of your application. Sitting the test very early can mean sitting it twice.
• Test centre availability varies enormously by country and by month. Check it before you plan the rest of the timeline around it.

Alternatives to a test

There are routes that accept other evidence of English capability — for example where a medical qualification was taught and examined in English, or where you have practised in an English-speaking country. The conditions are specific and they are on the GMC page. If one applies to you it removes a test, a fee and several weeks.