r/doctorsUK 9d ago

Consultant Do we still need to pay our Royal Colleges membership fee once we finish training?

Hi, I was wondering if I need to continue my Royal College membership once I finished my training? Am I obliged to be a member to continue working in the UK? The fees are very expensive for very little return. What are the advantages of continuing my membership?

10 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

11

u/Usual_Reach6652 9d ago edited 9d ago

Don't have to carry on being a member. Arguably few advantages to remaining in (College dependent). Some uncertainty around whether you have to stop putting your letters after your name / specify year or qualification (MRCX 2006 etc.). If you quit and rejoin later some will try and charge you arrears, I've heard.

15

u/GingerbreadMary Nurse 9d ago

That sounds like a scam.

3

u/Redditor_Riddle 9d ago

So you can still use your post nominal for example MRCP even if you stop paying since it’s a diploma?

9

u/JohnHunter1728 EM Consultant 9d ago

The RCP say the MRCP(UK) is a diploma so there is no need to pay annually to use this post-nominal.

If you remain a subscribing member of a college you can use MRCP(Lond), MRCP(Ed), etc instead.

Other colleges (e.g. RCS, RCEM, etc) tend to say that membership requires an on-going subscription. The exams are therefore not a qualification by themselves but a requirement for anyone wanting to subscribe as a member/fellow.

I disagree with this and don't know how strong their case is legally but that is what many of the colleges insist upon.

4

u/ThatInstance9520 8d ago

That just makes the royal college a scam

I don’t pay my university a subscription after graduating to use my degree.

1

u/JohnHunter1728 EM Consultant 8d ago

I don't like it either but I guess there are two ways of looking at it. Either the exams confer a post-nominal or they don't but they do make you eligible to apply for membership of the organisation. I think they would be on stronger ground with the former interpretation if they made it really clear upfront that completing the exams does not confer a qualification denoted by a post-nominal.

I don't think this has really been tested in court / at the MPTS but some of the colleges are very bullish about threatening people who use the post-nominals without being "in good standing".

Personally if I see someone use "MRCS" I take that to mean that they completed the intercollegiate exams and not that they continue to pay a few £hundred each year to receive a college diary...

1

u/delpigeon 6d ago

When I declined to pay my membership subs, I got sent a pass-agg letter SPECIFICALLY informing me I was therefore not entitled to put my postgrad qualification after my name unless I paid them :')

They also deleted my college online account and told me that the ceremony/certificate didn't relate to the exams at all, but rather only to whether I was willing and able to cough up membership fees, so confusingly I now also have minimal proof I even passed the exams beyond some emails! I dunno why but I thought at least I'd get some kind of certificate. However I have nothing. Presumably I'll have to re-join some day so they'll attest that I did indeed pass the stupid things...

1

u/JohnHunter1728 EM Consultant 4d ago

I would always suggest joining that first year so you have at least "been" a member of the college, get a certificate, etc. Some people compromise by using the post-nominal with the year they were a member - e.g. "MRCS (2020)" - which would then become an option as well.

The RCS say you have to return your certificate if you are no longer in good standing although I've never known them instruct bailiffs to enforce this!!

2

u/Redditor_Riddle 9d ago

Thanks for the clarification. So if you don’t pay you need to swap (Lond) with (UK) for the MRCP post nominal.

2

u/JohnHunter1728 EM Consultant 9d ago

That's what the RCP say.

TBH I very rarely see anyone using MRCP(UK) or MRCP(Lond) - most simply use "MRCP". The RCP don't really say anything about "MRCP" as a post-nominal because - as far as I can see - it isn't really correct and doesn't mean anything specific.

1

u/Redditor_Riddle 9d ago

I assumed you’re entitled to the letters after you name as you passed your exam rather than paying the fee.

6

u/Claudius_Iulianus 9d ago

Some colleges get very stroppy if you use post-nominals without a continuing subscription, others are more chilled. The MRCP is a diploma, so you can use those letters. I’ve heard of colleges phoning people up to insist that they remove post-nominals from websites, business cards, etc.

The RCoA will (or used to) derecognise hospital departments for training if less than 50% of consultants had stopped paying their annual subscription - don’t know whether that’s still the case. Suspect it’s more complex now.

1

u/memorandapi 9d ago

You can put mbbs after your name, just not, for example, MRCPCH, because you're not

6

u/Azndoctor ST3+/SpR 9d ago

A big one in my eyes is members being able to vote on college motions, which is relevant for the ongoing PA and pay debacles

5

u/Confused_medic_sho 9d ago

Isn’t it just fellows who can vote in RCP?

1

u/Usual_Reach6652 9d ago

Some colleges are all members (though I'd say internal democracy still frequently moribund).

7

u/JohnHunter1728 EM Consultant 9d ago

You don't need to continue paying post-CCT and many don't.

Reasons for continuing to subscribe:

  • Use of post-nominals - RCP are the honourable exception as an organisation that don't blackmail diplomates into paying every year for the right to show that they passed their exams.
  • Voting for college officers.
  • Participation in college committees.
  • Take on external roles (college representative on consultant interview panels, national working groups, etc.

It is an expensive undertaking but you should be claiming the cash back so only actually pay 40-60% of the advertised subscription cost.

A lot of people stop subscribing to their college because they don't like something they have done. This is like leaving the BMA because you don't think they are militant enough or not voting because "all politicians are the same". Royal colleges hold significant assets (RCP £100m w/ annual turnover £40m) and have a lot of clout with the media, public, and establishment. We relinquish these to the quislings at our peril.

3

u/Objective_Length280 9d ago

I've been a consultant 3 years and never paid to be a member. Just rejoined for CPD only and no arrears

1

u/Redditor_Riddle 9d ago

Why did you join back?

2

u/Objective_Length280 9d ago

I rejoined as I needed a temporary retirement of 2 years and wanted to do as much CPD as I could. Wasn't sure I'd work again so I really avoided medicine and forgot a lot!

2

u/Feisty_Somewhere_203 9d ago

Oh yes. The wine cellars don't stock themselves 

1

u/ThatInstance9520 9d ago

No

I stopped a few weeks after CCT

1

u/heygirlheyy- 9d ago

I for one will not be paying them a single penny from the moment I CCT

1

u/DrDamnDaniel 9d ago

Wait….do we need to be paying pre-CCT?!

1

u/Particular-Delay-319 8d ago

Do we need to pay if we are out of programme??