Amen to all of that.  Hard to know just how far Niall Dickson could go, 
he would need a lot of support to make those changes.
I expect that sometime during the forthcoming winter of cuts there will 
be an announcement that revalidation as we know it cannot be funded and 
ideas for alternatives will be invited.
Revalidation remains the last evidence-free zone in modern medicine. I 
discount clinical governance because I consider it a management tool and 
of little relevance to front line docs.
As for the GMC, their dealings with mentally ill doctors are totally 
sick. That's with those who are unlucky enough or sick enough to end up 
being referred or reported.
I expect the BMA, having finally discovered its small round things in 
relation to revalidation, will do a fair job of bringing the royal 
colleges to heel on revalidation and that just might be the beginning of 
the end of the old guard.

Declan



<<seems revalidation is on hold again. Good! granted that its taken 
nearly 10 years for clinical governance to properly start, revalidation 
has now had x2 false starts, there is no money to back either up, surely 
its time to abandone tweaking it all and start afresh? eg abolish the 
GMC as now stands and reinvent it as a disciplinary organisation only, 
with proper positive appriasal/revalidation and support for those who 
need some help separated off to a better body. Niall Dickson, ceo of the 
GMC, is too savvy a guy not to realise that tinkering again with it is 
no answer. problem is the diehards of the GMC and colleges have a vested 
interest in maintaining the status quo and current proposals which have 
manifestly failed to gain our support. 	>>