Professor Forest's queries about registration for Clinical Scientists 
raise a number of issues.

1.   There is no problem with a medic, MLSO, academic scientist or 
other person  with appropriate entry qualifications entering a 
Clinical Scientist training programme, becoming qualified as a 
Clinical Scientist, obtaining employment as a Clinical Scientist and 
registering as such.  Although the 3 professions have different 
training programmes, where the person already has sufficient 
training and appropriate experience then they could be registered 
without undergoing the usual training programme, or gaining 
additional experience.  MLSOs have transferred to Clinical 
Scientist posts, and been registered as such. No doubt some have made 
the transition to medcial practitioner and become registered.  They 
would normally terminate their former registration 
when they ceased to practice their original profession.

2.  Persons qualified in two registrable professions, who practice 
them both, could be simultaneously registered for both. E.g. a 
qualified nurse who became a clinical scientist, and continued to 
work as a bank nurse at weekends would need to maintain both 
egistrations.  It would be clear when the individual was practising 
as a  State Registered Nurse and when as a Registered Clinical 
Scientist.  He or she would have separate contracts of employment for 
the different duties.

3. Suppose a medically qualfied pathologist, registered with the GMC, 
decided that his (or her) duties included laboratory work which 
qualified him to also register as a Clinical Scientist and an MLSO.  
A patient who wishes to makes a complaint about his pefomance arising 
out of that laboratory work would need either to complain to all 
three registration boards, or be able to determine in which capacity 
he was acting when the complaint arose. The patient probably would 
not have been aware that the "doctor" was a registered member of 
another profession. To which code of ethics should he have been 
adhering at the time?  Ultimately he might be struck off one 
register, but be free to continue much of his work in another 
capacity.  If he was struck from the GMC register, could he continue 
to practice his laboratory work as a Clinical Scientist, until 
another complaint was made?  I cannot see why there should be a need 
for multiple registration in such circumstances.  This would not seem 
to serve the public interest, which, as Dr Worth pointed out, is the 
purpose of statutory registration.

Mike Creasy
Clinical Cytogeneticist &
Member of the Registration Council for Scientists in Health Care


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