I am writing to express the view of the Collegiate Trainees’ Committee (CTC) on the issue of Membership without examination as discussed at the last CTC meeting. Although acknowledging the importance of recognising senior psychiatrists of international repute, trainees are opposed to the idea of indiscriminate awarding of the MRCPsych to overseas psychiatrists if they have not passed the UK examinations.

There are two lines of reasoning supporting this argument. First, there seems to be a plethora of ways in many countries to obtain a postgraduate psychiatric qualification, one of the eligibility criteria for the awared of Membership without examination (Psychiatric Bulletin, January 2006, 30, 3–6). As some of these qualifications are not underpinned by training, assessment and quality-assurance systems as robust as those in the UK, awarding the reputable MRCPsych to holders of only these qualifications would seriously devalue the MRCPsych in the eyes of not only the medical community but also the public at large. Second, awarding the MRCPsych to those who have not toiled through a very rigorous UK training and assessment system would seriously discriminate against past, present and future generations of postgraduate UK trainees who have done so.

If the College feels the need to recognise psychiatrists who have not passed both parts of the Membership exam, it should ensure that there is some way to differentiate their title from that of those who have undergone the rigorous UK training.