Articles on the Diploma in Occupational Medicine (DOccMed): dates, eligibility, the approved course, the MCQ, the portfolio and the oral.
The two DOccMed parts pass or fail independently: a standard-set MCQ and an oral with a 50% rule. The regulations on attempts, the five-year limit and the new-portfolio rule, and how to use the six months between attempts.
GMC registration, or a qualification eligible for it, plus an approved course: that is the whole DOccMed entry rule. What it means for GPs, SAS doctors and locums, why trainees usually wait, and the questions for doctors qualified outside the UK.
The DOccMed cannot be sat without an FOM-approved course. The seven providers the Faculty lists, the 90% attendance rule, the deadline the course must meet, and the questions worth asking before you pay.
Six to fifteen months from the first day of an approved course to the certificate, with five years allowed. The sequence, the three deadlines that bind, and what fast, typical and slow routes look like.
Eighty best-fit questions in 105 minutes, sat on a Monday afternoon, revised around a full-time GP job. A twelve-week plan across the twelve syllabus modules, with the portfolio running alongside and the registration deadline in the middle.
The DOccMed was built for doctors doing occupational health part-time, and the Faculty says GPs are its typical candidates. What the three parts involve, the £1,346 in fees, where it helps a GP career and where it does not.
What the DOccMed best-fit format looks like: ten short questions from ten modules, each with the answer and a short explanation, plus how to approach a best-fit statement question.
The FOM reading list was last updated in 2022. The current editions of the key books, the free HSE, GOV.UK, GMC and FOM documents that matter most and a small set that covers the ground.
Nine sourced changes for DOccMed candidates in 2026–27, from Statutory Sick Pay and DVLA diabetes rules to hepatitis B testing and the new harassment duty.
Part 1 MFOM and the DOccMed MCQ share the same questions and pass mark. Who can enter each route, the five- and seven-year exemption rules, dates, fees and preparation.
Core Revision