Applications now open for the Credential in Rural and Remote Health (Unscheduled and Urgent Care)

Applications now open for the Credential in Rural and Remote Health (Unscheduled and Urgent Care)

Doctors across Scotland who provide unscheduled and urgent care in remote and rural areas are invited to apply for the next cohort of the General Medical Council (GMC)‑approved Rural and Remote Health Credential (Unscheduled and Urgent Care).

The next recognition route cohort is due to start in April 2026, and submission of applications is now open until Friday 13 March 2026.

Supportive educational framework

Developed in partnership with the GMC, the Credential aims to provide a supportive educational framework, equipping doctors with enhanced skills in leading, delivering, and coordinating unscheduled and urgent patient care closer to home.

By assuring doctors' learning against a clearly defined set of capabilities, the Credential offers assurance not only to clinicians but also to employers responsible for the delivery of high‑quality care. Ultimately, this strengthens services for rural, remote, and island communities and helps reduce geographic disparities in access to urgent and unscheduled healthcare.

Eligibility

The recognition route is a process for acknowledging a doctor’s knowledge, skills and experience against several Credential-specific Capabilities in Practice (CiPs) and procedural skills.   

Doctors who can demonstrate they meet the outcomes of the GMC Rural and Remote Health credential can be awarded the credential by providing evidence instead of completing the learning programme.   

Eligibility for the credential encompasses a wide range of experience and different medical backgrounds. The entry point for this credential will most commonly, although not always exclusively, be:

• doctors with full GMC registration practising in rural, remote, or island areas, and employer and Responsible Officer endorsement
• doctors on the GP Register (or equivalent) who already work in rural and remote settings
• doctors practising in non-training grade positions in rural and remote contexts with appropriate experience and existing competencies (for example, Staff and Associate Specialist doctors)

Find out more

For further details on the credential and application process, please visit our Turas Learn site and explore: 

• Credential curriculum [PDF]
• Credential Specific Guidance [PDF]
• Application form: please complete the application form

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