GDC Student Professionalism and Fitness to Practice

This guidance sets out the principles of professional behaviour expected of you during your training to become a registered dental professional. It applies to all students training to become a member of the dental team registered by the General Dental Council (GDC).

The important thing from the SSO perspective is that you seek help for any problems early so that they do not become professionalism issues. Principle nine is particularly relevant to student well-being issues such as drug use. So long as students take responsibility for their health issue, take steps to improve it and have not done anything to bring their professionalism into question, then they have not breached these principles.