Guidance for medical students in Northern Ireland during industrial action by doctors

This guidance is intended to support medical students who are due to attend clinical placements during industrial action by doctors in Northern Ireland. It should be read alongside any instructions issued by your medical school, placement provider, supervising clinical team and local trust or health and social care organisation.
Location: UK
Audience: Medical students
Updated: Tuesday 23 June 2026
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Key principles

  • Medical students are not employees and cannot take industrial action in the same way as doctors employed by health and social care organisations.
  • You should attend placements, teaching and assessments as directed by your medical school unless you are told otherwise.
  • You must not work beyond your level of competence.
  • Patient safety, student safety and appropriate supervision must remain the overriding priorities.
  • If you are uncertain about what is expected of you, seek clarification from your medical school or named placement supervisor before undertaking any activity.

Attendance at placement

You should continue to attend clinical placement unless your medical school or placement provider advises that the placement has been cancelled, moved, shortened or replaced with alternative learning. Local arrangements may change at short notice, so check your university email, placement communications and any local reporting instructions before travelling.

If you arrive on placement and there is no appropriate supervision available, contact your named supervisor, placement administrator or medical school as soon as possible,follow their advice and keep a record.

Your role during strike action

Medical students remain learners. Provided that appropriate supervision is in place and the activity is educationally relevant you may continue to observe, participate in supervised learning activities, take histories, examine patients with consent, present findings, and complete agreed placement.

You should not be used as substitute clinical staff when doctors are taking  strike action. You must not be requiredto hold clinical responsibility for patients, make independent management decisions, prescribe, request investigations independently, discharge patients, obtain consent for procedures outside your competence, or perform any task for which you have not been trained and you are not being supervised to do.

You should not be offered paid work during strike action. It is unlawful to bring in additional agency / extra staff to cover staff out on strike. . If in doubt, seek advice from your medical school, the BMA or your defence organisation. 

You should only undertake clinical activity when there is appropriate supervision and a clear route for escalation. If supervision is reduced because of strike action, ask what activities are appropriate for you to undertake and who is responsible for supervising you.
If you believe patient safety, dignity or comfort is being compromised, raise the concern promptly with the most senior available clinician, the nurse in charge, your placement supervisor, or your medical school. You should also follow any local incident reporting or escalation process where appropriate.

You should always be treated fairly and respectfully, regardless of your background or protected characteristics, not experience bullying, harassment or undue pressure, and it should be taken seriously if this does occur. Your safety is paramount within the placement. Guidance on undergraduate clinical placements from the GMC sets out what is expected of all medical schools, placement providers and medical students

Supporting industrial action

Medical students may hold personal views about doctors taking industrial action and may wish to show support. You may do so in your own time.

Practical checklist for students

  • Check the latest placement instructions before each strike day.
  • Confirm who is supervising you and what learning activities are appropriate.
  • Do not undertake tasks beyond your competence or without supervision.
  • Record any disruption to teaching or placement experience and report this through your medical school’s usual process.
  •  Seek support if you feel pressured,  unsafe or unable to raise a concern locally.

Where to get advice or support

If you have questions or concerns, contact your medical school, placement lead, year lead, personal tutor, student support service, BMA representative, or medical defence organisation. If the concern relates to immediate patient safety, escalate it through the clinical team as you normally would