zein wrote:Dear Freinds
I am married to a British citizen and intending to go to uk in April. I am a medical graditude (MBBS) and now wanted to continue my education from UK.
I am planning to appear for MRCOG part 1 in sept, please can anyone advise me whether I should appear for PLAB as i already have uk work permit, or anything else that i should consider before or after coming to uk. What are jobs prospect in uk if i pass my part-1 exams
Thanx
You are required to sit PLAB if you have qualified from outside the EU, regardless of whether you are married to a British Citizen or not. I don`t know about the eligibility criteria for MRCOG but chances are that you may not be allowed to sit Part II and the clinical exam unless you gain the mandatory UK experience. They would count some of your overseas experience towards the exam requirements but it depends on where the experience was gained,with most 3rd world countries, especially middle eastern countries and the 'stans' being clearly out of favour with most royal colleges..
Competition for jobs in the UK is extremely fierce and, being a recent arrival, you would often find yourself at the bottom of the pile. Competition this year is expected to be even stiffer following the recent Court of Appeal ruling which allows non EU nationals to compete for jobs on an equal footing with 'homegrown' doctors. The junior doctor grade in the UK is in the midst of a major shakeup,which seems to have gone horribly wrong atleast for the time being. There is a major push on part of the govt towards providing more care 'in the community' which means that the number of GP training posts have been vastly increased at the expense of specialty training positions. I expect this approach to have potentially disastrous consequences in the future but as things stand, it is extremely difficult to get into specialty training, especially if you are from abroad. Ob & Gyn has traditionally been a specialty where there is little upward mobility from the senior registrar grade onwards but with better prospects at the staff grade level. However, you'd need to complete your basic specialist training in the UK or prove that you have comparable training abroad in order to apply for even staff grade positions.
Being the spouse of a British national does not give you preferential treatment in the job market but does give you the luxury of sitting around while looking for a job. I would advise you to temper your expectations about your job prospects before you move to the UK and be prepared for a long wait (6-12 months or more) before you find that elusive first job. You should start by looking for clinical attachments in local hospitals once you arrive, suck up to the consultants and keep your eyes out for any temporary vacancies that might crop up. You might even have to consider switching specialities and consider doing something that you don`t particularly like (Cinderella specialities like Geriatrics, Psychiatry, Paediatrics hold RELATIVELY better prospects for newcomers)
There have been some changes to the registration procedures for overseas doctors recently but I`m not sure how that would affect your job prospects. I think the changes mean that you might have to work in a closely monitored environment for the first 2 years of your practice in this country and this might limit the range of jobs that you can apply for.
The GMC website has some guidance to foreign doctors with regards to employment prospects in the UK.
Bear in mind that the figures quoted are from 2005- things have got significantly worse since.
http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/work_perm ... r_imgs.asp
At the end of the day, perseverance does tend to pay off for most and, hopefully,so would it for you-but be prepared for a long wait..
