BMA proposes earmarked training posts for overseas doctors, UK

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 27 Aug 2005 - 15:00 PDT

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Problems faced by overseas doctors in the UK could be reduced if they applied for earmarked training programmes, the BMA Junior Doctors Committee and the British International Doctors Association say in a joint discussion paper today (Tuesday 23 August, 2005).

Overseas doctors applying for training posts in England and Wales have found themselves caught up in intense competition, with recent adverts attracting over 1000 applicants. Along with UK-trained colleagues, many are unable to find work.*

The paper, 'International medical graduates: a fairer future', argues that the 'prolonged financial and emotional hardship' suffered by overseas junior doctors, could be lessened if they came to the UK only after being given a provisional offer of a training post.

Under the proposed system, doctors seeking training posts would sit the initial exams required to practise in the UK in their home countries. If successful, they would apply through a matching scheme to an International Foundation post, numbers of which would be based on the UK's workforce needs. After that, they could sit the final exam required to practise, and if successful could take up a place. Senior doctors applying for consultant or GP posts would not be required to go through the foundation programme.

The paper argues that this system would lessen the hardships suffered by overseas doctors in the UK by reducing the expense of visa renewals and the amount of time they spend unemployed. It would also give them a better introduction to the NHS, helping them to compete on a fairer basis for future posts, the paper says.

Commenting on the joint proposals, Dr Rajat Gupta, Chairman of the Junior Doctors Forum of the British International Doctors Association, said:

"The current medical workforce planning crisis has hit overseas doctors the hardest. They've unfairly been given the impression that training posts are easy to come by, so they spend money coming to the UK and sitting exams, then find they can't get a job."

Dr Simon Calvert, deputy chairman of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee, said:

"Training a doctor requires a huge investment, both from the doctor and from the taxpayer. If poor workforce planning means they don't get the opportunity to practise, that's a terrible waste. It's time we were more honest with overseas doctors about the jobs market the UK. While the NHS is reliant on international recruitment to fill senior posts, at the junior level the same opportunities simply don't exist."

1. View Full Report

2. The paper is a joint publication by the BMA and the British International Doctors Association. Its principles have been endorsed by the BMA's International Committee, the BMA Equal Opportunities Committee, and the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans

3. In order to practise in the UK, doctors from outside the EU need to pass the IELTS (International English Language Test System) exam and both parts of the General Medical Council's Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) examination

4. It is currently possible to sit these exams in the UK

5. Around 7500 overseas doctors passed PLAB2 in 2004, and the number is expected to rise to 9000 this year

6. More than one in three (36%) of the doctors who passed PLAB2 in June 2003 were unemployed six months later

7. Figures published by the Royal College of Physicians show that competition for training posts is most intense in Wales and the South of England: bmjcareers.com/cgi-bin/section.pl?sn=juniorcomp#

http://www.bma.org.uk

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