Thread: Employment prospects/PLAB in the UK for IMG's

I noticed this article on the General Medical Councils (UK) website, and thought that it may be of interesting reading for the folk who check this section of VMD.

We strongly recommend that before you apply for the PLAB test you find out whether you have a realistic chance of obtaining the kind of job you want.
The job market in the UK is very competitive and you should think very carefully about whether you are willing to take the risks involved in competing for posts.
A recent survey of IMGs who have passed the PLAB Part 2 exam has shown that finding employment is increasingly difficult. Key findings include:

• Of those IMGs who passed between January and September 2004 only 48% found their first post within six months. For those passing between October 2004 and February 2005 this dropped to only 35%. Of those who did find posts, 74% of the posts were for less than six months.
• Of those IMGS who passed between January and September 2004 19% had not found a post after a year. For those passing between October 2004 and February 2005 this jumped to 34%. The time it takes to find a position is increasing.

Please note: This survey was produced before the changes in the work permit rules were announced on 7 March 2006.
We anticipate International Medical Graduates' (IMGs) employment prospects will significantly worsen following the Department of Health announcement that from 3 April 2006, IMGs who wish to work or train in the NHS will need a work permit.

Could somebody (Possibly Dio) confirm that EEA citizens graduating from EU schools have the 'first choice' of Foundation year positions in the UK? I have read this somewhere but am just seeking confirmation.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Chemist_11

..............Could somebody (Possibly Dio) confirm that EEA citizens graduating from EU schools have the 'first choice' of Foundation year positions in the UK? I have read this somewhere but am just seeking confirmation.
Thanks.

Everywhere I have looked and everyone I have spoken to believes this to be the case: that there is a pecking order - U.K. grads.> EU grads.> Non-EU grads. I haven't actually seen this anywhere official. Nevertheless, it makes sense. If British grads. are "guaranteed" a place that doesn't leave all that many for the rest!
One F.A.Q. - how would a Brit. who had graduated outside the EU be treated? The consensus seems to be that they would not have any "official" claim above the others; but some Deaneries might well look sympathetically on them. The key, as for all, is to write a good application.

is there any statistic on British citizens who graduated outside uk and got back into the uk system after plab? Is it comparatively easier for them to find work? Surely a large no of IMG are not getting posts in uk because of preference to uk graduates, but surely if someone has a british citizenship and an md/mbbs ...they cant be ignored.

someone please comment.

is there any statistic on British citizens who graduated outside uk and got back into the uk system after plab? Is it comparatively easier for them to find work? Surely a large no of IMG are not getting posts in uk because of preference to uk graduates, but surely if someone has a british citizenship and an md/mbbs ...they cant be ignored.

someone please comment.

Originally Posted by Beebopash

is there any statistic on British citizens who graduated outside uk and got back into the uk system after plab? Is it comparatively easier for them to find work? Surely a large no of IMG are not getting posts in uk because of preference to uk graduates, but surely if someone has a british citizenship and an md/mbbs ...they cant be ignored.

someone please comment.

See my post preceding yours addressing precisely this issue.
I've not found any stats. on this, or any official comment. I have asked the MMC via email for clarification of the pecking order.
They won't be "ignored", and, assuming fluency in English and an understanding of British culture and the NHS, they should, as I said, get some sort of hearing; additionally they will not have the work permit problem. I do know a couple of such people who have managed to secure FY1; but that doesn't tell you much about just how difficult it is.
On the other hand, I am aware of anti private medical school feeling in the U.K. which may be a factor in some Deaneries. We also hear of U.K. graduates wintering out in the Antipodes!
Another complicating factor is that the U.K. is allegedly moving in the next year or so towards a surplus of grads.
Everybody, even U.K./E.U. applicants, needs to face up to much stiffer competition in the future. Experience of the NHS through rotations and shadowing would be a plus point and generally getting good advice on how to write a good application will help a lot.

I rather doubted if there were statistics available on the British-citizen IMG in the U.K. It seems that this is indeed the case. In a BBC web news item on the GMC's sponsored research on foreign doctors the following comment was made -

The GMC spokesman said that one of the research projects, coordinated by the Economic and Social Research Council, aimed to allow closer examination of the statistics by improving how ethnicity was logged for every UK practising doctor.
"At the moment, we only know if someone has qualified abroad, it doesn't tell us whether they are a UK citizen or a citizen of another country," she said.

see this thread for more - http://www.valuemd.com/uk-irish-medi...tml#post650681

Hmm, I am lead believe that UK grads are only guaranteed an F1 post after graduation, and after that they are effectively 'not the responsibility' of the university they graduated from? . As for UK citizens graduating from outside of the UK, I would imagine this would show great determination to enter the medical profession - possibly more so if they had done some clinical work within the NHS each year in holidays etc.?

They may well not be the responsibility of the med. schools but the nhs foundation website repeatedly talks about a 2-year programme and applying for same. I was also led to believe that it was in the form of a 2-year contract.
Yes, as I said, experience of the NHS is going to be a valuable for IMG's - whatever their nationality.

I have now had a reply from the MMC people. I had asked them what, if any, pecking order for Foundation posts exists and in particular where a U.K. citizen trained outside the E.U. would fit in to that order.
They replied thus -
"Foundation programmes will be offered to those applicants who do not require a work permit in the first instance and any remaining vacancies
will be offered to applicants who meet all other eligibility criteria
but who do not have the right to work in the UK without a work permit."
Given that U.K. grads are led to believe that they are guaranteed a place and that these are limited in number, I would think that some British IMG'S will not be offered one.