The UK’s National Health Service employs more than 1.5 million people, putting it in the top five of the world’s largest workforces, an attractive proposition for doctors around the world. Before making the move, here is a quick run-through of the criteria that need to be met and key steps to be completed.

In order to practise in the UK, all doctors are required to be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC), follow their good medical practice and be subject to their Fitness to Practice actions.

There are four key qualifications that you must hold in order to become eligible to work as a doctor in the UK:

1. MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery)
2. Postgraduate degree from a GMC recognised college in your speciality
3. Passed an IELTS or OET English language exam
4. GMC registration

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1. MBBS

These are the first two professional degrees in medicine and surgery that are awarded once a doctor has graduated from medical school. Therefore, this is the simplest step for any doctor looking to relocate as they should already hold this qualification.

2. Postgraduate degree

The GMC requires that you must have a postgraduate degree from a select number of awarding bodies to prove you have the required knowledge, skills and experience to apply for a full registration with a licence to practise. This qualification will usually focus on your particular speciality.

To see the full list of postgraduate qualifications that the GMC accept, follow this link.

3. IELTS/OET English language exams

In order to work in the UK, it is crucial that you are able to prove your ability to speak, read, write and listen in English to a high standard. For many doctors aspiring to relocate to the UK, this can be the toughest hurdle.

There are two options when looking to evidence your English language skills. You can either take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam or you can take the Occupational English Test (OET). To pass the IELTS exam, doctors are required to achieve a score of 7.5 across the speaking, reading, listening and writing exams. Whilst for the OET exams, they are required to achieve a grade B across each area.

It is generally advisable for doctors to take the OET exam as this has been created solely for those in medical professions so is more relevant to the work you will be doing once you are in the UK.

4. Completing your GMC registration

The steps above are all part of the GMC registration process. Once you have completed these steps, you will be required to complete other steps including confirming your passport details, demonstrating your activities for the past five years, declaring your fitness to practice and an identity check in the UK.

The GMC requires a certificate of good standing from each medical regulatory authority you've been registered or licensed with in the last five years. You'll need to do this even if you've not worked in a country that you have been registered or licenced in.

They may send you a certificate of past good standing if you're not registered or licensed with them now. You can find out which medical regulatory authority to contact in the GMC's Certificate of Good Standing database.

You'll also need to provide details of all your medical and non-medical experience across the last five years.

Examples of other activities are:

• Clinical attachments
• Unemployment
• Maternity leave
• Study leave
• Vacation
• Career break

As part of your application, you will also be required to declare that you are fit to practise medicine. You can find out more about how to do this by reading the GMC’s guide on the declaration of fitness to practise.

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How much does it cost?

Type of registration	Price until 31 March 2019	Effective from 1 April 2019
Application for full registration	£390	£399
Application for full registration with a licence to practise for a temporary period for a visiting eminent specialist	£390	£399
Scrutiny fee if your application to join the register is refused, closed or withdrawn	£90	£92

 

 

Once you have become registered with the GMC, you will now be ready to find a permanent job in the NHS or private sector.

 

Disclaimer: This article has been contributed by sister companies A&E Agency and Pulse, two of the UK’s leading recruitment agencies for doctors. Both A&E Agency and Pulse have huge experience in supporting doctors to relocate to work in the NHS and have contracts with all major NHS trusts across the UK. If you would like to find out more about their services, register your details via the links above.

 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of M3 India.