For international medical professionals, emigrating to the UK for a physician role is often considered to be an attractive career path. There are many routes filled with potential opportunities for professional success and development. However, becoming an international doctor in the UK does have its challenges, too.
Moving abroad and starting a new life in a foreign culture and language is always going to be a big decision, particularly when working in a field like medicine. As such, anyone considering making this move will want to educate themselves on all of the positive and negative aspects of doing so, allowing them to make an informed decision on whether it is right for them.
Many individuals who successfully made this leap were able to forge a distinguished careers for themself in the UK. We added to our blog some information shares from international doctors who work in the UK. These are addressing how physicians can thrive within the NHS when supplied with accurate knowledge.
UK relies more on foreign-born doctors than any other major EU country, a report found. An international study reveals more than a third of UK doctors (35.4 per cent) were born abroad. This puts the UK ahead of every other country in the EU except Luxembourg and starkly revealing the extent to which the NHS relies on overseas labour to man its short-staffed wards.
The figures, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), found the level of foreign doctors in Britain was far higher than in comparable countries. Overseas doctors represented just 5% in Italy, 10.7 % in Germany and 19.5 % in France. The OECD’s “International Migration Outlook 2015” study found Britain is now the world’s second-most popular destination behind only the US for migrant doctors. The UK employs 14% of all foreign-born medics who practise in OECD states.
The main reason for this situation is that GMC grants licenses to all international doctors who enable them to practice medicine in England when the specified criteria are met.
Therefore, it is unnecessary to hesitate to apply for equivalency to GMC, which is the relevant institution in the UK. The UK maintains a more open process for foreign physicians than any other European country and allows higher rates of practice as physicians.
