The advice zone
Got a career or university related problem that
needs answering? Can't find the right person to point
you in the right direction? Log on to the Advice Zone at www.bmjcareers.com/advicezone to post a question or to see if one of our experts has already solved your problem
How easy it is for UK graduates to work in the United States?
More than 3400 graduates of UK medical schools currently practise in the United States; many hold positions in clinical practice, research, teaching, and academia. The States "imports" many thousands of doctors each year to fill their residency (or postgraduate training) positions--many of these doctors choose to stay after they complete their training.
In general, graduates of UK medical schools are highly sought after by directors of residency programmes and academic institutions. Deciding to work in the States will take about 1-2 years to jump through all the hurdles; advanced planning is really essential.
For those wanting to do clinical work in the United States, you need to pass several interrelated steps to fulfil state and federal regulations for practising medicine. These can seem frustrating and unnecessary to those who have been in practice for a while and especially if you are just planning on spending a year or less in the States. These regulations apply to all doctors unless they are graduates from an American or Canadian medical school (the United States recognises Canadian medical schools as being equivalent to its own). Therefore, graduates from UK medical schools are no different from all other international medical graduates in terms of the requirements that they need to fulfill.
The stages that all international medical graduates need to pass through to practise in the United States are:
- Pass the US Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE)
- Gain a certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
- Get a visa or other legal means to work in the United States
- Get a provisional medical licence from the state in which you intend to practise.
Doctors not planning on doing any hands-on clinical work do not need to go through this process--which usually includes people doing various types of research or non-clinical sabbaticals. For this lucky group, the main step is obtaining a visa that will allow you to work in the United States.
Matthew Thompson former family phsician, Philadelphia, USA now clinical lecturer, Oxford
I am studying medicine at Damascus University, Syria.
Can I do undergraduate elective training in a hospital in England next summer? What specialties are available? How do I apply?
It is possible to do undergraduate elective training in a hospital in England next summer. Firstly, you need to decide in what area or specialty you would
like to do the subject--for example,
ophthalmology. Then, look on the internet for different hospitals (now called NHS trusts) in large cities in England.
Use an internet search engine such as www.google.co.uk and enter the name of the city, the specialty that you are interested in, and the NHS trust (if you do not know the name of the hospital).
This will give you some useful information and hopefully a contact in the specialty in which you want to study. Write (or email) and ask if you can do an elective with them, and provide details of where you are studying and the dates you want to come to England.
Unfortunately, you may also require some funding from your own university for travel and subsistence when you come to the United Kingdom. Because there are so many new UK medical schools, hospital accommodation for electives may be limited.
I think that electives should be available in most subjects. It is important that you choose one you are interested in or in which you wish to learn more. Another way of organising an elective would be to speak to one of your medical teachers and ask if they have any contacts or colleagues in England and ask them to write on your behalf to see if an elective can be arranged.
You may have more luck arranging an elective in a rural area where there are fewer doctors and students--for example, the highlands and islands of Scotland--they may have more time and accommodation. In the Outer Hebrides there is a small hospital on the Isle of Lewis, based in the town of Stornoway. It might be worth writing a letter to the administrator in charge. Again you would get more details on the internet.
Rodger Charlton, medical educator, Warwick University, West Midlands, England
Does publishing letters in reputed biomedical journals help your CV?
The publication of one or more letters is often a starting point for those wishing to publish. It will never be considered like a research paper, but if it is relevant to your area of specialty (and career aims) it will show an interest in the subject, a motivation to dialogue with colleagues, and an awareness of the literature.
A letter in a moderate to high profile journal will contribute to a well stocked CV. Of course, it is important not to hide the most valuable items on your CV with the fillers; it may be that some letters can be left out or only mentioned in a general sense--"I have contributed a number of letters on the issue of... to a variety of publications."
Within your CV it would be reasonable to have a sub-heading of "letters published," under the main heading of "publications." Also, some people use letters as a way of getting an early audience to important research results and letters in high profile journals may be as valuable on a CV as a research paper in another journal.
Philip Crockett, SpR in psychiatry, Aberdeen, Scotland
studentBMJ 2004;12:45-88 February ISSN 0966-6494
