Working in the UK

Applying for Emergency Medicine training in the UK - ACCS EM recruitment will be coordinated by Shared Services London, in association with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, for CT1/ST1 posts throughout England, Wales and Scotland. The person specifications can be found here. 

Specific guidance for Overseas Nationals can be found in Annex C (page 40) of the Specialty Recruitment Applicant Handbook can be found here. 

Medical Training Initiative - The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is one of the Medical Royal Colleges taking part in the Medical Training Initiative (MTI). The MTI is a government authorised exchange under Tier 5 of the Points Based System allowing overseas doctors to obtain training in the UK for up to two years.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s International Sponsorship Scheme offers Emergency Medicine training opportunities within the MTI. Successful applicants can obtain full GMC registration without taking the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test. Further information can be found here

Introduction

This resource contains information intended for the use of international doctors already working, or considering working, in Emergency Medicine in the UK. The majority of this information refers to NHS England, with separate reference made to the NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where appropriate.

It contains useful facts about:

• UK Emergency Medicine and Emergency Departments

• Working and training in the National Health Service 

• Helpful online resources 
  

Click on each part below to download answers to the questions listed underneath:

 Part One – About the NHS (National Health Service)

(1) What is the NHS? 
(2) How many people does the NHS employ?
(3) How many people does the NHS care for?
(4) What is the NHS Constitution?

Part Two – The structure and funding of the NHS

(5) What is the structure of the NHS?
(6) What is the Department of Health (DH)?
(7) What is the difference between a Trust and a Foundation hospital?
(8) What WERE Primary Care Trusts (PCTs)?
(9) How have PCTs now been replaced?
(10) What are Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)?
(11) How is the NHS funded? 
(12) How is the money spent?

Part Three – Emergency care in the UK

(13) What is Emergency Medicine?
(14) What does the Royal College of Emergency Medicine do? 

Part Four – The Emergency Department (ED) 

(15) What is an Emergency Department?
(16) What are the different areas within an Emergency Department?
(17) What do patients expect from the ED and its staff?
(18) Who is entitled to care as an emergency and who is entitled to planned care?

Part Five – The healthcare professionals that may be working in an Emergency Department in the UK  

(19) What types of doctors are there in the Emergency Department?
(20) What types of nurses are there in the Emergency Department?
(21) What are Emergency Medical Technicians / Physicians’ Assistants?
(22) What is the role of a District Nurse?
(23) How are nurses trained?
(24) What is an Occupational Therapist?
(25) What is a Physiotherapist?
(26) What is a General Practitioner?
(27) What is a Social Worker?

Part Six – Paramedics and the ambulance service in the UK 

(28) What are paramedics and what do they do in the UK?
(29) Who runs the ambulance service?
(30) Are ambulances free?

Part Seven – Other sources of urgent patient care apart from the Emergency Department 

(31) What is a Walk In Centre (WIC)?
(32) What is NHS111?

Part Eight – Social services related to health care in UK 

(33) What is social care? What services are provided?
(34) Who is entitled to social care / community care services?
(35) What is a residential home / care home?
(36) What is sheltered housing?
(37) What is a nursing home?

Part Nine – Performance indicators that may be used in Emergency Departments in the UK 

(38) What are early warning score systems? (NEWS)
(39) What is the four-hour target?
(40) What are the Clinical Quality Indicators for Emergency Medicine?
(41) What are the other targets for the hospital?

Part Ten – Training as a doctor in Emergency Medicine in the UK 

(42) What is the usual training pathway in Emergency Medicine in the UK?
(43) Can I join the College? Why would I join the College? What is the benefit?
(44) Who runs training programmes?
(45) Who approves training?
(46) Can I have an ePortfolio?
(47) How can I access the curriculum?

The College has published a statement regarding the recognition of overseas training in Sept 2013.

 
Opportunities 

There are a series of funding streams available which would be suitable for Emergency Medicine Physicians from India, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Egypt and South Africa, who wish to undertake research in the UK towards a PhD. 
Follow the link below for more information 
http://www.international.ac.uk/media/2821847/newton-india-turkey-kazakhstan-egypt-sa.pdf

Useful online resources

1. THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL http://www.gmc-uk.org/

2. THE BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION  http://www.bma.org.uk/

3. MEDICAL CAREERS  - NHS  http://www.medicalcareers.nhs.uk/
This website contains excellent information including specialty pages for Emergency Medicine and person specifications for Emergency Medicine posts and the postgraduate training pathway in the UK.   

4. NHS INFORMATION FOR OVERSEAS DOCTORS 
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore_oversea_registration-for-doctors-and-general-practitioners.shtml

5. NHS EMPLOYERS 
http://www.nhsemployers.org/Aboutus/Publications/Pages/Working-and-training-in-the-National-Health-Service.aspx
NHS Employers is responsible for promotion, advice and guidance on international recruitment.  Advice about coming to work in the UK and International Graduate Signposting Resources available  as well as “Working and training in the National Health Service - a guide for international medical graduates thinking about working or training in the UK” (August 2010)  
 
6. THE GOLD GUIDE
http://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/the-gold-guide-fifth-edition-now-available/
The Gold Guide 4th Edition sets out the arrangements for specialty training in the UK from June 2010. 

7. MEDICAL TRAINING INITIATIVE
http://www.rcem.ac.uk/Training-Exams/Medical%20Training%20Initiative/default.asp
http://www.aomrc.org.uk/mti.html
The Medical Training Initiative enables suitably qualified overseas postgraduate medical specialists to undertake a fixed period of training in the UK before returning to their own healthcare systems. 

8. NHS FAQS OPPORTUNITES FOR OVERSEAS QUALIFIED DOCTORS
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore_oversea_faqs-for-doctors.shtml

9. ROSE – REFUGEE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS PROGRAMME
http://www.rose.nhs.uk/

10. MEDICAL SPECIALITY TRAINING (ENGLAND) 
http://www.mmc.nhs.uk/
This website aims to support doctors in applying for specialty training posts in the NHS in England, and to provide information on changes to the recruitment and training process. It includes links to competition ratios and an application guide.   

11. TRAINING IN OTHER UK COUNTRIES
WALES - http://specialty.walesdeanery.org/
SCOTLAND - http://www.scotmt.scot.nhs.uk/
NORTHERN IRELAND - http://www.nimdta.gov.uk/  

12. THE UK FOUNDATION PROGRAMME WEBSITE
http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/pages/home

13. THE ACADEMY OF MEDICAL ROYAL COLLEGES
http://aomrc.org.uk/

14. THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm

15. NHS JOBS
http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/

16. BMJ CAREERS
http://careers.bmj.com/careers/hospital-medical-healthcare-doctors-jobs.html

Created August 2013, Reviewed July 2015

Disclaimer: Content within this publication was accurate at the time of publication. This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or part for study or training purposes subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgment of the source. It may not be reproduced for commercial usage or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those indicated above requires written permission from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.  It also provides links and resources for members to use.  However, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine takes no responsibility for the accuracy of this information, which is left to the individual user to evaluate.