RoadToUK

Before IELTS/OET

IELTS/OET for PLAB, GMC, and Skilled worker visa

The very first step, and arguably the most difficult step to start your career as a doctor in the UK, is taking IELTS/OET for PLAB and GMC registration. There is a good deal of confusion regarding which test to take. Do I need to take IELTS for PLAB? When

UKMLA AKT Featured

How to prepare for PLAB1 or UKMLA AKT

How do I prepare for PLAB/UKMLA 1? What books do I study? Where can I get PLAB/UKMLA materials from? Is this exam hard? PLAB1 or UKMLA AKT isn’t a walk in the park. Yes, there are question banks and materials everywhere, but please don’t take the

Specialty Training

Medicine Training in the UK for International Doctors (IMGs)

Post-graduate training in medicine related specialities are very coveted by doctors in the UK. It is important to note that ‘post-graduate training’ and a ‘post-graduate degree’ are not the same thing. A ‘degree’ is awarded following an exam; training is what you gain from your work-experience and other necessary courses

Specialty Training Featured

Overview of Speciality Training in the UK

Postgraduate and speciality or GP training in the UK is the most important and penultimate step of a doctor in their career. It’s every doctor’s dream to be trained in some specific speciality, maybe in some specific region too. Life starts to get complicated with responsibilities and priorities

Specialty Training

Surgical Training in the UK for International Doctors (IMGs)

You won’t hear a lot of chatter about international medical graduates becoming a surgeon in the UK. The training for surgical specialties in the UK is competitive, long, and stressful but I won’t be the person to say that it’s impossible for international graduates. Different Surgical Specialties

Living in the UK Featured

UK Visa Guidance: Visitor Visa for Parents and Family

As an international medical graduate (IMG) working in the UK, one of the toughest things that we have to deal with is homesickness, distance, and our separation from friends and family back home. There are only two ways you can alleviate that- 1) Racking up your annual leaves to visit

Living in the UK

A Checklist for International Doctors (IMG) in the UK

It’s all very well to think and plan about coming to the UK to work as a doctor being an international medical graduate (IMG), but there is always the fear of the unknown lurking in the back of our minds. That’s why we’ve devised the international medical

Working in Different Specialties

Working in Emergency Medicine in the UK

It’s often difficult to assess where would be best to start off working in the NHS when you start applying for jobs, especially when you hear about how working in emergency medicine may be stressful. Many of us wish to apply exactly where we one day wish to train-

Working in Different Specialties

Working in Acute Medicine in the NHS UK

Acute medicine may have a different name depending on your hospital or Trust. Sometimes it you may hear it being referred to as AMU (Acute Medical Unit) or CDU (Clinical Decisions Unit). Regardless of the name used, you may find that your first medical rotation/job in the UK is

Working in Different Specialties

Working in Stroke Medicine in the NHS

Stroke medicine in the NHS is a vibrant place to work as you have the chance to hone your clinical as well as radiological skills. There is a wide variety of patient exposure as strokes can affect any age (though most commonly in older individuals), but the presentations and correlations

Working in Different Specialties

Working in Hematology and Oncology in the NHS

Haematology and oncology in the NHS are interesting departments to work in. They test you in not only how you approach the different complications associated with patient care, but also how you relate and express yourself to the patient and their family. There is a good deal of breaking bad

Working in Different Specialties

Working in Geriatric Medicine in the NHS

Geriatrics, or care of the elderly, may initially strike you as a boring rotation. You might think it’s just a ward of falls and dementia, but to be perfectly honest, working in geriatric medicine is like experiencing a true medicine ward. A patient can come in with any possible

Working in Different Specialties

Working in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the NHS

When you think about working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (that too in the NHS!), you may naturally feel some apprehension. You’re looking to deal with the patients who have been deemed the sickest in the hospital. They will be receiving different types of support in order to

Working in Different Specialties

Working in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (OB/GYN) in the NHS

Obstetrics and Gynaecology is a varied speciality providing a unique blend of medicine and surgery in the NHS.  It provides a wide range of care to women- including fertility, reproduction, post-menopausal concerns including bleeding. Although demanding, it is an extremely rewarding career allowing a brilliant blend of medicine, surgery and

Working in Different Specialties

Working in the UK as an Overseas Dentist

We are often asked on the road to UK how an overseas dentist can work in the UK. Here is guidance provided by Dr. Shriya Thapa, DMD. Where do I start? To register as an overseas dentist in the UK, there are two examinations that will take you to the

Continuing Professional Development

Professional Medical Indemnity for Doctors in the UK

Even if you are a safe doctor, indemnity is your extra coverage to protect you as a doctor in the UK in case of clinical negligence claims. Yes, your NHS Trust will have provided you with coverage, but this coverage is more about keeping the hospital happy and safe than

Continuing Professional Development

What to expect on the Job: Your first day in the NHS

Congratulations! Your journey to the UK has finally gotten you to where you’ve been waiting to be- employed as a doctor in a UK hospital. And now you must deal with having your first day in the NHS. Understandably, you must be very nervous. Perhaps you’ve been out

Continuing Professional Development

Preparing for Advanced Life Support (ALS) Course

Advanced Life Support (ALS) certification tends to be desired or mandatory in many job applications and is essential to have as your career progresses in the NHS. The ALS course teaches the knowledge and skills required to: * recognize and treat the deteriorating patient using a structured ABCDE approach; * deliver standardized

Continuing Professional Development

How to Complete a Cremation Form

­Despite our best efforts, it is not always possible for our patients to survive. In those unfortunate circumstances, we will have to complete a death certificate, and in some cases, a cremation form. The death certificate is fairly straightforward and has instructions on how to complete it, but often times

Continuing Professional Development

Medical Appraisal and Revalidation in the UK

You may have gotten an email from your NHS Trust’s re-validation officer that you have an appraisal due soon and you’re worried just what that might entail. There’s no need for concern, it’s a fairly straightforward process. Also, you may have received a somewhat confusing e-mail

Continuing Professional Development

How to choose the Best Hospital to work in the NHS

It may be that you’re starting your first job in the NHS, or that you’re moving to a new hospital, but it’s always a good idea to know what to look out for when you are starting out in a different area or Trust. Many of us

Continuing Professional Development

Audits and QIPs in the NHS or Overseas

Clinical audits and Quality Improvement Projects (QIPs) are words you hear get tossed around a lot once you start working in the NHS, and it’s a good idea to know what they mean. Audit: quality improvement cycle that involves measurement of the effectiveness of healthcare against agreed and proven

Postgraduation

Post Graduation Pathways in the UK for IMGs

Postgraduation (PG) in the UK is a long and diverse road for a doctor after taking PLAB exam or getting GMC registration in some other ways. It’s a lot to think about after you’ve achieved GMC registration and started working in the UK. The lack of knowledge about

Postgraduation

Master's Degree & Postgraduate Diploma in the UK

A master’s degree (MD, MS or MCh, MSc, MPhil etc.) and postgraduate diploma in the UK or abroad can help you to pursue a career in medicine (i.e. as a doctor) or pursue an alternative in another aspect like research or academics. There is a whole range of

Postgraduation

Post-graduation at home and abroad

Post-graduation is a long and diverse road for a doctor. It’s a lot to think about after you’ve finished your primary medical qualification. The lack of knowledge about the whole path ahead of you may land you in a situation where you tell yourself you could’ve done