13. The overseas doctor PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH IN USE FOR MEDICINE

PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH IN USE FOR MEDICINE

13. The overseas doctor

A	Types of registration To manage and treat patients in the UK, all doctors must register with the General Medical Council (GMC). There are several types of registration: A.       Provisional registration is for doctors who have just qualified from medical school in the UK or from certain European Economic Area (EEA) member states. B.       Full registration is for doctors who have completed their year’s clinical training. C.      Limited registration is for international medical graduates who have not completed the equivalent of a year’s clinical training in the UK. D.      Specialist registration is for doctors who have completed specialist medical training and have a Certificate of Completion of Training. (CCT) The GP register is a register of all those eligible to work in general practice in the NHS. Note: For full details of General Medical Council see www.gmc-uk.org.
B	PLAB Before they can obtain full registration, some categories of overseas doctors are required to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test. PLAB is designed to ensure those who pass can practise safely at the level of an SHO in a first appointment in a UK hospital. Part 1 consists of a written test of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Part 2 is an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). It consists of 16 five-minute clinical scenarios, known as stations, to assess professional skills. Note: For a full description of PLAB, see http://www.gmc-uk-org/doctors/plab/
C	PLAB stations and advice OSCEs assess these skills: A.       Clinical examination: Your ability to carry out a physical examination of a simulated patient, an actor trained to play this role, will be assessed. Uncomfortable or intimate examinations will be carried out using a manikin, an anatomical model. B.       Practical skills: You will be assessed on practical skills such as suturing and giving intravenous injections. C.      Communication skills: Your ability to interact with a simulated patient, or in some cases the examiner, will be assessed. Skills tested may include breaking bad news and giving advice on lifestyle. D.      History taking: Your ability to take an accurate history and make a reasons diagnosis will be assessed. Advice on the stations from a successful candidate:

13.1	What kind of registration might these doctors obtain? Look at A above to help you. 1 A newly qualified Spanish doctor 2 A newly qualified Nigerian doctor 3 A doctor who has successfully completed the first Foundation Year (FY1) 4 An SHO who has successfully completed the Foundation Programme and gained a Certificate of Completion of Training after several specialist registrar posts.
13.2	Write the abbreviations in words. Look at A, B and C opposite to help you. 1 Any doctor who wants to work in the UK must register with the GMC. 2 Some overseas doctors must pass the PLAB test before they can register. 3 Part 2 of the test consists of an OSCE. 4 In any emergency, remember the ABC protocol. 5 Before you can obtain specialist registration, you must have a CCT.
13.3	Complete the text. Look at A, B and C above to help you. My name’s Musa and I come from Yemen. I came to the UK about two years ago, after

Answer key