Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 16;12(1):100221.
doi: 10.1016/j.fhj.2024.100221. eCollection 2025 Mar.

Integrating the international medical graduate

Julia McLaughlin  1 , Katherine Baker  1 , Tracy Sandell  1 , Shirly Mathias  1 , Subramaniam Nagasayi  1 , Ilona Schmidt  1 , Christopher James  1
Affiliations

Integrating the international medical graduate

Julia McLaughlin et al. Future Healthc J. .

Abstract

Introduction: The growing utilisation of international medical graduate (IMG) doctors in the UK has uncovered a need for hospitals to establish induction programmes that harness supportive environments for these doctors to learn within the specific context of the NHS. Currently, IMGs are under-supported at local and national levels.

Method: The educational team within Withybush Hospital have designed and delivered a robust IMG induction programme. The aim was to improve IMG doctors' clinical confidence within this specific setting. Feedback generated from the induction was provided to educational supervisors (ES) on their tutees. This induction was evaluated by questionnaires for IMGs following the induction activities, and annually for educational supervisors to assess their views.

Outcome: Feedback was overwhelmingly positive with reported increased confidence post sessions. 100% of educational supervisors found the feedback provided to them very useful, allowing them to identify areas that the doctor needed support in, and aiding in the collaborative creation of development plans.

Conclusion: NHS hospital-specific induction programmes for IMG doctors help to improve their clinical confidence and support their integration into their new role and environment. Additionally, educational supervisors value early, highly specific feedback generated from induction activities on the doctors they are supervising.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Participants’ self-rated confidence regarding their abilities to work as a medical doctor in Withybush, measured pre- and post-emergency ABCDE simulation.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Participants self-rated confidence regarding their abilities while on-call, measured pre and post on-call simulation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. M. Lee D, Nichols T. Physician recruitment and retention in rural and underserved areas. Int J Health Care Qual Assur. 2014;27(7):642–652. - PubMed
    1. Valero-Sanchez I, McKimm J, Green R. A helping hand for international medical graduates. BMJ. 2017;359
    1. Council GM. Register data summary. 2024.
    1. Lane J, Shrotri N, Somani BK. Challenges and expectations of international medical graduates moving to the UK: an online survey. Scott Med J. 2024;69(2):53–58. - PubMed
    1. Council GM. GMC London; 2022. The State of Medical Education and Practice in the UK: The workforce Report 2022.

LinkOut - more resources