Exploring Career Pathways: Job Opportunities After the PLAB Exam

Taking and passing the PLAB 2 exam is not an easy feat, so first of all, congratulations! Now that you’ve taken the exam, you have to decide what your next steps are and how to go about them. Taking an exam as important as this opens you up to a whole new world you’ve never been in before, and you will need all the guidance you can get.

This article provides you with an in-depth guide to the different career paths and job opportunities available to you after taking PLAB.

Paper Work

The first thing to do once you’ve seen your PLAB 2 results is to focus on sorting out some paperwork needed to apply for General Medical Council (GMC) Registration. These include:

  • Your passport(s)
  • Primary Medical Qualifications, PMQ (MBBS or equivalent) certificate (must be already EPIC verified/sent for verification)
  • Evidence of your knowledge of English (IELTS/OET Test Report Form)
  • Documents regarding your internship
    • The Internship completion certificate
    • Letter from your medical regulatory board saying your internship was under provisional registration and was accepted
  • Evidence of fitness to practice
    • Certificate of Good Standing from all the countries you’ve worked for or are registered to.
  • Employer References – ONLY when:
    • Any periods of non-medical work completed in the last five years
    • Any periods of medical work for which you did not hold any registration in the last five years.

These are the basic documents to prepare to apply for GMC. Before uploading these documents on the GMC site, ensure that your PMQ, that is, your MBBS, MBChB, or its equivalent, is verified by the Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (EPIC). Your EPIC verification is valid for a lifetime, so it’s never too early to do it.

After obtaining an EPIC verification, you can proceed to apply for your GMC registration. Once you’ve applied online, you will receive an email from the council telling you a list of documents the GMC needs for your registration. The above listed are just the basics to get ready, so you have them in hand before GMC tells you the specific ones they require for your registration.

Once you know for sure the documents to submit, you will have to send the GMC scanned copies first. Ensure to carefully read through the instructions listed on the page and pay any associated fees. If you do everything right, you should receive an email after five working days confirming your successful application and informing you that you are now licensed to practice medicine in the UK.

Create Your CV and Apply for Jobs

Next, you need to get a job, and the first step is to create a stellar CV. Your CV should be a well-put-together and accurate representation of you and all your academic accomplishments. Highlight your qualifications, clinical experience, and every relevant skill you have in the field.

While making sure your CV is comprehensive, make sure it highlights your strengths and emphasizes how these strengths qualify you for the roles you wish to take on.

As a plus, it is recommended that you create a profile on the NHS website. This not only exposes you to available job opportunities but also allows you to apply for NHS job positions. Whether via the NHS or in other specialties, search for job applications that align with your interests and goals. Once you’ve found one or ten such jobs, apply and hope for the best.

Medical Training in the UK

If all goes well, and all your paperwork is approved, and you get that job, you are ready for the next phase of your post-PLAB life. Now, you can begin your medical training, which basically involves furthering your clinical experience and living out your dream of becoming a doctor in the UK.

The first leg of this training is known as the Foundation Year 1 (F1) Training. This year helps international medical graduates, now F1 doctors, to adapt to life as a doctor in the UK and also learn about different specialties under the supervision of senior doctors. F1 doctors are guided by their senior colleagues as they transition from medical school to independent medical practice in a healthcare system as vast as the UK’s.

This training takes one year, after which a young doctor advances to the next leg of their medical training.

Core Medical Training (CMT) and Core Surgical Training (CST)

After F1 training, doctors choose between CMT and CST, which lay the foundation for specialized training in whatever specialty they choose for themselves. Doctors who want to specialize in internal medicine go for the CMT, while those who want to be surgeons undergo CST.

In both programs, the doctors are under supervision by senior colleagues, and their training involves rotation through several departments, educational components, and training to establish them as independent and professional healthcare workers.

Specialty Training

After completing their core training, doctors now enter specialty training, which concentrates their training on one specific medical discipline. Not every doctor specializes in a particular field, but for those who want to be experts in a particular field or go into medical research, being a specialist doctor is incredibly important.

After specialty training, a doctor is certified as a specialist in that field. Afterwards, such a doctor is free to practice independently as a consultant or to pursue additional sub-specialisation in their specialty if they want to.

There are so many specialties for doctors to choose from, but most of them can be divided into two main categories: internal medicine and surgery. For internal medicine, the specialties available include cardiology, nephrology, neurology, gastroenterology, hematology, etc. Surgery specialties include orthopedic surgery, general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, and many others.

But what if a doctor doesn’t want to practice medicine? What career opportunities are available to them? Well, such doctors can venture into academic medicine, administrative medicine, medical journalism, medical writing, and so on. There’s a way to merge one’s interest with a medical career and be very successful at it.

Conclusion

Medicine is a thrilling, lifelong adventure, and completing PLAB is just one of the steps on this long, long journey. From here on out, you will encounter new opportunities and limitless possibilities. It can be a fast-paced journey, but remember to pause sometimes and take in all the greatness you accomplish. Sites like CanadaQbank contain resources you may find useful as you advance in your career. Good luck!

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