Moving to the UK and local information
The General Medical Council (GMC) is a key organisation in the UK that maintains the official register of doctors practicing medicine in the UK. They also provide support and guidance with education and training, including support for international medical graduates and set the standards of good medical practice in the UK.
Registering with the GMC
Any doctor wishing to practice medicine independently in the UK must have full registration with the GMC. Please refer to the GMC’s guidance on Full Registration for International Medical Graduates for more details on how to do this. You can click on the I am Ready to Apply link when you are ready to start you application.
Good Medical Practice:
Doctors aspiring to practice in the UK are strongly encouraged to fully understand the Good Medical Practice (GMP) framework as set out by the GMC. GMP describes what it means to be a good doctor. Please visit the GMC website for a comprehensive description. You can also find this guidance bought to life with helpful clinical scenarios at GMP in Action.
The GMP framework consists of four domains which cover the full spectrum of medical practice. They are:
1. Knowledge, skills and development
2. Patients, partnership and communication
3. Colleagues, culture and safety
4. Trust and professionalism
In turn, each domain has further sub-headings:
1.1 Being competent
1.2 Providing good clinical care
1.3 Maintaining, developing and improving your performance
1.4 Managing resources effectively and sustainably
2.1 Treating patients fairly and respecting their rights
2.2 Treating patients with kindness, courtesy and respect
2.3 Supporting patients to make decisions about treatment and care
2.4 Sharing information with patients
2.5 Communicating with those close to a patient
2.6 Caring for the whole patient
2.7 Safeguarding children and adults who are at risk of harm
2.8 Helping in emergencies
2.9 Making sure patients who post a risk of harm to others can access appropriate care
2.10 Being open if things go wrong
3.1 Treating colleagues with kindness, courtesy and respect
3.2 Contributing to a positive working and training environment
3.3. Demonstrating leadership behaviours
3.4 Contributing to continuity of care
3.5 Delegating safely and appropriately
3.6 Recording your work clearly, accurately and legibly
3.7 Keeping patients safe
3.8 Responding to safety risks
3.9 Managing risks posed by your health
4.1 Acting with honesty and integrity
4.2 Maintaining professional boundaries
4.3 Communicating as a medical professional
4.4. Managing conflicts of interest
4.5. Cooperating with legal and regulatory requirements
Structured and objective feedback/assessment in the medical profession, often mirrors the same domains in the GMP framework.
The GMP framework also sets out the areas, which are covered in the yearly medical appraisal, and upon which, recommendations to revalidate doctors (every 5 years) will be based. All doctors, unless in a Deanery / Specialty Training Programme, will need to undergo a yearly appraisal process (currently through an online portal). Doctors in Deanery / Specialty Training Programmes, undergo an ARCP (Annual Review of Competency Progression) instead. Reflection on your current practice around the GMP framework, and how you intend to develop or modify your practice (Personal Development Plan) is desirable.
e-learning for Healthcare modules and supplementary resources
We recognise that the idea of coming to work in an entirely new healthcare system can be daunting. Please be reassured that we are committed to ensuring that you receive a full trust and departmental induction on your arrival and are provided with a minimum of two weeks of shadowing within your department, to get to know how we work. You will also have the opportunity to attend 5 day face-to-face enhanced international medical graduate induction within six months of starting work with us at West Middlesex Hospital, whom we share t.
To help induct you into UK practice, Health Education England have developed useful national web-based educational resources, including an introduction to working in the NHS, social, ethical, legal, and patient safety, and professional aspects of UK clinical practice and personal health and wellbeing.
We strongly recommend that you take the opportunity to look through these free resources ahead of starting work in the NHS.
To access the e-Learning for Healthcare modules, you will need to register at www.
Please find below direct links to these e-Learning for Healthcare Modules and a few other additional resources.
Introduction to working in the NHS
https://
Being a General Practitioner
https://
Senior advice who, when and why?
https://
Social aspects to UK clinical practice
Cross-cultural Communication
https://
Cultural Competence (CMW)
http://
Communicating with Empathy (CWE)
https://
Confidentiality and Privacy
https://
Introduction to Equality and Diversity
https://
Assertive Communication
https://
Negotiation
https://
Ethical and legal aspects to UK clinical practice
Good Medical Practice in Action
https://
Patient autonomy and related ethics
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)
08 09 01 Mental Health Act
https://
Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT)
https://
End of Life Care (e-ELCA)
https://
Death Certification (DCT)
https://
Data Security Awareness (NHSD)
https://
Patient Safety Aspects to UK clinical practice
Infection Management (PWP)
https://
Infection Prevention and Control – Level 1
https://
Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2
https://
Safe Prescribing (SPB)
http://
01_02 Blood Transfusion and Consent Scenario
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Introduction to Human Factors and patient safety
https://
08 06 02 Human factors and analysis of adverse events
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02_07 Errors and Experiences in Healthcare
https://
Complaints Handling (CPL)
http://
Discharge Planning
https://
Professional aspects of UK clinical practice
Evidence based medicine in clinical practice
https://
Supervision
https://
Workplace and Practice Based Assessment
https://
Hospital Training – Assessment and Progression
https://
Audit
https://
Portfolio Interviews
https://
Appraisal
https://
Annual Review of Competency Progression
https://
GMC registration and post graduate observation
https://
How to avoid the GMC disciplinary committee
https://
Personal Health and Wellbeing in UK clinical practice
Leadership for Clinicians: Clinical Leadership (CLE)
https://
Doctors Support Resources: Psychological wellbeing
https://
Building Staff Psychosocial Resilience and Wellbeing
https://
Protecting yourself against clinical claims
All doctors practising in the UK are required by the GMC’s Good Medical Practice guidelines to ensure they are adequately indemnified or insured against clinical negligence claims. While most NHS-related activity is covered by a state-backed indemnity scheme provided by Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust, this does not extend to private work or other non-NHS activities.
To safeguard yourself, we strongly recommend registering with a Medical Defence Organisation (MDO) before starting any clinical duties in the UK.
Choosing an indemnity provider
The majority of UK doctors are members of one of the three main MDOs:
- Medical Protection Society (MPS)
- Medical Defence Union (MDU)
- Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS)
Other providers include: Premium Medical Protection, Medical Defence Shield, Towergate MIA
What does it offer?
Membership to an MDO will provide you:
- 24/7 access to expert medico-legal advice
- Support for GMC referrals, disciplinary hearings, coroner’s inquests, and fatal accident inquiries
- Protection for Good Samaritan acts
- Guidance on whether additional indemnity is needed for your specific role or activities
We are delighted to be able to support your educational growth with us, with a brilliant postgraduate centre and team. The centre is located on the 5th floor of the Kingston Surgical Centre building and facilities include two lecture theatres, a number of smaller rooms for teaching, as well as four clinical skills rooms, including a simulation training room.
At Kingston Hospital, we have a dedicated team to support our International Medical Graduates including Tutor Dr Darshi Sivakumaran, and an LED Educational Administrator, Carole Osako. There are also tutors and training leads for the various individual departments across our trust.
Additionally, we have one or more Resident Doctors elected as an International Medical Graduate Representative who works with the PGME team to highlight your needs and enhance your ongoing experience with us. You can reach out to them ahead of your start date should you wish to on Kingstonhospitalimgs
(Please be aware that this is not an NHS email address so please do not send any patient or clinical details to this email address).
Listed below are the members of our PGME team. Please email krft.medicaleducation@nhs.net should you wish to make contact with any of them.
- Director of Medical Education - Dr Liz Peregrine
- Champion of Flexible Training - Dr Helen Draper
- Medical Education Manager - Danielle Hynes
- F2/IMT Education Coordinator - Katherine Cosgrove
- Undergraduate/F1 Medical Education Coordinator: Suganya Arulananthan
- Undergraduate/F1 Medical Education Coordinator - Caterina Burns
- Undergraduate/F1/LED Education and Training Administrator - Carole Osako
- Medical Education Coordinator GPVTS - Aidan Cadogan
- Training programme director FY1 - Dr Murali Koteshwara
- Training programme director FY2 - Ms Rashmi Singh
- Training Programme Director IMT - Dr Eswari Chinnasamy
- RCP Tutor – Dr Ye Kyaw
- Surgery Speciality Tutor - Mr Ioannis Gerogiannis
- Orthopaedics Speciality Tutor – Mr Ran Wei
- Anaesthetics Speciality Tutor - Dr Ping-Yi Kuo
- Radiology Speciality Tutor - Dr Emad Ibrahim
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology Speciality Tutor - Mr Tom Brooker
- Emergency Medicine and ACCS speciality tutor - Dr Atif Latif
- Paediatrics - Dr Rebecca Hodgkinson
- Ophthalmology - Mr Mohsin Patel
- Careers and Mentoring Tutor - Dr Jo Morris
- Support Return to Work Tutor (SRTT) - Dr Alexandra Li
- Deputy DME / Champion of Flexible Training - Dr Helen Draper
- SAS Tutor (Specialty doctor, Associate Specialist and Specialist) – Mr Alastair Porteous
- LED and International Medical Graduates Tutor - Dr Darshi Sivakumaran (email: darshi.
sivakumaran )@nhs.net - Undergraduate Tutor - Dr Catherine Gwilt
As an international medical graduate, most of you will be joining our trust as a Locally Employed Doctor (LED) employed directly via Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust. Some of you may have been recruited on the Doctors on the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) or into a Royal College training programmes and the study leave rules and allowances will vary according to this.
Locally Employed Doctors
As a Locally Employed Doctor in a full-time post, you are entitled to up 10 days of study leave and £700 of study budget per year. If you work less than full time (LTFT) or your employment contract is less than a year then this allocation will be pro-rata (i.e. if you work LTFT at 80%, you will have 8 days of study leave and a study budget of £560 per year or if you post at Kingston Hospital is for 6 months then in that 6 month period, you will have 5 days of study leave and a study budget of £350).
Outside of courses and conferences, you may use your study budget towards the cost of a Specialty Specific Portfolio should you wish to use one.
Please be aware that your study budget cannot be used to pay for examination fees.
To apply for study leave and / or access your study budget, please complete the study leave application form which should then be signed by a supervising consultant to confirm suitability for the course and be submitted at least 6 weeks prior to your planned study leave date to your rota coordinators who will confirm if this is approved.
Medical/Surgical Staff Study Leave Application
We are also pleased to provide access to a programme of excellent free courses that are run in conjunction with Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, specifically for SAS doctors, that you can also access as our Locally Employed Doctors. If you are interested in attending, please email krft.
- The SAS and LED Doctor as an Educator
- Coaching and Mentoring Skills
- Wellbeing and resilience
- CESR and Career Development Day
- Leadership
- Advanced communication skills for international medical graduates
Additionally, our Post Graduate Centre runs a wide variety of simulation training days and as a Locally Employed Doctor you can apply to attend the following simulation sessions, if these are of interest to you, free of charge:
- Trauma, Emergency and Acute Medicine Simulation Course (TEAMS)
- The CCOT SOS Simulation Workshop
- Safer Tracheostomy Simulation Training
- Palliative and End of Life Care Simulation
- Dementia and Delirium Simulation Course
To find out more about these simulation days and to apply to attend, please visit the ‘Learning and Development’ section of our intranet where details of most of the above SIM sessions can be found along with details of how to register for these sessions.
We are confident Kingston Hospital is well equipped to provide and support an excellent learning and educational experience for you in the time that you are with us and look forward to welcoming you taking up these opportunities.
Doctors on the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) or Royal College Training Programmes
As a doctor in a training post in the UK, you will be provided with an induction which will include information on your study leave allowance, any specific local and regional training days and the study leave application process. You will also have an allocated Programme Director / Training Lead for your specialty within the trust who can help support and queries you may have in addition to your allocated Educational and Clinical Supervisors.
HEE have listed training courses suitable for you training / speciality under headings of mandatory and optional courses all of which will be fully reimbursed. Attendance at an Aspirational Course will need approval from your Training Programme Director to be reimbursed.
Visit HEE’s studly leave page which has further information on this.
You will find information about our Trust’s study leave policy and allowance in the study leave application form. Please ensure this form is completed and submitted to the Postgraduate Medical Education Department at least 6 weeks before your planned study leave date.
We recognise the value of supporting your education and career and will aim to allocate you to a Clinical and Educational Supervisor as soon as possible and ideally before your arrival date in the UK. If you are joining us a Doctor on the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) or a Royal College Training Programme this will be done automatically, but we will endeavour to arrange this for any of you joining us a Locally Employed Doctor as well.
Educational Supervisor (ES)
Your ES will be the person to oversee your educational progress and development during your time here. Remember that training and education must be trainee-led so the responsibility for this lies with you, and your Supervisor is there to support and guide your development.
Your ES may not be directly in the department / ward that you work on or have any contact with you in your clinical area.
We recommend that you aim to meet your ES within the first 2 weeks of you starting your post.
Prepare for your meeting with your Educational Supervisor by thinking about your own personal development plan and your career goals. Ensure that personal development plan aims are ‘SMART’ (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time Limited).
If you are joining us a Doctor on the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) or a Royal College Training Programme you will have a specific e-Portfolio, so please ensure that the correct documentation for your initial meeting with you ES is filled in. As you are an International Medical Graduate, it would be useful to go through the ‘IMG Educational Supervisor initial meeting checklist’ with your ES as well, to ensure all your needs are addressed.
If you are joining us as Locally Employed Doctor, please ensure you complete the checklist with your ES when you meet them and ensure that this is uploaded to your appraisal portfolio as well as any other portfolio you may be using.
Plan your next meeting date at the end of your initial meeting.
Clinical Supervisor (CS)
Your CS will be someone who works with you directly in your clinical area and will oversee and help you to develop your clinical skills and professional role.
Your CS will feedback to you and your ES as needed.
Do organise an initial meeting with your CS as soon as possible and ideally within the first 2 weeks of starting your post. At this meeting, discuss your weekly timetable and any available teaching / continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities in the department, and highlight any clinical skills you wish to develop.
Do discuss any planned study leave / exams with your CS as well. Ensure your meeting is documented and upload a copy of this to your appraisal portfolio as well as any other portfolio you may be using.
Arrange further interim meetings with your CS as needed and ensure that an end of placement meeting is completed to discuss your progress before you move on from the clinical area. If you are staying in the same department, aim to meet your CS at least once every 6 months and ensure that all meetings are documented.
Appraisal is a key part of revalidation, which is every 5 years. All LED doctors will have an annual appraisal with a named appraiser. These annual appraisals are key to providing evidence that you are up to date and fit to practice as a licenced doctor and is therefore an essential part of the 5-year revalidation process if you wish to continue practicing medicine in the UK. Please review the GMC links below for more information on revalidation:
Guidance for doctors: requirements for revalidation and maintaining your licence (gmc-uk.org)
Guidance on supporting information for appraisal and revalidation (gmc-uk.org)
To support this process and carry out your annual appraisal, you will be given access to the trust’s appraisal e-Portfolio where you can upload supporting information and keep track of your CPD activities (kingstonhospital.medicalrevalidation.com).
If you have not been set up with this at the start of your post with us, please contact leighharris2
The following documents outline how to use our appraisal / revalidation portfolio and to prepare for your annual appraisal meeting:
- Appraisal e-Portfolio User Guide V8
- appraisal-e-portfolio-user-guide-v9.pdf
- Guidance on supporting information for appraisal and revalidation
Further support documents are available via the ‘Help’ tab on your appraisal e-Portfolio. The ‘Help’ tab gives access to further reference guides, videos on how to use the system, the latest Medical Appraisal Guide (from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges) and the trust’s appraisal and revalidation policy.
Please note: If you are joining us a Doctor on the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) or a Royal College Training Programme you will not need to participate in this annual appraisal process or use this portfolio as your ARCPs take the place of your annual appraisal and revalidation. You will solely use your Specialty Portfolio.
For those of you joining us as Locally Employed Doctors, we are pleased to let you know that in addition to this, we can provide you free access to the Horus e-Portfolio which is normally used in the UK in foundation training. If you are a Resident Doctor working in a FY1 or FY2 equivalent post or working to achieve competencies to get a Certificate of Readiness to enter specialty training, this may be a useful way for you to log learning activities and achievements from this stage of training. If you need access to the Horus e-Portfolio, please email krft.
If you have chosen to commit to a specialty and would like to work to gain / log more clinical skills and experience in a chosen specialty, you may benefit from signing up to a specialty specific portfolio via your respective Royal Colleges and you can use your study budget to cover the cost of this should you wish to do so.
You will be able to download the contents from your Horus e-portfolio or Specialty Portfolio and upload this to your trust appraisal portfolio as supporting information for your annual appraisal.
eLogbook (the Pan-Surgical Electronic Logbook)
If you are working in a surgical specialty, we recommend that you register to use eLogbook.
This is a free Pan-Surgical Logbook that has been developed to support surgeons of all grades and all specialties in the UK and Ireland. It allows doctors to record and track their surgical experiences and procedures and builds up a complete record of your work. This is an excellent way to monitor your progress and ensure comprehensive training as well as provide supporting information for appraisals, re-validation and re-certification. Please visit www.
Audits and QIPs are vital aspects of clinical governance and improving the service we provide. If you are joining us a Doctor on the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) or a Royal College Training Programme you may have set requirements as part of your curriculum to complete an audit or QIP - do check your specialty curriculum.
Audit
An audit is essentially a study carried out to see how we are performing in an aspect of healthcare in comparison to a recognised standard that should be achieved. This enables us to see if we are meeting required standards and identify any room for improvement.
If you are interested in undertaking an audit, we are pleased to have an excellent Clinical Audit and Effectiveness team who can support you with this. They also run formal clinical audit training and have drop-in sessions to help you plan and undertake an audit. The team can also help you to find out about existing audits or register a new audit.
Please be aware that all clinical audit projects must be registered with the Clinical Audit and Effectiveness team and approved by the service line Clinical Audit Lead before data collection begins.
To contact the Clinical Audit and Effectiveness team, please visit the ‘Quality, Risk and Safety / Excellence’ section of our intranet from the home page (blue box). Scroll down to subsection ‘Clinical Audit and Effectiveness’ and you will find everything you need.
Quality Improvement Projects (QIP)
Quality Improvement Projects (QIPs) are structured initiatives that help enhance the quality, safety, and overall experience of the care we provide. They involve identifying areas where improvements can be made and working systematically to create meaningful, sustainable change. We believe that every member of staff has a role to play in improving our services, and taking part in a QIP can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
Our Trust has a dedicated Quality Improvement team who offer training, guidance, and hands‑on support for anyone wishing to undertake a project. If you would like help developing your idea or registering your project, they are here to assist you.
To contact the Quality Improvement team or learn more about QI at the Trust, please email krft.improvement@nhs.net
Doctors are recommended to keep clear, accurate and legible records. Please refer to the GMC’s Good Medical Practice Handbook for full guidance.
Contemporaneous records at the time the events happen, or as soon as possible afterwards is advisable. Record any concerns, including any minor concerns, and the details of any action you have taken, information you have shared and decisions you have made relating to those concerns. Please make sure information that may be relevant to keeping a child or young person safe, is available to other clinicians providing care to them. Records containing personal information must be kept securely, in line with Data Protection Legislation.
Electronic health / medical records (EHR / EMR) are standard practice; currently CRS is used at Kingston Hospital. It is likely that there will be specialty specific templates that you will be briefed on and encouraged to use, in the respective departments. If none exist, you might find SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation) a useful documentation framework.
Proper use of our Electronic Records System (currently CRS) will be explained and demonstrated at your induction with our trust.
Data protection / information governance
Please ensure that patient confidentiality rules are followed with all documentation and in your clinical practice. The law allows personal data to be shared between those offering care directly to patients, but it protects patients’ confidentiality when data about them is used for other purposes. When we use data for secondary purposes e.g. audits, quality improvement projects or research, we must only use data that does not identify individual patients, consent has been given by the patient themselves.
Please visit NHS England’s Information Governance page for more information.
You can also complete the e-learning for healthcare module on Data Security Awareness.
We are committed to ensuring that you settle in to work within your department comfortably on your arrival. You will be provided with a departmental induction as well as minimum 2-week shadowing period within your department to see first-hand how things work and run. If, however you would like to familiarise yourself with some of the roles within our various departments ahead of your start date, we have included this information along with some other useful resources:
Role descriptions
- Anaesthetic roles
- Medicine roles
- Obstetric and gynaecology roles
- On-call paediatric and neonatal roles
- Orthopaedic roles
- Surgical roles
MDTs
The development and use of health apps has enhanced the efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery within the NHS. We have listed below some apps that you may find useful in your day-to-day role as a healthcare professional in the NHS. You can download these apps onto your smartphone or tablet via Google Play or the App Store.
iResus
Created by the Resuscitation Council (UK), iResus provides quick and easy offline access to all the latest algorithms from the Resuscitation Guidelines so they can be used in an emergency, even if you don’t have the internet.
Download on Google Play
Download on App Store
Accurx
A popular tool which helps manage communication by providing a directory of hospital extension numbers and makes it easier for staff to contact each other within and across hospitals. It is also used more widely across the NHS to help clinical teams connect quickly and safely with patients and colleagues.
Download on Google Play
Download on App Store
Pando
Pando is a secure messaging app tailored for healthcare professionals. It facilitates the sharing of sensitive information, discussions on patient care, and team collaboration, all while complying with NHS data security standards.
Download on Google Play
Download on App Store
BNF
The British National Formulary (BNF) app provides detailed information on the selection, prescribing, dispensing, and administration of medicines. It's an invaluable resource for healthcare professionals involved in prescribing, and ensuring safe and effective medication use.
Download on Google Play
Download on App Store
MdCalc
MdCalc offers a wide range of clinical calculators and decision support tools, helping healthcare professionals make evidence-based decisions. It covers various specialties and conditions, aiding in diagnosis, treatment, and risk assessment.
Download on Google Play
Download on App Store
LanguageLine
provides professional interpreters via audio or video service to clearly and safely communicate with patients who speak in another language. This can be used where needed in clinical work e.g. to take accurate histories, explain diagnoses and treatments, and obtain informed consent.
- Human Resources: krft.
askhr @nhs.net - Occupational Health: krft.
occupationalhealth2 @nhs.net - Postgraduate Medical Education: krft.
medicaleducation @nhs.net - Tutor for International Medical Graduates (Dr Darshi Sivakumaran): darshi.
sivakumaran @nhs.net