ArticleCureus2023
Surgical Training in the United Kingdom's National Health Service: The Challenges for International Medical Graduates.
Article in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fair access to higher surgical training in the UK: an equity, diversity and inclusion analysis of national selection in 2024.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Demystifying Surgical Training in the UK: A Trainee-Led Global Teaching Initiative for Surgical Career Aspirants.Cureus · 2025Article
- Article
- Laparoscopic training should be equitable for all: the impact of a mandatory, cost-neutral simulation training programme incorporating a free take-home box trainer.Facts, views & vision in ObGyn · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe UK's National Health Service (NHS) is a hub that trainees from all over the world want to join. However, there are many challenges for International Medical Graduates (IMGs). The aim of this study is to raise awareness of these challenges and to attempt to identify areas for improvement in the surgical training experience for international graduates wishing to join the NHS and obtain a National Training Number (NTN).
methodsA 33-question survey was designed and distributed to the surgical community via The Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery Society (TUGSS) and social media. Eighty-five respondents, IMGs from 25 countries, participated.
resultsThe results showed that 43.5% of doctors had a Master's degree (MSc). Most IMGs joined as locally employed doctors at the senior house officer or registrar level. They all faced many challenges in the UK, including difficulties finding a job in the NHS, obtaining an NTN, and adapting to the differences between UK surgical practice and their home country. More than 50% of doctors did not have a named educational/clinical supervisor, and 63.2% of them felt that the supervisor helped them to become more familiar with the system. The support doctors received from the human resources department of the hospital they joined was poor. In addition, more than half of the IMGs changed their career plans after joining the NHS (56.4%) and would like to stay in the UK (52.9%). The majority of them (43.9%) plan to obtain an NTN.
conclusionsThis study showed that there is a need to support international doctors who wish to start or continue their training in the UK. Furthermore, IMGs should expect to face several challenges when applying to work in the UK NHS.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.