Editor—The recent decision by the General Medical Council to abolish the senior doctor route to limited registration is one in a long row of sudden and unannounced changes of the goal posts for overseas and particularly for refugee doctors.1
As far as I am aware there has been no warning, and even the most recent GMC News—sent out on the same day as the BMJ—did not mention this important change. The explanation, however, that most doctors qualified via this route are working (initially?) as senior house officers and therefore need a more broad based examination, adds insult to injury.
It is not the fault of overseas or refugee doctors that British hospitals will not employ senior, albeit foreign qualified and trained, doctors in senior positions. A fair amount of prejudice towards all things foreign prevails in many British institutions, which could often well be described as institutionalised racism. Instead of tackling these prejudices the GMC reinforces them with this recent decision and particularly with the explanation given.
Footnotes
PvK is facilitating a study group of refugee doctors. As a graduate from within the European Union he simply registered without any further examinations.
References
- 1.Marchant R. Briefing: Senior doctor route to limited registration abolished. BMJ. 2001;323:3. . (6 October.) [Google Scholar]