This page contains key information for non-UK trained doctors (IMGs) to help prepare for life and work in NHS Scotland. Other otherful information can be found on New to Working in Scotland?
Links to the NHS International Recruitment Tool Kit - which is an interactive guide to encourage and enable good practice in the NHS
Also visit NHS Careers. For recruitment, please use this link.
You can find details on the UK Visa and Immigration requirements here.
Whether you intend to come to the UK for a short or lengthy period. There are a number of things to consider:
Doctors wishing to work in the UK must be registered with a licence to practice. The GMC website also provides information and guides on how to join the register.
Information can be found here for the GMC Welcome to UK Practice workshops.
The Good Medical Practice 2024 sets the professional standards for all UK doctors.
NHS Scotland have moved to four lead employers model. More information can be found on the Turas Hub.
You will find information about policies, payroll and annual leave etc.
Also see the following links to:
You are normally covered by the NHS Hospital and Community Health Services indemnity against claims of medical negligence arising from the course of this employment.
In certain circumstances (especially in services for which you receive a separate fee) you may not be covered by the indemnity. The Health Department therefore advises that you maintain membership of a medical defence organisation.
A Copy of NHS Circular 1989 (PCS) 32 on indemnity arrangements issued in December 1989 is available at http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/pcs/PCS(1989)32.pdf
Trainees are covered by NHS indemnity for clinical negligence claims arising from their work. We would encourage all trainees to maintain membership of a medical defence organisation in line with the circular above.
If you have any queries, please contact your employing Board. For information about lead employer arrangements please see the Turas Hub.
In Scotland, as part of your employment of working in the health service, you will be asked to complete a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) form. PVG is managed by NES central HR department and is delivered by Disclosure Scotland. It helps ensure that people whose behaviours make them unsuitable to work with children and/or protected adults can’t do ‘regulated work’ with these vulnerable groups.
More information about the PVG scheme can be found here.
If you have spent time working outside of the UK prior to starting this post, you must provide a copy of your criminal record check for your time spent abroad. If you have worked in multiple countries outside of the UK, you must provide a copy of your criminal record check from each country you have worked in. Details of how to obtain such a check from the relevant authorities abroad is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants. If the country concerned is not listed, please contact the relevant embassy or consulate for further details.
Contact details can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-embassies-in-the-uk. You should submit a copy of your criminal record check or checks, if you have worked in more than one country outside of the UK, with your completed PVG application form and ID documents.
You can only apply for a National Insurance (NI) number once you are in the UK. Details about how to apply for a NI number can be found here.
Sources of information you may find useful, these guides have been created as resources for people working in health boards to assist them with accommodation queries and maybe specific to the hospital location or area. Please see the links below for further information.
HMO Properties for International Recruited Healthcare Professionals
Step by Step Guide to Renting in Scotland - NHS Scotland Rental Guide
Welcome to NHS Lanarkshire Booklet
NHS Ayrshire & Arran Competency Template
A list of nominated contacts to support new IMG within the boards.
Health Board |
Contact |
Department |
Email address |
Ayrshire & Arran |
Sally Youssef |
General Practice |
Sally.Youssef@aapct.scot.nhs.uk |
Borders |
Srihari Vallabhajousula |
Surgery |
|
Dumfries & Galloway |
Anne-Marie Coxon Nadeeka Rathnamalala |
Medicine Renal |
|
Western Isles |
Neil Maclean Caroline Ross |
Obs/Gyn Med. Ed. |
|
Fife |
Babar Akbar Kimberley Steel |
General Practice Palliative Medicine |
|
Forth Valley |
Alison Mackenzie |
Medicine |
|
Grampian |
Kim Milne Marion Slater Roby Rajan |
Acute Medicine Geriatrics Endocrinology |
|
Greater Glasgow & Clyde |
Adnan Tariq Andy Mackay Ihab Shaheen |
Endocrinology Critical Care Paediatrics |
|
Golden Jubilee |
Fahd Mahmood |
Orthopaedics |
|
Highland |
Satinder Bal Suddhajit Sen |
Medicine Orthopaedics |
|
Lanarkshire |
Farhat Mushtaq Laura McGregor Sumaiya Cassim |
Hairmyres Monklands Wishaw |
Farhat.mushtaq@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk |
Lothian |
Goran Zangana Ishwinder Thethy |
Acute Medicine Acute Medicine |
|
Orkney |
Huw Thomas |
General Practice |
|
Shetland |
Pauline Wilson |
Medicine |
|
Tayside |
Achyut Valluri |
Acute Medicine |
There are a number of IT systems you will be asked to use during the course of your employment, both in relation to your clinical work and as part of your postgraduate training.
The names given to different grades of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in the UK may differ from what you are used to. Doctors in training or trainee refers to doctors who are in clinical training. They have completed a medical degree and could have up to eight years' experience working as a hospital doctor, or up to three years in General Practice. All doctors in training work under the supervision of a senior doctor. This could be a Hospital Consultant, GP (general practitioner) or SAS (staff grade, associate specialist and specialty) doctor, depending on specialty and location. Doctors who perform surgery may, due to historical reasons, use the titles 'Mr', 'Mrs', 'Miss' or 'Ms' instead. A doctor that is a university professor may also use the title ‘Professor’ instead of 'Dr'.
Titles of Doctor in Training |
Description |
FY1 |
Foundation year one junior doctor |
FY2 |
Foundation year two junior doctor |
IMT |
Internal Medicine Trainee |
CST |
Core Surgical Trainee |
SHO |
Senior house officer (old fashioned term for grades between FY2 and ST). The use of this term should be discouraged. The Deanery and Service Leads do not support the use of this term as it creates uncertainty about the level of experience and competence of an individual doctor which can confuse staff and colleagues. |
GPST |
General Practice Specialty Trainee |
ST |
Specialty Trainee who is a doctor in training in a hospital specialty – the term can be associated with a number which signifies the amount of years spent in training in the specialty, e.g. ST4 psychiatry |
Other members of the MDT (Multi-disciplinary Team) |
Description |
Nurse |
Nurses in the UK have a degree in nursing and work in either adult, children, mental health, or learning disability care |
Ward Sister/Charge Nurse |
A charge nurse is a nurse who is 'in charge' of a ward in the hospital or other healthcare facility where they work. These nurses perform many of the tasks that general nurses do, but also have some supervisory and managerial responsibilities |
Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) |
CNSs have specialist knowledge of a particular area of nursing e.g. cancer, diabetes, and palliative care |
Healthcare Care Assistant (HCA) |
HCAs work closely with patients to ensure their comfort and safety under the direction of a qualified professional (usually a nurse). They help patients with personal care including infection prevention and control, food, and personal hygiene |
Physiotherapist (PT) |
Physiotherapists help patients recover from injury, illness, and surgery through physical rehabilitation |
Occupational Therapist (OT) |
OTs consider all of a patient's needs - physical, psychological, social and environmental. They can help people overcome the effects of disability caused by illness, ageing or accident so that they can carry out everyday tasks or occupations |
Roles and Responsibilities Checklist
Click here for the roles and responsibilities checklist.
Are you new to UK practice or is this your first post in a Scottish Hospital (NHS Scotland)?
Simulation courses, to help IMGs with some of the challenges they might experience if new to practicing in the UK. Not assessed. Purely a learning experience in a safe environment. These are currently available in the following health boards - Lothian, Tayside, Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Forth Valley.
You may have already been approached to attend. If not, and you think this might be beneficial, please contact the following:
Health Board | Contact Details |
NHS Lothian | goran.zangana@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk |
NHS Tayside | achyut.valluri2@nhs.scot |
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | mark.ullrich@ggc.scot.nhs.uk or kirsty.barnes4@ggc.scot.nhs.uk |
NHS Forth Valley | fv.scschf@nhs.scot |
NHS Ayrshire & Arran | sushmitha.gudla@aapct.scot.nhs.uk or AAMedicalEnquiries@aapct.scot.nhs.uk |
The following websites have been identified as being of particular use to IMG doctors who are preparing to begin work in Scotland:
Driving in the UK on a non-UK licence
Police Scotland Tel: 101 (non-emergency) or 999 (emergency)
Spikkin Scots: Listen to the different dialects of Scotland (The Press and Journal)
Below is a link to a collection of National (UK) resources
This page was last updated on: 04.07.2024 at 07.52