Gap between graduation and internship
Alhamdulillah I have been granted full registration with license to practice by GMC today. I am taking opportunity to write this post to help out those who have completed their internships more than two years after their graduation.
I was told by investigation team that there are two patterns of experience accepted by GMC
- One year internship completed withing two years of passing final year exam
- 2 years continues postgraduate experience out of which 3 months in medicine and 3 months in surgery must be uninterrupted and gap between 1st and 2nd year must not be more than 12 months.
Well I didn’t have any of above as I
Graduated on 18th FEB 2016
Started internship on 1st MAY 2017
Finished internship on 30th April 2018
Started Job on 17th September 2018
Applied registration on 3rd March 2019
During my 1st gap period before internship I passed 3 Canadian exams i.e MCCEE, MCCQE1 and NAC OSCE.
During my 5 months gap after internship I did nothing I mentioned it as vacations.
I applied for registration on 5th March my application was forwarded to i&i team they told me, You don’t have acceptable pattern of experience you have to satisfy assistant registrar that you still possess required knowledge and skills to practice medicine in uk. They asked me to provide verifiable evidence of whatever I mention in my statement.
Now coming to the details of evidence which I relied upon
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They asked me to get GEN 2 form signed for my internship and current job. To avoid hassle I asked gmc if I can get gen2 signed from Head of the institution for my whole internship instead of getting it signed by different consultants. They allowed and I had to produce only one GEN 2 for 4 rotations. They asked if my HOI don’t have official id he can post gen 2 with a letter written on official letter head that this form is filled by himself.
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I explained my circumstances in an extensive personal statement where I explained my gaps and stated that my Canadian exams should be considered as CPD activity as these 3 exams are totally related to clinical medicine and during preparation of those exams my knowledge was refreshed.
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While I went for my plab 2 exam I also took FRCEM primary exam and when I came back to pakistan I acquired ACLS BLS certification from Shifa hospital Islamabad ( not recognized by uk or american council ). I joined BMJ learning and also did some online modules. I attached these as evidence of my skills and knowledge.
In this group I have seen many people bluntly saying to others that you are not eligible for registration as you have gap or exams only are not considered as solid reason for gap which I think is really disappointing. GMC gives you every chance to explain yourself and they consider every single detail which you mention.
My suggestion to all those people who have pre internship gap for any reason is, make your cv strong. You have to prove your skills and knowledge. Only way of doing so is exams, online modules and certifications. Along with plab think about doing at least one post graduate exam i.e MRCP 1, FRCEM, MRCS 1, MRCOG or whatever your interest says. Get life support certifications these are easily available every where in the world. Do online modules best site for that is BMJ learning u will get 1 cpd point for one module I only did 6 or 7 may be.
I delayed my plab 2 for 5 months due to visa problem but that delay was beneficial as it gave me an opportunity to work on my profile.
This profile not only helped me with registration but also got me a Job in ED one month before my registration.
Stay determined work hard and you will get it. Good luck every one.