INTRODUCTION International medical graduates (IMGs) represent 20% of the current registered NHS medical workforce and 50% of new medical registrations. Integration into a new country and medical system is a major challenge. Most IMGs are poorly prepared for starting work in the UK. Although the NHS has developed a national induction programme, this can only be accessed from within the UK. Furthermore, it is a didactic teaching module without any interactive component. METHODS An interactive, online, free course was run over four weeks. The first session covered NHS structure, mandatory training, hospital IT systems and practice essentials. Session two focused on daily ward tasks. On-call duties, emergencies and handovers were discussed in the third session. The final session looked at portfolios, career pathways and aspects of UK practice. The course used the MedAll platform for webinars, and participants completed pre- and post-course questionnaires to assess the course's impact on their perception and knowledge of working in the NHS. RESULTS A total of 699 participants registered for the course. A third of participants were from the UK (31%). This was followed by Pakistan (12%), Bangladesh (9%), India (8%) and Russia (7%). Participants’ greatest fears included “not knowing the NHS system” and “medicolegal issues”. The post-course survey revealed significant improvements in the confidence of IMGs with regard to working in the NHS, attending emergencies and building portfolios. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study show that there are barriers and fears among IMGs willing to join the NHS. These can be overcome by organising courses similar to the one described here, using minimal resources, via free online platforms.
Rahman et al. (Sun,) studied this question.