I assume she'll get a Tardis out of this.
January 19, 2011 8:34 PM   Subscribe

My wife and I are Americans living in the northeast. I have a long-shot job opportunity in London. My wife is a primary care MD working for the federal government. What, if any, medical career options would she have in the UK?

Given her current trajectory, an imaginary job at a US embassy would be ideal, but she’d totally consider non-government jobs. She’s also willing to work in academics (her job is 25% teaching residents now). I bet she’d rather practice medicine but probably isn’t interested in a(nother) lengthy credentialling process. I’m mostly just looking for pointers for her career options, this isn’t something we’d considered before.

(For what it’s worth, she has an Irish passport through a grandparent but has never attempted to live or work out of North America.)
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (5 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
For what it's worth, that Irish passport almost certainly makes her an "exempt person" for the purposes of GMC registration, which means that the route to being licenced to practice is not nearly as lengthy or arduous as it would be were she simply a US citizen -- skipping the need to take the PLAB, find a sponsor, or be restricted to "approved practice settings".

So, if she hasn't gone through the GMC's checklist in that second link, get her to see what she thinks about the process: it's mainly a paper-chase, but I've seen considerably more convoluted bureaucratic hoop-jumping for state medical boards in the US.
posted by holgate at 10:07 PM on January 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


If you're going to a country that has US military bases she could work on one of those, without having to join the military. My sister is a civilian primary care MD for the Army in the US and is hoping to work at a base in Italy next year.
posted by mareli at 3:03 AM on January 20, 2011


Should have read more carefully, yes, there are US bases in England.
posted by mareli at 3:07 AM on January 20, 2011


Has she had a look at USA jobs for physician postings in the UK? There are definitely fed opportunities at bases & US installations in Europe, including Britain although I don't know what the situation is for MDs.
my agency doesn't let people at my level have a Tardis :(
posted by pointystick at 6:28 AM on January 20, 2011


And yes, US bases are certainly an option, though the nearest to London are about an hour away (Lakenheath, Croughton, Mildenhall); conversely, there are ten teaching hospitals in London proper, which might factor into the pros and cons of getting registered with the GMC.
posted by holgate at 11:03 AM on January 20, 2011


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