ABSTRACT
Background International Medical Graduates (IMG) form a significant part of the paediatric workforce in the UK. IMGs come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and some have many years of postgraduate training in their country of origin (COO). The composition of this workforce includes: Speciality Trainees (ST1-ST8), Trust grade (Clinical Fellows), SAS (Speciality and Associate Specialty), and Locums. Due to the heterogeneity of this group, it is hard to find data to characterise this vital part of the workforce. We hope to fill a gap by starting to understand this group and the particular challenges they face, related to adopting to the new environment in their personal, social and work life. During Covid many of these doctors have faced additional challenges of isolation, being separated for long periods from family overseas, and not having the usual opportunities to make connections outside work. Our project, 'Soft Landing' aims to understand and help address these challenges. Objectives To explore the challenges faced by an IMGs in personal, social and working lives and how they progress through their careers in UK. Methods The survey was distributed via email to Training Programme Directors, as well as via social media. It was open to all paediatric IMGs in UK. Results 108 IMGs participated in the survey. 44% of them had worked in the UK for <12 months. Almost half planned to apply for training posts. The doctor's roles: Trainees: 15%, Non-Trainees (Level 1 and 2): 65%, Locum SHO: 20%. For most (80%), induction at start of post was not IMG tailored. 75% of participants had more than 5 years postgraduate experience. Despite most having many years of clinical experience, only 14% of IMGs felt confident during their first on call. Communication was a challenge for 50% of the cohort, and safeguarding was another concern with only 9% reporting feeling confident. Career-wise, 33% of participants mentioned their educational supervisor was aware of their career goals. 90% of the cohort reported opportunity to participate in audits and QIPs. However, only 30% of participants had an opportunity to present at national/international conference. Of concern, and reflecting WRES (Workforce Race Equality Standard) data on the experience of the medical BAME workforce, 60% of the cohort, mentioned that they had to take time off from work due to stress. The stress was related to 'work load', 'racism', 'non-supportive supervisors', 'difficult colleagues' and 'challenging patients'. 56% of the cohort mentioned that they were bullied and harassed in the work place. 40% of the cohort had received negative feed back at work. A large number, 46%, of the cohort had considered leaving UK. Conclusions Our survey highlights areas of challenge, data which reflects our own experiences as IMGs. This allows us to identify key areas for improvement. With a better understanding of the issues, and gaps identified we have established the Soft Landing project. We hope to work with key stakeholders to address these identified areas for improved support in order to continue to recruit and retain this valuable part of the workforce.