Good news for doctors who are considering working in the UK. On October 3rd, an official document has been issued about medical specialty training and recruitment, which explains the hiring process of doctors in the United Kingdom during the year 2020. Under the section of eligibility to apply for specialty training in the UK, it states that all medical professionals (immigrants or not) can apply to any specialty, at recruitment rounds one and two, starting from 6th of October 2019. Training programs in the UK recruit doctors in two rounds. Round 1 is the first round, which accepts English or European doctors to apply. And the jobs offered during round 1 are not added to the Shortage Occupation List, and hence immigrant doctors with tier 2 visas can't apply. Round 2 is basically the job posts that were not filled during round 1. And the jobs available in round 2 were added to the Shortage Occupation List, which means that immigrant doctors with Tier 2 visa can apply. But all of this has now changed. This change is because all medical professional practitioners have been added to the Shortage Occupation List in the UK. This means that all doctors are exempt from Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT). It's good news. But also sort of bad news. Previously immigrant doctors were competing with each other mostly at round 2. But now if all doctors from around the world, including UK and European doctors, were to apply for posts, this means the competition will surely rise up. To be accepted you have to be at the same level or maybe better than an English or European medical practitioner. You'll have to polish up you resume, with published/presented researches, joining courses, and many other things, which you may find in the Person specification for each specialty.
