perspectives from the Indian subcontinent
BMJ 2005; 331 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0512472 (Published 01 December 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;331:0512472
- Sabina Dosani, specialist registrar in child and adolescent psychiatry1
- 1Maudsley Hospital
“PLAB is a farce exam, which has no relevance to actual practice,” says Dr Arvind Kamath, an Indian doctor working as a locum senior house officer in the United Kingdom. Arvind wishes he had been better informed. “Junior doctors are not wanted in this country,” he says, “just experienced doctors. I wish I had known about the high cost of living and that there would be an average of 6-12 month period waiting for jobs.”
Unemployed and frustrated
Dr Mudita Tripathi is also jobless. Currently living in Leicester, Mudita came to the United Kingdom from India to obtain postgraduate qualifications and training. Despite passing PLAB at his first attempt, Mudita has been unemployed and frustrated for two years. “It would have been better,” he says, “if there was more information given regarding clinical attachments.”
Dr Shweta Mittal has just passed PLAB and is honest about her reasons for coming to the United Kingdom. “I am an unmarried girl,” she says, “a fresh graduate from India. And postgraduation in India is very difficult so I came here to do PLAB and get a job. I will admit that the salary given here to doctors is also much more than what is given in our home country for the same amount of work.”
A career without foundations
Despite passing PLAB at her first attempt, Shweta has not been able to get a job. “I am shocked to see that we [overseas doctors] are not eligible for foundation programmes because we have done internship in our home town. In India, I couldn't have got my medical degree with doing an internship. I should have been told these rules and regulations.”
These thoughts are echoed …
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