Where to start
Starting your career in the worlds first public national health service (NHS)
The National Health Service of the United Kingdom is the world’s 5th largest employer, with a workforce consisting of over a million staff. Over 100,000 of these are doctors. For doctors across the globe spending a portion of their medical career in the NHS is a career goal. Since 2013 Remedium has helped international and UK-based doctors take their first step on the career ladder in one of the world’s most respected health services. Find out all you need to know about how to get a job in the NHS.
NHS experience: why do so many doctors want it?
Why do doctors across the world want to migrate to the UK to work for the NHS?
It’s a question we’re often asked at Remedium. We’ve found permanent roles for over 1800 doctors since we first opened our doors in 2013. For many of these, the job was their first one in the UK.
We pride ourselves on taking the time to make relocation as smooth a process as possible for our international candidates. Even with the help of Remedium’s expert team, however, it’s still no easy undertaking. Why then do so many international doctors we’ve found permanent NHS jobs tell us it’s more than worth it?
Unparalleled training and career development
The UK government has invested hundreds of millions of pounds into NHS frontline staff training in the last five years. The NHS sets global standards for personal training and development opportunities for healthcare professionals of all kinds. This of course includes doctors, and through the NHS doctors have access to a continuous stream of development and training opportunities at every stage of their career, whether they be a junior doctor or senior consultant.
A world-leading public health service
The NHS often ranks as the world’s leading public health service when it comes to the delivery of patient care and treatment. At Remedium we’re proud to be supplying doctors for an organisation that sets standards in the level of service healthcare providers deliver. We understand why so many of the doctors we place are drawn to the NHS due to its reputation as a pinnacle of clinical best practice and cutting edge treatment.
The NHS are egalitarian, supportive employers
The NHS prides itself on being an inclusive and diversity-conscious employer that takes an egalitarian approach to hiring. NHS doctors of all backgrounds enjoy a wide range of support and legal protections sometimes not afforded elsewhere in the world. These include paid study, maternity/paternity, and sick leave, a funded NHS pension, and funded development and training.
Job search and application
Finding jobs within the NHS
Finding NHS job vacancies is easy with Remedium. Our team of experienced recruitment consultants have expert knowledge of every stage of the hiring journey, from application to starting your first day. This includes which vacancies will be right for you, how you can apply to them, and where they could lead you in the future. Give the Remedium team a call today to find out about open NHS job vacancies, or have a look through those on our website and register your cv online.
How to apply for NHS jobs
Applying to NHS roles isn’t as simple as sending over a CV. It requires a fair amount of paperwork to be completed with fine-tooth-comb levels of accuracy. On top of this, there will also be background checks to verify qualifications and experience. If you are applying from overseas, there will almost certainly be additional steps for you to undertake. These will vary from country to country.
It can feel like an overwhelming process. Fortunately, the Remedium team is always on hand to guide you through each stage.
What you’ll need for your NHS application
In order to get hired into any NHS role you’ll need to provide or complete the following as part of your application:
- DBS/CRB checks
- Confirmation of your employment history or references, usually for at least the past 3 years
- Right to work and ID checks
- Occupational health checks. This is to ensure you can work without any danger of injuring yourself or others.
- Confirmation of registrations with professional bodies (for example, the GMC)
- Verification of qualifications
Registering with the GMC
All practising doctors in the UK are legally required to register with the General Medical Council (the GMC). Practising medicine without a GMC license is a criminal offence in the UK.
Remedium assist our candidates with every stage of the NHS application process, and this includes GMC registration. We’ll be on hand to guide you through collating everything you’ll need to provide to register for your GMC license, including understanding the UK equivalents of qualifications you’ve obtained in your home country.
GMC registration and obtaining a UK medical license can usually take 2-5 weeks. However, this can take longer depending on the number of checks and verifications required.
Interview guide
Top 10 NHS job interview questions
There’s no standard NHS interview questions and NHS job interviews. What you’re asked will be dependent on the position you’re applying for, the person interviewing you, and your specific career history.
That being said, there are topics and subjects that candidates Remedium has placed are routinely asked. Ten interview questions the NHS loves to ask when interviewing candidates are:
- Why do you want to work in the NHS?
- What are the core values of the NHS.
- What challenges does the NHS face today?
- What are the qualities of a good NHS doctor?
- What do you know about how the NHS operates?
- Tell us about a time you coped well under pressure.
- Tell us about a work-based conflict in your career and how you resolved it.
- Tell us about a situation in which you provided quality care.
- How would you respond to an aggressive patient?
- How would you emotional cope with seeing a distressing medical situation?
We’ve provided a FAQ and resource page that will help you pre and post-interview. When applying through Remedium you’ll also, of course, receive any interview coaching you need from your contact on the Remedium team.
International doctors
Starting in the NHS as an international doctor
International doctors (sometimes referred to in the UK as overseas doctors) have been part of the backbone of the NHS since its inception in 1948. Remedium has assisted hundreds of international doctors in finding permanent NHS positions in the UK. We’ve guided them through every stage of both the application and relocation.
The UK government is actively trying to recruit international doctors and other healthcare professionals into the NHS. Both the government and NHS welcome overseas doctors with open arms, and it is recognised that only by taking on experienced overseas doctors will the skills and staff shortage gaps in the UK be closed. NHS international recruitment is critical to its success.
As with any career path in any country, applying and joining the NHS from overseas carries with it some additional requirements on your part. We’ve created a whole section of resources that covers everything you need to know if you’re a doctor considering joining the health service in the United Kingdom.
Recruitment
NHS Recruitment Agencies
Applying to the NHS directly through NHSJobs can be a longwinded process. Many doctors and clinicians working in the NHS today found their position through recruitment agencies. The NHS has relied on 3rd party recruiting partners like Remedium to fill their highest level vacancies. As NHS staff procurement experts, Remedium work with over 80 NHS trusts across the UK to resource the best doctors from across the globe for permanent vacancies.
The high quality of patient care provided by the NHS is only possible due to stringent safeguarding and regulations. At Remedium we are part of many networks of trusted NHS suppliers, as we share the NHS core belief that patient care should never be compromised. We’ve successfully placed 1800 doctors because we’re known for our commitment to upholding this and all of the NHS core values that make it the world-leading healthcare service it is today.
For our candidates and doctors, this means a smooth recruitment journey with an NHS 3rd party supplier that understands and can navigate the many different NHS frameworks and regulations. Applications through Remedium mean a streamlined application process. We also exclusively find permanent placements for our doctors, so you know that as a Remedium doctor you won’t be back to searching for a new position six months down the line.
NHS Frameworks
If you are a doctor who is looking to make your next UK career move, you may be wondering how to ensure that you are being represented by a reputable agency. This is an especially important consideration for international doctors who are relocating to the UK. One way to ensure that you are working with a trustworthy business is to check if they are on a recognised NHS framework.
We are fully compliant with and recognised by the following frameworks that govern NHS procurement:
- Health Trust Europe, Total Workforce Solutions II Framework, National and International Permanent Recruitment Solutions with RPO – Lots 1a (UK to UK with RPO) and 1b (International Recruitment)
- The NHS Collaborative Procurement Partnership National Clinical Staffing Framework Agreement – Lot 2b
- We are also signed up and fully adhere to the UK Code of Practice (CoP) for International Recruitment
Start your NHS career with Remedium
At Remedium we are committed to candidate care and work hard to simplify what can be a complex process. If you’re a doctor and considering starting a career in the NHS, register with us today. One of our team will be in contact to discuss which of our permanent NHS vacancies are suitable, and then together we’ll start your journey joining one of the most prestigious health services in the world.
