7 Important Communities & Groups for an IMG

  • November 28, 2023
 

Communities are a wonderful thing and feeling part of a community is vital to any doctor and their family looking to make a new home for themselves in the UK. 

In this article we will look at seven of the communities that exist in both professional and social circle, which can help you to be happy in your new NHS job and UK home.

Study preparations groups

Whether it's preparing for PLAB, Royal College or IELTS exams, having friends or colleagues to revise with and push each other is incredibly important.

You can find WhatsApp groups for the specific exams on our IMG Community Facebook page and we highly recommend joining a study group if you have not already.

Any friends and family in the UK

Make the most of any contacts you already have. Make sure to get in touch with any friends or relations let them know your relocation plans. They may give you some trusted hints and tips for the area you are moving to, or just make sure you are looked after from the moment you touch down. 

Either way, building friend and family circles around you is very important.

Facebook groups and the IMG Community

There are many Facebook groups out there geared towards helping doctors like yourself trying to work as a doctor in the UK. 

With that in mind, IMG Connect runs a vetted Facebook community that covers all the topics that you might need help or support on. This includes exam support, registration guidance, first-hand advice and knowledge on hospitals and their departments, relocation support, schooling etc. This list goes on and on! 

Whatever question or help you might need, you can ask us in private or publicly to the community page, you will usually have a response in minutes. 

By joining the IMG Community Facebook group you will be immediately in touch with thousands of people in very similar scenarios to yourself.

Colleagues and peers in your department

The relationships you hold with the people at work are hugely important; you will spend roughly 60-70% of your day working with them after all!

Make sure to involve yourself with your department, the hospital as a whole and become part of the trust’s wider community. 

Understanding with their values whilst engaging socially with your colleagues will go a long way to ensuring you are happy and content in your day-to-day job and make you a much better NHS doctor.

GMC workshops and events

As the GMC knows, adapting to a new healthcare system is hard for any doctor, regardless of experience.

The GMC’s free Welcome to UK Practice workshop is designed to help doctors new to the NHS. By offering guidance on GMC and UK medical ethics, it aims to give you the confidence and assurance to make the right choices in difficult ethical scenarios. 

These are of course great ways to connect with doctors in similar situations to your own, allowing you to make new friends & contacts with other doctors new to the NHS like yourself.

Royal College courses, workshops and events

As with the GMC, Royal Colleges in the UK run a wide variety of professional and cultural events that are often free to attend. 

Take them up on opportunities to further your learning or meet interesting and influential people in your specialty! Whether it’s an art exhibition hosted by your Royal College or an amazing talk by a field specialist, being a member and part of Royal College community is a valuable thing.

The local community you move to

Anyone and everyone can get involved in your community. It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, what you believe in; there will always be something there for you. What you get in return is both priceless and invaluable whatever stage of life you are at: Meeting new people – building new friendships, improving your English, experiencing different cultures, improving relations between different communities in your area, building confidence, self-esteem and giving structure to life in the UK.

Get involved in your local school, charities and parks, or look online for groups, activities and events. 

And if you do it right… helping people whilst having fun!


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