Theme: International Dimensions
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Development of a glossary for International Medical Graduates undertaking General Practitioner training in the United Kingdom
Authors: Jill Choudhury
Chris Elfes
Institutions: Dorset GP Centre, Bournemouth University, Royal London House (R507), Christchurch Road, Bournemouth
 
Background

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the national academic organisation of general practitioners (GPs) in the United Kingdom (UK).1  The new Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) examination is the compulsory assessment of all doctors wishing to become GPs in the UK.1  The assessment comprises of the following three components:

  • Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) - multi-choice computer-presented 'paper'
  • Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) - a formal test of clinical and consulting skills
  • Workplace-based Assessments (WBPA) - delivered throughout the three-year training programme by Clinical Supervisors, Trainers and others

The CSA tests the candidate's ability to discover the reason for a patients attendance, identify his/her view of the problem, make a diagnosis or differential diagnosis and devise a suitable plan for management of the problem that is in line with current British general practice.  This requires fairly sophisticated professional conversation with the patient as well as a knowledge and ability to apply primary care medicine to a problem, in partnership with the patient.2

Summary of Work

This project aimed to develop a glossary for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) containing abbreviations, colloquialisms, slang words and idioms relevant to medicine and communicating with patients in the UK.

Initially a questionnaire was administered to IMGs at the local GP training centre to ascertain if they felt this would be a useful resource and the preferred format for the glossary.

The content of the glossary was developed by a combination of themed brainstorming sessions with local GP trainees (both UK graduates and IMGs), the authors' own experiences in practice and talking to colleagues and family.

Summary of Results

Ten IMGs at the Dorset GP training day release course completed the questionnaire (50% response rate).  Although the numbers were small, the respondents thought the glossary would be useful, thus giving us an indication to proceed with the glossary.

 Table 2: Valid percentage of background characteristics of 10 non-UK medical graduates undertaking General Practitioner (GP) training in Dorset, 2012

Background characteristics

Valid percentage (n)

Demographics

Gender

   Female

20.0 (2)

   Male

80.0 (8)

Age (years)

   25-29

12.5 (1)

   30-34

50.0 (4)

   35-39

12.5 (1)

   40

25.0 (2)

Ethnicity

 

   Black - African

30.0 (3)

   Asian - Indian

40.0 (4)

   Asian - Pakistani

10.0 (1)

   Other Asian background

10.0 (1)

   Arab

10.0 (1)

Medical training

Country where qualified with first medical degree

 

   Egypt

10.0 (1)

   India

30.0 (3)

   Iran

10.0 (1)

   Nigeria

30.0 (3)

   Pakistan

10.0 (1)

   Ukraine

10.0 (1)

Year of GP training

   ST2

40.0 (4)

   ST3

60.0 (6)

Valid percentage excludes missing cases

 The IMGs preferred formats were a booklet, online resource or DVD/CD-ROM.

 Ta ble 3: Median and inter-quartile range for the proposed format of a glossary for non-UK medical graduates from 10 non-UK medical graduates undertaking General Practitioner (GP) training in Dorset, 2012

Proposed format of glossary

Median

Inter-quartile range

Application for smart phone (valid n=9)

3.0

2.0-4.5

Booklet (valid n=9)

5.0

3.0-5.0

Website/online resource (valid n=9)

5.0

3.5-5.0

DVD/CD-ROM (valid n=7)

5.0

2.0-5.0

 Responses o n a likert scale from 1 (not useful) to 5 (very useful)

Conclusion

The usefulness of the glossary now needs to be assessed.  This project could be extended to other areas of the UK where there are more IMGs undertaking GP training and also where regional dialects may impact upon communication with patients.

Take-home Messages

Resources need to be developed to improve International Medical Graduates' success in the CSA.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank the Dorset GP Centre for providing the funding and support to enable this project to be undertaken.  In particular I would like to thank Dr Clare Wedderburn (Associate Postgraduate GP Dean for Dorset) for approving this project and Dr Chris Elfes (Programme Director and Project Supervisor) for his encouragement, advice and reviewing the content of the glossary.

A special thank you to the 2012-13 Dorset GP trainees for their input.

References

1. Riley B. The new MRCGP - what's it all about? InnovAiT (2008) 1(1):49-52

2. Royal College of General Practitioners (2012) Frequently asked questions regarding MRCGP.  Available at: http://www.rcgp.org.uk/gp-training-and-exams/~/media/Files/GP-training-and-exams/MRCGP/MRCGP-Frequently-asked-questions-December-2012.ashx (Accessed: 20 February 2013).

3. Royal College of General Practitioners (2011) MRCGP: Statistics 2010-11 Annual Report (August 2010 - July 2011) on the results of the MRCGP AKT and CSA Assessments.  Available at: http://www.rcgp.org.uk/gp-training-and-exams/mrcgp-exam-overview/mrcgp-annual-reports/~/media/Files/GP-training-and-exams/Annual%20reports/MRCGP%20Statistics%20201011%20draft%20at%20071111.ashx (Accessed: 20 February 2013).

 

 

Background

For the academic year 2010-11, 2,820 candidates made a total of 3,590 attempts at the CSA.  1,944 (68.9%) were graduates from UK medical schools, 876 (31.1%) were non-UK graduates.3

Table 1: Overall CSA result for the academic year 2010-11 by source of primary medical qualification3
  Total Attempts Number Passed % Passed
UK Graduates 2,100 1,903 90.6%
Non-UK Graduates 1,490 548 36.8%
All Candidates 3,590 2,451 68.3%

There is also evidence of high failure rates for non-UK graduates in other postgraduate examinations.2

Summary of Work
Summary of Results

Image 1: Sample pages

Conclusion
Take-home Messages
Acknowledgement
References
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