5 Reasons to work in the NHS

There are many reasons why international medical graduates and doctors choose to work for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Healthcare professionals can work anywhere in the world to help patients and enjoy that all-important sense of satisfaction at the end of a shift. Yet, the NHS offers many benefits that have attracted passionate, hardworking, and talented doctors and medical graduates from all corners of the world. Here are five of the many reasons to work in the NHS.

Universal Healthcare

Many countries do not provide their citizens with access to universal healthcare. Yet, it is an option for people across the UK, as they will make national insurance contributions to fund the NHS. Also, every citizen is entitled to healthcare, regardless of if they pay national insurance.

What’s more, the following people are entitled to free prescriptions:

• Pregnant women
• Women with a valid maternity exemption certificate after childbirth
• Unemployed people
• Those under 16 years old
• Over 65-year-olds
• People with a medical exemption certificate
• People with a war pension exception certificate
• An NHS inpatient

As a result, you will treat a wide variety of patients with different incomes and diverse backgrounds.

A Diverse Workplace

The UK is a multicultural society, which the NHS accurately reflects. At present, it employs approximately 1.4 million people, making it the fifth largest employer on the planet. The NHS relies on the talent and skills of international doctors and medical graduates, which will allow you to meet passionate, knowledgeable medical professionals from different nationalities throughout your career.

According to a recent UK Parliament report, approximately 220,000 people (16.5%) out of the NHS’s 1.4 million staff are not UK nationals. One in six people in the NHS doesn’t hail from the UK. Also, the report stated there are more than 200 different nationalities on staff. For instance, 95,000 staff members are Asian nationals and 70,000 employees are EU nationals.

When you join the NHS, you can trust you will work alongside talented professionals from countries worldwide, such as Greece, India, Pakistan, Portugal, Korea, Malta, and much more.

Exceptional Patient Care and Standards

The NHS has earned an international reputation for exceptional patient care and medical standards. Despite only being three-quarters of a century old and counting, the NHS provides comprehensive healthcare and exceptional medical standards to successfully diagnose and treat every patient. The patient-first approach ensures everyone who walks through the door of an NHS hospital, GP practice, or another setting is treated with the utmost dignity and respect.

The NHS is 100% committed to setting the standard for quality care. For this reason, it focuses on providing patients with a safe, effective, and compassionate experience. Also, every member of the community will receive the same level of care – no-one is excluded, discriminated against, or ignored.

All NHS employees must follow strict standards, policies, legislation, and insurance protocols to create a safe, healthy, and supportive environment for patients, employees, and visitors.

For the above reasons, an NHS role on your CV will prove your professionalism, credibility, and skillset. It will place you in a stronger position than other candidates when applying to work in medical settings across the world throughout your career.

Fantastic Training and Development Opportunities

There is no career ceiling when working for the NHS, as there are many career paths and course options to choose from across the UK. Training and development opportunities are not only available but encouraged to provide patients with the best possible care. For this reason, you can trust there are many opportunities for international doctors and medical graduates to expand their knowledge, learn new skills, and grow in their careers.

It doesn’t matter if you work for the NHS on a full-time or part-time basis; you will have countless opportunities to expand your skills and experience. Also, the Knowledge and Skills Framework can help you create a clear career plan to reach your professional goals, boost your earning potential, and increase your knowledge.

A Good Work-Life Balance

Due to the busy nature of the NHS, you might believe it will be difficult to enjoy a good work-life balance. If so, you will be happy to learn many international medical graduates and doctors choose to work for the NHS due to its flexibility.

The NHS provides many of its employees with a flexible work pattern to support their personal responsibilities and career goals. For example, employees with children under the age of 16 are entitled to request flexibility. Also, NHS healthcare practitioners and support staff are entitled to paid maternity leave (52 weeks), paternity leave (26 weeks) or shared parental leave (37 weeks of pay and 50 weeks of leave).

Also, the NHS doesn’t require its employees, regardless of their role, to work 24-hour shifts. Instead, healthcare professionals and support staff could enter shift work, a part-time position, or a job share. It is an effective way to juggle a job around studying toward another degree, raising a family, or completing personal goals.

Summary

If you want to work in a healthcare setting that offers a work-life balance, exceptional medical standards, comprehensive treatments, and a multicultural, fair, and patient-focused environment, look no further than the NHS.

Of course, the above benefits are just a handful of reasons why the NHS attracts international medical graduates and doctors from across the world. After all, it is home to world-leading research centres (such as King’s College Hospital, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Clinical Research Facility, and Great Ormond Street Hospital) and committed to introducing cutting-edge medical technologies to support effective medical care. Also, it offers many job perks, such as a competitive pension scheme, superb retailer and restaurant discounts, and high-paying salaries, to name a few benefits.

If you would love to join a team of talented, skilled, and compassionate medical professionals in the NHS, don’t hesitate to reach out to BDI resourcing. Our team are dedicated to helping specialist doctors from across the world find the perfect placement in an NHS setting.