Road to CESR (Article 14)- Is it for me?

“What lies behind us & what lies ahead of us are tiny matters to what lies within us!” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Many clinicians across the world aspire to come to United Kingdom and work in NHS. Initial months could be challenging to work in completely new healthcare system. With some help from good colleagues, transition for overseas doctors can be less overwhelming. As an International Medical Graduate (IMG), there are several options for career progression in UK. Many doctors enter in the UK formal training program, however, Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) is an alternative pathway to achieve CCT. The CESR route could be helpful for clinicians trained in countries outside the UK or European Union as their training from their country of origin might not be recognized equivalent to CCT by General Medical Council (GMC). After obtaining CESR certification, your name is added to specialist register which is a absolute necessity to obtain a substantive consultant position in UK. There is ever increasing requirement for doctors in the UK due to staff shortages and now Covid-19 pandemic has pushed many trusts against the wall to fill these positions. Apart from recruiting overseas doctors, CESR certification has proven to be helpful in filling up these positions. The GMC made some favorable changes in the CESR process in recent years which has encouraged and many career grade/staff grade doctors to progress. On other hand, trainees who fail to obtain training post after several attempts are opting for CESR as an alternative route to progress. Annual statistics published by the GMC indicate that there is rising trend in number of applications for CESR certification in all specialties. There is a gradual change in the perception of CESR as an equally attractive route for career progression. However, there are many unknowns in this pathway as this has been a path less travelled. There is a general perception that CESR certification is difficult t