A comparison of general surgery training programmes across 11 countries: improving understanding of the experience level of international medical graduates in the UK.

Introduction: Within the past five years there has been a significant increase in the number of international medical graduates (IMGs) joining the United Kingdom's (UK) workforce. Having mentors and supervisors who understand the needs of IMGs and clinical and cultural differences in the workplace can benefit in the transition to working in a new country. Improving knowledge of and understanding differences between general surgical training programmes and grades across different countries could therefore aid in the support of IMGs within the UK.

Methods: Data on general surgical training programmes of the top ten countries for the primary medical qualifications of IMGs in the UK were collected to provide comparison with the UK training programme.

Results: The following countries were included: UK, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, Ireland, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Romania, Iraq and South Africa. Training programme lengths ranged from 3 to 10 years. Only some training programmes provide additional training and qualification in sub-specialisation in general surgery. Other differences included a requirement for internship/non specialist training prior to training, differences in lengths of time spent in other surgical specialties and a requirement for research.

Conclusion: Understanding the training programmes of other countries may help UK surgeons to understand the prior experience of IMGs and enable them to provide better training and support.