Step 2: Appointing Global Fellowship Scheme doctors

Interviewing candidates

We believe that as GFS doctors will be employed by the Trust, you are best placed to interview them and determine whether they would be suitable for your GFS position. Owing to issues of geography, these will most likely be conducted online using the appropriate video software available to you. In order to identify the candidate, telephone interviews are prohibited. Whilst this method of interviewing might be different from other recruitment processes within the trust, it is important that all interviews are conducted in a fair and equitable manner and they should follow a structured format. It is recommended they include the following:

• a specialty-specific communication scenario
• a specialty-specific clinical scenario
• assessment of professionalism and values
• a review of the candidate's skills and experience, what role they are seeking in the UK and what they are hoping to gain from their experience in the UK
• all members of the interview panel should have completed equality and diversity training. For audit purposes, accurate notes must be kept of the interview.

Successful GFS candidates and payment of Trust Fee

Once a successful IMG applicant has been selected for the GFS, they should be given confirmation of the offer of employment including the salary. We will then need you to contact us and provide their contact details, CV and offer of employment letter. At that stage, we will carry out an initial check of the doctor’s eligibility for the scheme, and if deemed eligible, revert back to you to request that the payment of £1,380 be made. We will be unable to progress with the doctor’s application until confirmation of payment has been received by our Finance department. Please be aware that if for any reason the GFS doctor withdraws their application, we will offer a refund to you, or use the payment to cover a replacement doctor, depending on what you would prefer.

We will then make contact with the doctor and request their application and supporting documents to ensure that they are eligible for the scheme, assessing them against our eligibility criteria.

Once all of the supporting documentation is received, and the doctor is approved by our Leadership group, we will advise them to begin their application for GMC registration. Once this process is started, they will be issued with a reference number which they forward to us, so that we can issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for their GMC registration. The GMC will process this and then invite them to attend an identity check when the doctor arrives in the UK, at which point registration will be confirmed.

Applying for visa

The Trusts HR department are responsible for sponsoring visas for GFS doctors. In order to make this application, the GFS doctors GMC registration should be confirmed, hence this being the last stage of the process.

The College will need to be kept informed of the progress of this application, and, once confirmed, visa details to be sent for our records.