Ignorance of UK NARIC about the UK qualifications

I hold the post-graduate specialist qualifications of FRCS from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, as well as FCPS from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan.

The most well-known British post-graduate medical qualifications include the qualifications of MRCP(UK) and FRCS(UK). These qualifications are taken as the reference qualification all over the World to say if any other qualification from overseas is equivalent to these or not.

I was surprised to find out that the UK NARIC did not have a clue about level of FRCS. The UK NARIC initially said that FRCS was still under research and later, declared it to be no higher than MBBS.

I was shocked at this level of awareness of the official body entrusted with the task of comparing the qualifications from all over the World.

I had to present a lot of evidence to prove to the UK NARIC that my qualifications were Masters level and not Bachelors level qualifications.

I feel that this ignorance of the UK NARIC stems from the fact that the UK NARIC personnel are themselves not very highly qualified, and do not bother to seek advice from the highly qualified medical personnel in the UK or from the official medical bodies like the General Medical Council in the UK. I hope some one can convince the UK NARIC people to seek advice from these people and organizations to avoid being in the stultified position.

I may be contacted at through e-mail at: drmaqbool@yahoo.com

Tel: 0092 3004384479.

Dear Dr (Mr) Maqbool,

It is indeed worrying that you have to go through such an experience.

The Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), now somewhat replaced by MRCS initially, is a world acclaimed Surgical Postgraduate Diploma, only taken after at least 2 to 4 years rigorous postgraduate medical training after MBBS.

Holding the FRCS degree (the previous FRCS), allows one to proceed into higher surgical training in the UK leading to the CSST in surgery.

If you were told that it is equivalent to MBBS, then you have been told everything but the truth.

Has any one experience such misrepresentation on the part of UKNARIC? Please report it here and let's help to bring this to their attention.

They are usually a highly trained and knowledgeable body with vast knowledge of UK qualifications and their foreign equivalents.

I hope your they have sorted out your query now, Dr Maqbool. Where you trying to get GMC registration?
Please do not hesitate to contact us, if there is any way we could help you further... and all the best in your clinical endeavours.

Best regards,
The GET-UK-JOBS Team
www.get-uk-jobs.com

Hello Dr Maqbool,

I can see where you are coming from.

Unfortunately, the FRCS is seen as a diploma (yes; postgraduate diploma), and not equivalent to a Masters Degree, and is not currently been accepted for UKBA Teir2 point calculation.

If that is what UKNARIC is suggesting, they are actually right.

Until UKNARIC and the Royal Colleges can agree that FRCS, MRCS, MRCP e.t.c is same level with a Masters Degree, the Law at present is that they are not.

I am sorry that you may feel disappointed by this.

Best regards,
The GET-UK-JOBS Team
www.get-uk-jobs.com

Thank you for your reply.

Kindly visit the following website:

http://www.med.nus.edu.sg/dgms/about_us.shtml

or see a copy of this web page attached with this e-mail.

Kindly also have a look at the e-mail from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh given below:

From: "Sinclair, Fiona"
Monday, April 20, 2009 2:37:25 PM
Subject: RE: Equivaelnce of MRCS/FRCS

The Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons is an internationally recognised diploma which indicates academic achievement and completion of training. The College regards it to be at least equivalent to an MSc or ChM awarded by UK universities.

Kind regards

Fiona Sinclair

Membership Administrator

Membership Department

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9DW

Tel: 0131 5271609

Fax: 0131 5576406

The UK NARIC has aslo finally confirmed that the qualifications of FRCS(Glasgow) and FCPS(Pakistan) are comparable to the British Masters Degree level. The level of FRCS has already been decided and confirmed.

The main issue is to get it included in the online Points Calculator tool so that every doctor holding the British post-graduate qualifications does not have to go about proving this equivalence again and again.

I am basically trying to make life easier for my younger colleagues. As far as my own qualifications are concerned, I already have the letter of comparability to confirm their Masters level.

Your insight and comments would be most useful.

Best Regards,

Mr. M. Ashraf

Dear Mr. M. Ashraf,

You have been thorough and totally robust in pursuing this.

The correspondences you have copied us as shown above provides unassailable evidence that the Royal Colleges Membership exams are equivalent to a Masters Degree at the least. This information will be invaluable to the teaming numbers of doctors who hold such qualifications, but are unable to have such recognised by the UKBA Teir 2 system, when applying for the equivalent of the old HMSP visa.

While we await the UKNARIC to update their system to reflect that the Royal Colleges qualifications are equivalent to Masters Degrees, we encourage all in about to take the same steps as you have, and write the relevant colleges for their specific queries.

We hope that the UKINARIC and UKBA resolve this discrepancies soonest, and save these highly trained experts undue delays and anxiety in applying for visas they obviously qualify for.

Thanks again, Mr. M. Ashraf for your contribution, and for stimulating this discussion.

Best regards,
The GET-UK-JOBS Team
www.get-uk-jobs.com