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Fear as an IMG!

Few months into your First Job,

Do you have panic attacks before going to work?

Do you come home from work wondering did I do this right? or did I check the labs of that patient before I left?

Do you fear that the decision you took was wrong or second-guessing yourself?

Coming home and thinking how alone you are?

Most IMG feel a bit uneased. Well, I certainly did when I started, and the reason for the overwhelming fear.

In my opinion, it is just a combination of these points, for some, it may be all of them for some they may be other factors and I will tell you how I dealt with that.


1.  Feeling our education was second class and somehow things here are different.

When I was in my home country and in Saudi, I saw a lot of people saying in the UK, things are like this, are like that. It sounded magical at some point. Being in the UK for a year now, I think things are quite similar. The knowledge base is rarely different. The difference happens in the type of patients and how to react to specific complaints &  the social aspect of patient care. One of my UK graduate friends said the difference between an IMG doctor and a UK graduate is that he/she is aware of the logistics of how the NHS works. This takes time & varies from trust to trust even. So In summary, there is no grand difference in knowledge, it is just the logistics that take a bit of time to get used to.

2. Second Guessing colleagues

When you are new to the system, everyone, and I do mean everyone will second guess you. From the nursing to your colleagues, to your consultants. It also depends on your vibe. When I first started in my first job, I hit it off with my nursing colleague and I used to explain what I am doing and why I am doing and they were at ease instantly. We had a very sick patient which I managed the way I used to back in Saudi, This patient's problem was not hematology specific but more medical and most of you would know, how the ward reacts to a patient which has a problem which they are not specific to their ward.  It took a bit of time, but once the patient recovered. Everyone started trusting me a bit more. This is normal, trust takes time to build.

3. Learning to switch off from work

Most of us are so used to keeping work as the major part of our life. We don't learn to switch off. We have spent our life troubleshooting. We either troubleshoot patients, then our personal life here, or families back home.  We don't have time to even think about what is important for us in our life. We feel like we are running in a rat race. Being Present at the moment is a skill that we didn't learn neither in medical school nor in our professional career.

4. Feeling we don't fit in or belong

Most of us if not all of us have felt it at some point in our time in the UK.  Partly it is because we are away from our family. Partly it is because we don't have our circle nearby. Sometimes even a distance of an hour seems very far away.  It isn't easy for everyone to make friends in the UK. Partly it is because of how busy life is. Partly each person has its own demons to deal with. Some of us are very lucky and made instant lifelong friends. While for some it is still an ongoing journey. I know they are some who had gotten so fed up with being with family that they are enjoying their bit of quietness. The important thing is the process. Something might bother you a lot at times, it might not bother you after 2 weeks.

We all have our demons to battle.

So the most important advice I will give to IMGs who are fairly new.

1. Understand your knowledge base, build on it, and don't doubt your education. You did your very best to come here (GMC, Job selection, etc) and now that you are here, you deserve the fruits of your labor

2. Be Present at the moment, Be at work, Be at Home. 

3. Stop second-guessing yourself, take time to understand the decision, and remember what you do is according to UK-based guidelines then you are safe.

4. Try to make friends as much as you can. See your family it does really help

5. If you need any form of support, it's fine to reach out to friends, your colleagues, GP, BMA whichever route you wish to take.


Remember, this is the start of the journey, there is a long way to go.










 

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