US med school degree and residency in UK

[GoGetta]

Hello,
I am in a US medical school. Eventually I would like to move to the UK. So I would like to start residency there right after medical school in the US. How do I find out information about family residency programs in the UK? What is the residency program like? Number of years?
Thanks for any information

[giella]

I think you need to speak to one of the counsellors at your school. Residency in the UK isn't residency. Junior doctors go through 2 foundation years and then progress through a number of positions in the medical hierarchy. House officer, registrar and eventually consultant. Possibly some more that I'm forgetting.
I'm not eminently qualified to inform you on the procedure to go through to get visas, applying for the positions etc. There'll be someone at your careers service in your college. I was at UIUC for a while and I remember wandering into one at one stage.
What school are you at? Just curious.

[Clarkey]

If you aren't a UK/EU citizen you will have a lot of difficulty gaining a training post in the UK.

Other than that I don't know enough to be able to advise you sorry.

[giella]

GMC | International Medical Graduates - important information

This might explain things better. It talks about registration for new medical graduates and explains [badly] the restrictions on immigration now in place. The thing is, many IMGs leave after a few years and that annoys the government, as we lose the highly trained specialists that we need because they buggered off back home.
You might have more luck after you complete an internship in the US, where you can apply for full registration with the GMC. However, you'll have a problem applying for certain posts. It depends on your specialty as well. If it's paediatrics, psychiatry, obs and gyne or oncology you might be in with a shot, as there's a shortage of applicants for those roles. I think the new rules deem that suitable UK or EU national who can be found for those roles have priority over overseas applicants. If you were applying for a surgical post, then you might have similar trouble.
It's worth pursuing if its something you want to do, but it shouldn't be a jolly jaunt for you to do for a few years. The training you will get is going to be very different from that which you receive back in the US and is designed to help you become a good doctor in the UK. If you're wanting to do it, it should be because you want to move to the UK on a permanent basis. Well, I have to admit I'm a little opinionated there, but consider that it would be a major life upheaval. If it's just for the experience of being in the UK, try and do an elective abroad if that's possible with your school. Maybe try and get a taste for it first.