Season 2 Episode 4 - The One With Dilan, Doctor - Licence To Practise Podcast Season 2 - Turkey to UK - OET
** Sit back and listen, it's time for Licence to Practise by IELTS Medical.
Link: https://youtu.be/KO5T3ulPyG8
In S2 Ep4, Christina learned more about Dilan, a doctor who moved here from Turkey via the PLAB route and gives great advice about the process. Learn more, visit: https://www.plabdoctors.com
Featured Course: OET for Doctors : http://www.oetdoctors.co.uk
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Season 2, Episode 4 - The One With Dilan, Doctor
Christina: Hello and welcome back to season 2 of license to practice from IELTS Medical and today I’m going to be talking with Dr. Dilan. Who did her medical training in Turkey before becoming registered here in the UK? We talk quite a lot about the difference between IELTS exam and the OET exam as well as PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 exams and what Dr Dilan did to prepare for the exams to become registered in the UK. Don’t forgot to subscribe to never miss an episode and let’s give her a call.
*Phone rings*
Christina: Hi thank you so much for coming on the podcast, how are you today?
Dilan: Hello I’m fine thank you, how are you?
Christina: Yes, I’m very well thank you. So, great if you can start by telling us a little bit about you.
Dilan: My name is Dr. Dilan and I’m from Turkey and I’m now working in a NHS University hospital, the reason I’m working in the UK is because when I was a medical student, I got the chance to visit the UK and I observed the healthcare system in the UK with a student exchange programme, and that when I started to learn English because before that I didn’t know English at all. My English level was anywhere near to A2 to B1 and our education language was also Turkish and that’s when I started learning English and experiencing the NHS and the UK. I absolutely fell in love with it, and I decide to come and pursue a career in the UK and then I went back to Turkey and completed my medical education obviously and started doing my managerial position for the government and studied for English and other exams and passed all. I found a job and came here to the UK. Unfortunately right after I came from Turkey covid kicked in and everything became upside down, but it was okay, its more manageable right now and I am enjoying my work basically.
Christina: Great, so you have made the correct decision then.
Dilan: I think so, I still think so yeah.
Christina: well good I hope so. So, you said you were learning English whilst you still were in Turkey did you do your English language test either the IELTS or the OET in Turkey or did you do that after you moved here to the UK.
Dilan: To be honest, I decide to move to the UK when I visited the UK as part of the medical exchange student. Like I said I didn’t know any English at all and back then the only exam which was recognised by the GMC was IELTS. I had to study for an IELTS course and even took IELTS and I failed from writing by getting 6.5 which is not the desired score as you know its 7. Then after a couple of months, I heard the GMC started excepting OET and I immediately searched for a course and I came to IELTS Medical which was a great decision for me. And I had a great three weeks very intensive OET course right before I moved back to Turkey, because I was just a visitor and I wasn’t working there then. And then I went back and finished my school in Turkey whist I keep on studying my English and OET. And I passed my English and OET exams two months after moving back to Turkey
Christina: Oh, so you finished the OET before finishing medical school.
Dilan: It was right at the end of my medical school to be honest, because I had to study for my exams a bit after I returned.
Christina: Oh, wow that so interesting so you were doing them at the same time then.
Dilan: Exactly yeah, we have an internship and we weren’t entitled to take anymore exams while in school so I was able to study for English and English exam as well.
Christina: Oh, so you were working pretty much?
Dilan: Yeah, in the hospital, yeah.
Christina: Wow so you were over here and you studied for the OET and then you left, did the OET and then so even though you were newly qualified you had to do the PLAB exams and everything as well.
Dilan: Yes, although you get your post medical qualification (PMQ) from outside of the UK you are considered as an International Medical Graduate. Then you have to take the English test pass and then take PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 that what I did as well.
Christina: So how did you find the PLAB 1 and the PLAB 2 exams?
Dilan: The PLAB 1 exam is not a difficult exam, but it isn’t an easy exam either, you just have to study for it. But the most amazing thing about PLAB 1 is that while you’re studying PLAB 1 you’re also studying the NICE guidelines which is what guidelines the UK follows. So the better you study for the exam, the better you’ll know the guidelines for the UK. It also helps with the PLAB 2 exam and while you practice in the UK as a doctor, because I studied very well for PLAB 1 and got a very good score and I believe it made a very big difference compared to other colleagues which were scored a bit less than me. I was more knowledgeable and more confident in terms of my management and cases both in PLAB 2 and my medical practise life.
Christina: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense and is a good point to make. So, going back to the IELTS and OET again, did you find the OET easier because it’s related to work or because you studied a different way while doing the course and did you prefer the OET in the end?
Dilan: Yes, that’s a good question, I’ve got some reason but the first one is that it is an exam where you use medical terminology which we are already quite familiar with because of our education. No matter which language your educated in as I said in the beginner of the podcast, I was educated in Turkey, so I didn’t learn any English during my medical education. But the common Latin words means the same when you translate to English or any other Language, that’s a general fact. OET was quite helpful in terms of vocabulary and in the meanwhile they are testing your English. This doesn’t mean your English is not as good if you can’t pass IELTS but you can pass OET. It doesn’t mean that at all, but if you are taking IELTS you can be tested on any terminology some which you are not firmly with at all for example under archaeology, but I’m tested from it so it makes sense. I really like the way OET is tailored for the healthcare professionals as it makes everything easier and the second biggest thing, I like about OET is that the way you practice for it and study for it is also the way you perform it professionally in the UK. For example, in listening it says “what brought you to the hospital?” to say to the patient and the patient starts telling you everything and what you have to do as a medical professional is to keep up with the pace of the patient and document in the same time paraphrasing what they told you and this is exactly what I was doing in OET and in the real life as a doctor. Does this make sense?
Christina: Yeah, it does, so it also helps with work, so it benefits after you become registered.
Dilan: It’s a good way of practicing your occupation and the way you’ll work in the UK and even before coming to the UK and I really like that about OET as well.
Christina: Yeah, yeah that’s true. So you have been working in the UK now have you noticed any sorts of big difference in work life here in the UK compared to Turkey or not really?
Dilan: Yes, there is a very big difference although the healthcare is very different also that the workload and community and housing approach to you as a doctor. For example, in Turkey we have to treat a lot of patients in a very short time just to stop the congestion in the housing health care system, more than addressing and accommodating for every need of the patient. Compared to the UK where you could spend a lot of time with patients and attend to every need that they might have and makes my profession a holistic profession. This is why I am in love with my occupation here in the UK as I have more time to perform it as a doctor in the UK and that’s the biggest difference.
Christina: It’s always nice to hear about the difference and how different it really is in the country you studied in (in this case Turkey). Thank you for being on our podcast and do you have any last words for any overseas doctors coming here to the UK.
Dilan: Yes. Although it’s a quite challenging time and the process is quite tough but it will become natural as your changing from one system to another always try searching for the answer. As it will most likely be different from what you studied in your country, because everything will usually have an answer you just and you just need to learn what to look for. So, my most important bit of advice would be is to be patient. The UK is one of the best countries to work in for as a healthcare professional.
Christina: Oh, wow that’s interesting to know. So, a lot of the time we do discuss working in hospitals and clinics and stuff but we haven’t spoken about other areas like research so that’s interesting to know and its one of the best as you said.
Dilan: It’s really good due to the funding and different type of research and you’re doing one part of the research in the UK and the others elsewhere. Then in corporations with so many other countries and doing very good research on rare diseases which nobody ever see in real life and its quite nice to work here in the UK as a doctor as you have got a lot of opportunities.
Christina: Thanks for sharing this is also really good to know and sharing your journey with us.
Dilan: Thank you very much for inviting me.
